ST. LOUIS – Two-time defending MVC Men's Indoor Track and Field Champion Indiana State was picked as the pre-championship favorite to deliver a third consecutive title to Terre Haute, as announced Friday by the conference office. The Sycamores were also picked to finish second on the women's side.
 
Indiana State received nine of the 10 first-place votes on the men's side, totaling 99 out of a possible 100 points in the poll, which was voted on by the league's head coaches. The Sycamores received four first-place votes and 133 points out of a possible 144 on the women's side.
 
Indiana State enters the conference championships with high expectations on the men's side. The Sycamores feature 22 marks that rank in the top five in the MVC, including Will Staggs' school-record mark of 5.52m (18-01.25) in the pole vault. Indiana State features a pair of top-two rankings in both the 60m (Terrance O'Bannon 6.63, Casey Hood Jr. 6.67) and the 200m (Hood Jr. 21.39, Daunte Majors 21.39), while Tahj Johnson (400m, 48.16), Luigi Rivas (60m hurdles, 7.95) and the DMR team (9:50.13) all rank in the top three in the conference. Logan Pietrzak (8:15.10 3000m, 14:15.42 5000m) and Jason Dworak (8:12.43 3000m, 14:35.66 5000m) lead a strong distance crew, while Shomari Rogers-Walton (7.67m/25-02.00 long jump, 15.11m/49-07.00 triple jump), Kevin Krustch (2.08m/6-09.75 high jump) and Staggs combine to top the conference in all the jumps events.
 
In addition to the conference leaders, Lawrence Mitchell (high jump, 2.02m/6-07.50), Mitch Conard (long jump, 7.25m/23-09.50) and Jaden Smith (triple jump, 14.69m/48-02.50) all rank in the top three of the MVC in their respective events. Indiana State's throws group is also deep, as Wyatt Puff leads the conference in the shot put (18.28m/59-11.75), while Noah Bolt (weight throw, 20.65m/67-09.00) and Brett Norton (shot put, 17.61m/57-09.50) also own top-five conference marks.
 
Indiana State's women's track and field team enters the conference championships off the heels of a strong indoor season. The Sycamores feature a trio of conference-leading marks, with Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles, 8.39), Grace Quinlan (high jump, 1.77m/5-09.75) and Niesha Anderson (weight throw, 21.36m/70-01.00) all topping the MVC in their respective events.
 
The Trees are deep in the 200m with a pair of top-five conference marks (Michelle McDonald 24.40, Janiya Bowman, 24.41), with Erica Barker leading the way for the Blue and White in the distance events (9:38.99 3000m, 16:49.68 5000m). Shanisa Stinson (8.57) gives the Sycamores a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the hurdles charts with Mehringer, while Kyrsten Fehribach (1.71m/5-07.25) give the Trees a second athlete in the top five of the high jump alongside Quinlan. Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff (3.90m/12-09.50) leads a pole vault group that features half of the MVC's top 10 in the event, while Claire Pittman (5.87m/19-03.25) and Bowman (5.81m/19-00.75) account for two of the conference's top three marks in the long jump. Hannah Redlin (shot put, 15.06m/49-05.00) and Anderson pace the Sycamores in the throws events, while Kamille Gaskin-Griffith (3368) cracked the top 10 in program history in the pentathlon this season.
 
The Sycamores will look to bring hardware back to Terre Haute when they compete in the upcoming MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships, slated for Sunday and Monday in Chicago.
 
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