BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana State track and field put together a strong showing for the third straight meet at the Indiana Invitational, picking up seven first-place finishes over the course of the weekend at Gladstein Fieldhouse.
The Sycamores nearly swept the first-place finishes in the men's field events, as
Will Staggs (pole vault),
Shomari Rogers-Walton (long jump),
Wyatt Puff (shot put) and
Noah Bolt (weight throw) all took top spots in their respective events, while
Kevin Krutsch was second in the high jump.
Casey Hood Jr. (60m) was the lone Sycamore winner on the track, with
Kyrsten Fehribach (high jump) and
Dominique Wood (triple jump) picking up first-place finishes in women's field events.
In addition to the top spots at the meet, the Sycamores also had multiple performances that cracked the program top-10 rankings.
Niesha Anderson continued her stellar start to the 2023-24 season by moving into the top three in program history in the weight throw, while
Napoleon Hernandez moved up to 10th in program history in the 600m.
Event Winners
Top-Three Finishes
- Rachel Mehringer – 60m hurdles (second, 8.59)
- Napoleon Hernandez – 600m (second, 1:20.54, #10 in program history)
- Kevin Krutsch – high jump (second, 2.04m/6-08.25)
- Grace Quinlan – high jump (second, 1.69m/5-06.50)
- Niesha Anderson – shot put (second, 14.25m/46-09.00), weight throw (third, 21.36m/70-01.00, #3 in program history and #13 in Division I this season)
- Collette Wolfe – 60m (third, 7.80, ran 7.76 in prelims)
- Ian Gadberry – 5000m (third, 15:39.60)
- Hannah Redlin – shot put (third, 13.99m/45-10.75)
- Brett Norton – weight throw (third, 19.04m/62-05.75)
- Jake Ottersbach – heptathlon (third, 4470)
- Chloe Rolen – pentathlon (third, 2970)
Sprints/Hurdles
Indiana State's sprints group had another impressive showing, with
Casey Hood Jr.'s win in the 60m being the headliner. Hood Jr. ran a season-best time of 6.67 in the prelims, which ranks in the top 30 nationally, and followed with a time of 6.70 in the finals.
Terrance O'Bannon (6.79) and
Isiah Thomas (6.91) both advanced to the finals but did not compete, while
Collette Wolfe also earned a third-place finish in the women's 60m with a time of 7.80.
Tahj Johnson also had a strong showing in his first 200m race of the season, clocking a time of 21.97 to place fourth.
Trent Jones ran a time of 22.35 to also finish in the top 10, while
Kamille Gaskin-Griffith had the top result in the women's 200m for the Sycamores with a time of 25.59.
In the hurdles,
Rachel Mehringer's outstanding debut campaign rolled on with another top-three finish, as she placed second in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.59.
Shanisa Stinson also qualified for finals and placed sixth with a time of 8.88, while
Collin Forrest (8.35) and
Parker Doyle (8.36) both reached the finals of the men's 60m hurdles.
Indiana State's 4x400m relay teams competed in their toughest field to date as well, with
Alysha Bradford,
Riley Tuerff,
Janiya Bowman and
Iyanla Hunter claiming a fourth-place finish in the women's 4x400m relay with a time of 3:56.23. On the men's side, Jones, Johnson,
Xavier Wills and
Cameron Stevens teamed up to place sixth with a time of 3:25.94.
Distance
Led by
Napoleon Hernandez's career-best performance in the 600m, Indiana State's mid-distance and distance runners continued their upward trajectory. Hernandez moved into 10th in program history in the event with his time of 1:20.54, which placed him second at the meet.
Also securing a top-three finish over the weekend was
Ian Gadberry, whose 5000m time of 15:39.60 represented a career best.
Jackson Krieg had a strong showing in the 3000m with a time of 8:27.91, while
Jason Dworak paced the Sycamores in the mile with a career-best time of 4:12.12. On the women's side,
Emma Gresham led the way in the mile with a time of 5:06.96, while
Morgan Dyer clocked a time of 10:25.82 in the 3000m.
Hadley Gradolf earned a top-five finish in the 5000m with a time of 18:26.29.
