TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field heads west for one of the most prestigious meets in track and field, as the Sycamores will take part in the 113th Drake Relays Thursday through Saturday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.
Action for the Sycamores in America's Athletic Classic will begin Thursday at 8:52 p.m. with the distance events. Friday's proceedings for the Blue and White begin at noon, with Saturday's first events for the Trees starting at 11:15 a.m.
Last Time Out
Indiana State's throwers and pole vaulters had a banner weekend at the Crimson Tide Invitational, setting three top-10 program marks and posting a pair of event wins against one of the best fields Indiana State has competed in this season.
Noah Bolt and
Brett Norton had the event wins for the Sycamores, with Bolt taking home top spot in the hammer throw and Norton winning the shot put. In addition to Bolt and Norton's wins, the Sycamores got top-three finishes on the weekend from
Elias Foor (hammer throw),
JaVaughn Moore (100m),
Wyatt Puff (shot put)
Shomari Rogers-Walton (triple jump) and
William Staggs (pole vault).
Staggs,
Brooklyn Giertz (pole vault) and
Hannah Redlin (discus) all set top-10 program marks for the Sycamores over the course of the weekend.
Indiana State picked up five top-three finishes at the Indiana Invitational Friday and Saturday.
Noah Malone was responsible for a pair of those high marks, with a win in the 100m and a runner-up finish in the 200m. The Sycamores' men's high jump duo of
Kevin Krutsch and
Trevor Thompson both placed in the top three for a second consecutive meet, while
Wyatt Wyman rounded out the Trees' podium finishes in the 800m.
Indiana State's contingent in Bloomington featured mostly distance runners and the Sycamores' high jumpers. A select group of sprinters and hurdlers also competed at the Indiana Invitational, with the Sycamores also sending a large contingent to the Crimson Tide Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Sycamores at the Drake Relays
Indiana State has a storied history of success at America's Athletic Classic, with three Drake Relays Hall of Famers and numerous Drake Relays Champions.
Hurdler Aubrey Herring, who was a seven-time All-American and an NCAA Champion, was a part of last year's Drake Relays Hall of Fame class, with seven-time national champion sprinter Holli Hyche (1999) and legendary coach John McNichols (2008) also previously earning the prestigious honor. Hyche was also a two-time Drake Relays Most Outstanding Performer, earning back-to-back honors in 1993 and 1994.
Indiana State is looking for their first Drake Relays champion since 2021, when a shuttle hurdle relay team that included current Sycamores
Daryl Black and
Quincy Armstrong earned the coveted title.
What to Watch For
Indiana State's entries at the Drake Relays include a plethora of all-conference honorees, program top-10 marks and MVC Champions. Below is a breakdown of some of the notable entries for the Blue and White this weekend, split by event group:
- Sprints – the men's sprints group features the top two 100m marks in program history with JaVaughn Moore (first) and Noah Malone (second). Isiah Thomas (11th) and Daunte Majors (13th) are just outside the top 10, and that quartet has teamed up to run the second-best 4x100m relay time in program history this season (39.98). Iyanla Hunter ran the opening leg of last season's women's 4x200m relay that ranked eighth in program history and is slated to run one of the four legs this year as well.
- Hurdles – A pair of former Drake Relays champions are in this group, with Daryl Black and Quincy Armstrong both being a part of previous shuttle hurdle relay teams that have won the title. Black has done so twice (2019, 2021), while Armstrong was also a part of the 2021 team that won, and both are a part of this year's team, along with 2023 NCAA regional qualifier Luigi Rivas. All-conference hurdlers Ryann Porter and Riley Tuerff make up half of the Trees' women's shuttle hurdle relay team.
- Distance – Indiana State broke its school record in the men's distance medley relay at last season's Drake Relays, and Ethan Breen and Wyatt Wyman are back to participate in the event once again. Perennial MVC Championship scorers Cameron Stevens and Jackson Krieg are also slated to run legs of the relay. Logan Pietrzak and Erica Barker have both cracked the top 10 in program history in the 5000m and will compete on the opening day, Pietrzak in the 5000m and Barker in the 10,000m.
- Jumps – Indiana State has a pair of men's high jumpers occupying NCAA regional qualifying spots in Kevin Krutsch and Trevor Thompson, and both are set to compete at the Drake Relays. Two-time Honorable Mention All-American Ryann Porter will compete in the triple jump this weekend. Both Thompson and Porter have previous success at Drake Stadium, as Porter won the MVC outdoor triple jump title last season and Thompson won the MVC outdoor high jump title (while competing for Southern Illinois) in Des Moines.
- Throws – Fresh off event wins at the Crimson Tide Invitational, Noah Bolt (hammer throw) and Brett Norton (shot put) will compete at the Drake Relays this weekend. In addition to Bolt and Norton, who both rank among the best in program history in their events, Wyatt Puff (shot put and discus), Elias Foor (hammer throw) and Hannah Redlin (discus) all rank in the top-10 in program history in throws events and will be competing for the Sycamores this weekend at Drake Stadium.
Top-10 Trees
Indiana State held firm in this week's USTFCCCA regional rankings, making it five straight weeks to begin the outdoor season that the Sycamores were ranked in the top 10 in the Great Lakes region on both the men's and women's side.
The Sycamore men remained at fifth fifth in this week's rankings, marking the 10th consecutive rankings index with the Sycamores in the top five in the region (indoor and outdoor). The 10 consecutive top-five region rankings mark the longest streak in program history since regional rankings were first made available prior to the 2010 season.
Indiana State stayed at ninth in the women's rankings, marking the eighth time this season the Sycamore women are in the top 10 in the region. Included in those eight weeks in the top-10 are all five outdoor season polls.
Indiana State's throws group also produced a pair top-10 national #EventSquad ranking, as the men's shot put group moved up four spots to sixth in the nation, while the men's discus group held steady at ninth in the nation.
Topping the Conference
Indiana State continues to hold firm in the USTFCCCA conference ratings index, with the Sycamores ranked first on the men's side and second on the women's side in the MVC.
Indiana State has six marks that rank first in the MVC at the midway point of the 2023 outdoor season. Four of those marks come on the men's side, while two are on the women's side. Five of the Sycamores' top marks in the conference come in field events, with track events accounting for one.
Despite only having six marks ranked first in the conference, Indiana State's depth is what keeps the Sycamores rooted to the top of the conference rankings. The Trees have 21 marks that rank in the top five of the MVC on the men's side and 18 top-five conference marks on the women's side.
Indiana State's athletes with top marks in the conference are:
In addition to the top conference marks, the men's 4x100m relay team also ranks first in the Great Lakes region with the only time in the region under 40 seconds. Puff and Thompson also rank in the top three of the region in their respective events.
Up Next
In addition to the Drake Relays, Indiana State will host the Sycamore Open Saturday. Indiana State's final meet before the MVC Outdoor Championships is the Billy Hayes Invitational, set for May 5 in Bloomington, Indiana.
