TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field heads on the road for the first time this season Friday and Saturday, as the Sycamores make the short trek to Bloomington for the Indiana Invitational.
Friday's proceedings will kick off at 3 p.m., with Saturday's events starting at 9 a.m.
Who's In The Field?
Indiana State will compete in its deepest field to date. Joining the Sycamores in Bloomington over the weekend are Cincinnati, Dayton, Evansville, Indiana, Marshall, Memphis, Miami (Ohio) and Southern Illinois.
Last Time Out
Indiana State captured the Coughlan-Malloy Cup for the first time since 2017, defeating longtime rival Illinois State 178-118 in the annual dual meet inside the Indoor Track and Field Facility.
The Sycamores earned first-place finishes in 21 of the 28 events contested between the schools, winning the men's competition 92-56 and the women's competition 86-62. The 178 combined points, 92 points on the men's side and 86 points on the women's side were all the most for the Sycamores in the meet since the 2015 edition. The 60-point margin of victory was also the largest for either side since that 2015 edition, which Indiana State won 189-105.
In addition to claiming the cup win over their Missouri Valley Conference rival, the Sycamores set four meet records and two facility records Friday.
Terrance O'Bannon and
Will Staggs found their way into the record books for the second straight meet in the 60m and pole vault, respectively, while
Grace Quinlan (high jump) and
Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles) also set meet records. O'Bannon and Mehringer also broke facility records in their respective events.
Record-Setting Sycamores
Just two meets into the season, Indiana State has already shattered multiple meet and facility records on its way to a strong start.
Terrance O'Bannon (60m),
Will Staggs (pole vault) and
Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles) set meet records in each of Indiana State's first two meets of the season, with the trio also setting Indiana State's facility records in their respective events.
In addition,
Luigi Rivas set the men's 60m hurdles facility record at the
John Gartland Invitational. Indiana State set six meet records at the season-opening
John Gartland Invitational and added four more meet records at the Coughlan-Malloy Cup.
Trees At The Top
Indiana State's season has gotten off to a stellar start, as evidenced by the current MVC Performance List. The Sycamores own a whopping 13 marks that rank first in the conference, by far the most in the MVC (no other school in the conference has more than five).
10 of Indiana State's conference-leading marks come on the men's side, including a clean sweep of the men's sprints with
Terrance O'Bannon (60m),
Casey Hood Jr. (200m) and
Tahj Johnson (400m). The Sycamores also own the top marks in every field event except the weight throw, where they still have three of the top five in the conference.
Not to be outdone, the Sycamores also own a trio of conference-leading marks on the women's side.
Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles),
Hannah Redlin (shot put) and
Niesha Anderson (weight throw) all top the MVC in their respective events, with each of their top performances this season coming in last week's Coughlan-Malloy Cup.
Sycamores On The National Stage
Indiana State's strong start to the season has seen multiple Sycamore athletes ranked among the nation's best in their respective events this season.
Will Staggs is the highest-ranked athlete this season and among the highest-ranked athletes in the conference, as he enters this week 10th in the nation in the pole vault.
Niesha Anderson also currently owns a top-16 mark in the weight throw, where she is currently 15th nationally.
Wyatt Puff (17th, shot put) and
Terrance O'Bannon (18th, 60m) are just outside the top-16 cutline.
Indiana State has 10 marks that rank in the top 50 nationally entering the weekend, the most in the MVC. The Sycamores also own a pair of No. 1 rankings in the Great Lakes region (
Terrance O'Bannon – 60m,
Will Staggs – pole vault) and have at least one athlete ranked in the top five in the region in 14 different events.
Up Next
Indiana State competes in its second consecutive meet at a Big Ten venue January 26-27 when it takes part in the Michigan Invitational.
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.
- #MarchOn -