All four 800m runners set personal-best times for the Sycamores, as
Alli Steffey led the way on the women's side with a time of 2:23.42 and
Caden Emmert paced the men's side with a time of 1:56.40.
The Sycamores' other first-place finish among the distance and mid-distance events came in the men's 800m, with
Nick Burns running a time of 1:57.08 to take home the top spot. On the women's side,
Halle Miller earned a second-place finish in the 800m with a time of 2:21.79.
Indiana State also had a strong showing in the 3000m, as
Logan Pietrzak (8:34.31) finished second on the men's side and
Erica Barker (10:20.75) finished third on the women's side.
Jumps/Pole Vault
More than half of Indiana State's event wins over the weekend came from the jumps group, which totaled four event wins in Bloomington.
Will Staggs, ever a constant at the top of the pole vault standings, continued his strong start to the season by clearing 5.25m (17-02.75), while
Shomari Rogers-Walton won the men's long jump in his 2023-24 event debut with a top mark of 7.37m (24-02.25).
Not to be outdone, a pair of women's jumpers also earned top marks at the Indiana Invitational.
Kyrsten Fehribach cleared a career-best 1.69m (5-06.50) to win the high jump, while
Dominique Wood recorded a season-best mark of 11.33m (37-02.25) to place first in the triple jump.
The high jump was a strong event for the Sycamores, as
Grace Quinlan matched Fehribach's mark of 1.69 on the women's side to place second.
Kevin Krutsch cleared a season-best 2.04m (6-08.25) to place second on the men's side.
In addition to Staggs' solid showing in the men's pole vault,
Parker Speth also earned a top-five finish after clearing 4.70m (15-05.00).
Selene Weaver and
Kennedy Merrell both cleared 3.67m (12-00.50) in the women's pole vault to place fifth and sixth, with Merrell's mark representing a career best.
Janiya Bowman had the top result for the Trees in the women's long jump with a mark of 5.59m (18-04.25), while
Piere Hill had a career-best mark of 6.56m (21-06.25) on the men's side to go alongside Rogers-Walton's event win.
Throws
Indiana State's throwers have had a banner season, and this weekend's Indiana Invitational was no different. The Sycamores swept the top spots in both men's throws events, while
Niesha Anderson continued to climb the Division I charts in the weight throw.
Wyatt Puff made it 3-for-3 in terms of first-place finishes in the shot put this season with a top mark of 17.62m (57-09.75), and ended up with the four best throws in the entire field.
Elias Foor also earned a top-five finish in the event with a mark of 16.31m (53-06.25). Anderson placed second in the women's shot put with a mark of 14.25m (46-09.00), the top mark of any collegiate athlete in the field, while teammate
Hannah Redlin was third with a mark of 13.99m (45-10.75).
Anderson continued to shine in the weight throw, moving up to third in program history and 13th in the 2023-24 NCAA Division I rankings in the event with a mark of 21.36m (70-01.00) Anderson had the top finish of any collegiate athlete in the field. On the men's side,
Noah Bolt continued his strong season with another first-place finish, his top attempt coming in at 19.75m (64-09.75).
Brett Norton also cracked the top three in the event, with his best attempt measuring 19.04m (63-03.50).
Multis
Indiana State competed in the combined events for the first time this season in Bloomington, with multiple Sycamore entries in both the heptathlon and pentathlon.
Jake Ottersbach used first-place finishes in the 60m hurdles (8.52) and high jump (1.83m/6-00.00) to help secure a third-place heptathlon finish with 4470 points. Indiana State athletes ended up winning four of the seven heptathlon events, as
Mitch Conard also won the 60m (7.08) and long jump (6.96m/22-10.00).
Competing back in her hometown,
Chloe Rolen earned a third-place finish in the pentathlon with 2970 points, earning top-two finishes in the long jump (4.97m/16-03.75) and 800m (2:33.74).
Kayla Douglas placed in the top three in both the high jump (1.54m/5-00.50) and 60m hurdles (9.59) in her first pentathlon as a Sycamore.
Up Next
Indiana State competes at a Big Ten-hosted meet for the second straight weekend when it takes part in the Michigan Invitational January 26-27 in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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