TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Five current Indiana State track and field student-athletes, along with one former Sycamore student-athlete, are set to compete in high-level meets both in the United States and abroad over the course of the next week.
 
Ryann Porter and Erin Reese will compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon, while Niesha Anderson, Josie Hapack and Terrance O'Bannon will take part in the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, also in Eugene. In addition, Noah Malone will be representing Team USA at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France.
 
Championship Qualifiers
The USATF U20 Outdoor Championships serves as a selection event for the 2023 Pan-Am U20 Championships in Puerto Rico. Anderson, Hapack and O'Bannon can qualify for the event by placing either first or second in their respective events at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships. If any of them place third, they will serve as an alternate for the 2023 Pan-Am U20 Championships.
 
The USATF Outdoor Championships serves as a selection event for the 2023 NACAC U23 Championships in Costa Rica and the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Hungary. There is also the potential for results at the USATF Outdoor Championships to serve as selection criteria for the 2023 Pan-Am Games in Chile. Porter and Reese can qualify for the Pan-Am Games with a top-two finish and the World Athletics Championships with a top-three finish. A top-two finish for Porter would also qualify her for the NACAC U23 Championships. Placing third would earn alternate spots at the NACAC U23 Championships and the Pan-Am Games, while a fourth-place finish would earn an alternate spot at the World Athletics Championships.
 
The World Para Athletics Championships serves as a qualifier for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Noah Malone can earn a spot in the Games with a top-four finish in the 100m.
 
Meet the Sycamores
Below is a season summary of each current and former Indiana State student-athlete set to compete on the world stage this season.
 
Niesha Anderson | USATF U20 Outdoor Championships | Shot Put and Hammer Throw
Saturday, July 8 | 2:30 p.m. (Hammer Throw)
Saturday, July 8 | 6 p.m. (Shot Put)
Anderson steadily improved as the season progressed, both indoor and outdoor. She earned points at both MVC Championships contested this season, placing sixth in the weight throw during indoor season and sixth in the shot put during outdoor season. Her top mark in the weight throw of 19.54m (64-01.25) ranks 10th in program history. Anderson's qualifying marks both came at the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, where she had season-best performances of 15.00m (49-02.50) in the shot put and 54.01m (177-02) in the hammer throw.
 
Josie Hapack | USATF U20 Outdoor Championships | Discus Throw
Friday, July 7 | 9:45 p.m.
Each of Hapack's top marks during outdoor season came in home meets. She recorded a season-best mark in the discus of 47.16m (154-09) at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, which qualified her for the upcoming championships. Hapack also has marks of 13.49m (44-03.25) in the shot put and 46.67m (153-01) in the hammer throw, both of which came at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational. She was 10th in the discus throw and 13th in the hammer throw at the MVC Outdoor Championships.
 
Noah Malone | World Para Athletics Championships | 100m
Sunday, July 9 | 4:22 a.m. (Semifinals)
Monday, July 10 | 1:32 p.m. (Finals)
Malone had another strong season for the Sycamores, picking up three all-conference honors and scoring in four events across the two MVC Championships contested. He placed third in both the 60m and 200m during indoor season, with his marks of 6.75 in the 60 and 21.60 in the 200 both ranking in the top 10 in program history. Malone also ran legs in both relays during outdoor season, earning all-conference as the first leg in the 4x400m relay and earning a top-15 finish at the NCAA East First Round as the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay. He placed fourth in the 100m at the MVC Outdoor Championships. Malone's season-best in the 100m was 10.41, which came at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute.
 
Terrance O'Bannon | USATF U20 Outdoor Championships | 100m
Saturday, July 8 | 5:14 p.m. (First Round)
Saturday, July 8 | 7:24 p.m. (Final)
O'Bannon's first season with the Blue and White was certainly one to remember, as he posted the second-best 60m time in program history, the third-best 100m time in program history and was the alternate on Indiana State's 4x100m relay team that placed in the top 15 at the NCAA East First Round. His times of 6.65 in the 60 and 10.35 in the 100 were both the fastest times ever run by an Indiana State freshman, and he also ran the opening leg of Indiana State's fourth-fastest 4x100m relay in program history. O'Bannon earned all-conference honors in the 60 during indoor season.
 
Ryann Porter | USATF Outdoor Championships | Triple Jump
Thursday, July 6 | 9 p.m.
Porter continued to showcase her talents as one of the top athletes in the nation, qualifying for her third consecutive NCAA Outdoor National Championships in the triple jump. She earned Honorable Mention All-America honors with a wind-legal season-best mark of 13.03m (42-09.00), while her top overall mark of 13.46m (44-02.00) came at the NCAA East First Round. Porter swept the triple jump titles at the MVC Indoor and Outdoor Championships and earned all-conference honors in the 60m hurdles (indoor) and 100m hurdles (outdoor). She ranks second in program history in the triple jump for both indoor and outdoor season, sixth in the 60m hurdles and sixth in the 100m hurdles.
 
Erin Reese | USATF Outdoor Championships | Hammer Throw
Sunday, July 9 | 7 p.m.
Reese, who was a three-time All-American at Indiana State and currently serves as a volunteer assistant coach for the Sycamore throwers, competes at the professional level for Velaasa. Her top mark of the season came at the Joe Walker Invitational in Oxford, Mississippi, where she recorded a career-best throw of 73.47m (241-00) that briefly ranked No. 1 in the world for the 2023 season. Reese is seeded seventh at the championships and comes into the event ranked in the top 30 in the world in the hammer throw.
 
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field and Cross Country teams, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter. Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from the both the App Store and the Google Play Store.