TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field heads to the bright lights of Nashville, Tennessee, as the Sycamores are set to take part in the Music City Challenge Friday and Saturday.
Friday's events are slated to begin at noon, with Saturday's festivities starting at 10 a.m.
Last Time Out
Indiana State saw plenty of success with a split squad last weekend, with athletes competing at the Meyo Invitational and the Blue-White Classic.
At the Meyo Invitational,
Ethan Breen,
Tahj Johnson,
Wyatt Wyman and
Jackson Krieg teamed up in the distance medley relay to run a time of 9:47.61, moving up to second in program history in the event while running the top DMR time for a Sycamore quartet in 15 years.
Erica Barker and
Logan Pietrzak both set top-10 marks in program history in the 5000m for the Blue and White, while
Kelsey Bowlds (high jump),
Noah Malone (200m),
JaVaughn Moore (200m) and
Isiah Thomas (200m) all placed in the top 10 in their respective events on the first day of competition.
Moore came one-hundredth of a second from tying his 60m school record on the second day in South Bend, cruising to an event win while running a season-best time of 6.64 in the event as one of three Sycamores in the finals.
Zoe Sullivan also moved up to third in program history in the 60m hurdles with her semifinal time of 8.42. Indiana State also got podium finishes from
Kevin Krutsch and
Trevor Thompson in the high jump, while the men's 4x400m team of
Trent Jones, Wyman, Johnson and
Cameron Stevens also improved on their season-best time, as the Sycamore relay team finished in 3:12.99 for its best indoor time since 2014.
Shomari Rogers-Walton cracked the top five in program history in the indoor triple jump as Indiana State won both the men's and women's team titles at the Blue-White Classic.
Rogers-Walton's short-approach jump of 15.56m (51-00.75) ranked fourth in program history and was also the best jump of his indoor career. Also winning events for the Blue and White were
Faith Frye (long jump),
Kamille Gaskin-Griffith (60m hurdles),
Layton Hall (mile),
Ryann Porter (triple jump),
Wyatt Puff (shot put),
Jhivon Wilson (200m) and
Kyra Young (mile). As a team, Indiana State finished with 132 points on the men's side, 26 more than the second-place team, UIndy. Indiana State's women scored 138 points at the meet, 51 more than Lindenwood, who finished in second.
Climbing the Charts
Indiana State men's track and field reached its highest regional ranking in program history when the Sycamores checked in at No. 4 in the Great Lakes region in Monday's USTFCCCA rankings. The Sycamores are only behind Indiana, Wisconsin and Eastern Michigan in the region, which covers the states of Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The ranking is just the second top-five regional ranking for the Sycamores since 2010, with Indiana State's lone previous top-five regional mark coming during the 2013 season, a year which ended with Indiana State sweeping the men's indoor and outdoor conference titles.
Indiana State's high ranking is bolstered by the likes of
JaVaughn Moore (6.64 in the 60m),
Kevin Krutsch (2.15m/7-00.50 in the high jump) and
Shomari Rogers-Walton (7.65m/25-01.25 in the long jump, 15.56m/51-00.75 in the triple jump), who are ranked in the top three in the region in their respective events.
Strength in Numbers
Indiana State currently has five top-15 national rankings in the latest USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings, with multiple event groups represented among the high marks for the Blue and White.
The men's shot put (10th) carries the highest ranking for the Sycamores, with Indiana State also featuring in the top 15 nationally in the women's pole vault (11th), men's weight throw (11th), men's long jump (13th) and men's 60m (14th).
Trees at the Top
The first set of USTFCCCA conference rankings were unveiled Monday, and Indiana State finds itself in a familiar spot on the men's side. The Sycamore men were ranked first in the MVC, with Indiana State also ranked second in the conference on the women's side.
Bolstering the high rankings within the conference for the Sycamores are six marks on the men's side that rank first in the MVC and two women's marks that are tops in the conference.
Shomari Rogers-Walton is responsible for a pair of those marks in the long jump (7.65m/25-01.25) and triple jump (15.56m/51-00.75), with
JaVaughn Moore (60m, 6.64), the distance medley relay team of
Ethan Breen,
Tahj Johnson,
Wyatt Wyman and
Jackson Krieg (9:47.61),
Kevin Krutsch (high jump, 2.15m/7-00.50) and
William Staggs (pole vault, 5.21m/17-01.00) all owning top marks in the Valley. On the women's side,
Selene Weaver (pole vault, 3.96m/12-11.75) and
Ryann Porter (triple jump, 12.59m/41-03.75) both have marks that rank first in the MVC.
Weekly Winners
Following a dominant performance at the Blue-White Classic, Indiana State jumper
Shomari Rogers-Walton was tabbed the MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week. He recorded the top four jumps of the meet, all of which were his best four marks of the season. Rogers-Walton's top mark of 15.56m (51-00.75) was not only the best indoor mark of his career, but also the second-best mark, indoor or outdoor, in his career. He moved up to fourth in program history in the event and became the first Sycamore with a triple jump mark above 15.50m since 2012, while also shattering the Indiana State facility record, which he previously held, in the process.
Rogers-Walton ranks first in the MVC, second in the Great Lakes region and 30th in the nation in the triple jump and is also among the conference, region and national leaders in the long jump.
The weekly award is the second for Rogers-Walton in his career, as he was previously honored once during the 2021-22 indoor season. Rogers-Walton's weekly honor gives Indiana State eight MVC Athlete of the Week awards this season, with
Kevin Krutsch,
Brett Norton,
Ryann Porter,
William Staggs,
Isiah Thomas and
Wyatt Wyman (twice) all picking up conference honors earlier this season.
Up Next
Indiana State plays host to the ISU Open, its final meet before the MVC Indoor Championships, Feb. 18.
