CHICAGO – Indiana State entered the 2024 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a target on its back, and the Sycamores certainly delivered under pressure. The Trees swept the men's and women's indoor titles Monday at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Indoor Track and Field Center, marking the second time in the last three seasons that the Blue and White swept both indoor team titles.
 
Championship Monday saw four Sycamores earn individual event titles, as Casey Hood Jr. (60m), Kevin Krutsch (high jump), Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles) and Shomari Rogers-Walton (triple jump) all placed first in their events. 18 Sycamores earned all-conference honors on the final day, with Indiana State earning points in 15 of the 17 events contested on both the men's and women's side.
 
Indiana State finished with an indoor program record 183.5 points on the men's side, winning the title by 67 points over Illinois State. The Sycamores finished with 121 points on the women's side to defeat pre-championship favorite Murray State by eight. It is Indiana State's seventh men's indoor title and eighth women's indoor title in program history.
 
In addition to the team titles, Indiana State also picked up multiple specialty awards. Will Staggs earned the MVC Elite 17, which goes to the highest GPA among top-three finishers in any event. Staggs was also named the MVC Most Outstanding Men's Field Athlete for the season. Niesha Anderson earned MVC Most Outstanding Women's Field Athlete for the season, while Casey Hood Jr. and Shomari Rogers-Walton were named the MVC Men's Freshman of the Year and MVC Men's Most Valuable Athlete of the meet, respectively.
 
Team Scores
MEN
1. Indiana State – 183.5
2. Illinois State – 116.5
3. Northern Iowa – 109
4. Drake – 68
5. Southern Illinois – 66.5
6. Bradley – 49
7. Belmont. – 37.5
8. Valparaiso – 21
9. UIC – 8
10. Evansville – 2
 
WOMEN
1. Indiana State – 121
2. Murray State – 113
3. Illinois State – 94
4. Belmont – 85
5. Bradley – 69
6. Northern Iowa – 55
7. Southern Illinois – 54
8. Drake – 48
9. Missouri State – 16
10. Evansville – 6
11. Valparaiso – 1
 
Monday MVC Champions

• Casey Hood Jr. – 60m (6.65)
• Rachel Mehringer – 60m hurdles (8.42)
• Kevin Krutsch – high jump (2.09m/6-10.25)
• Shomari Rogers-Walton – triple jump (14.75m/48-04.75)

 
Monday All-Conference

• Terrance O'Bannon – 60m (second, 6.66)
• Iyanla Hunter – 400m (second, 54.94)
• Shanisa Stinson – 60m hurdles (second, 8.51)
• Jaden Smith – triple jump (second, 14.57m/47-09.75)
• Dominique Wood – triple jump (second, 11.84m/38-10.25)
• Casey Hood Jr. – 200m (third, 21.25)
• Janiya Bowman – 200m (third, 24.02)
• Tahj Johnson – 400m (third, 47.96)
• Napoleon Hernandez – 800m (third, 1:51.02)
• Quincy Armstrong – 60m hurdles (third, 8.07)
• Alysha Bradford, Riley Tuerff, Janiya Bowman, Iyanla Hunter – 4x400m relay (third, 3:47.33)
• Lawrence Mitchell – high jump (third, 2.02m/6-07.50)
• Brett Norton – shot put (third, 17.89m/58-08.50)
• Mitch Conard – heptathlon (third, 5168)

 
Monday Scorers for the Sycamores

• Tahj Johnson, Napoleon Hernandez, Trent Jones, Cameron Stevens – 4x400m relay (fourth, 3:18.11)
• Ali Ilupeju – triple jump (fourth, 13.92m/45-08.00)
• Wyatt Puff – shot put (fourth, 17.82m/58-05.75)
• Hannah Redlin – shot put (fourth, 14.27m/46-10.00)
• Isiah Thomas – 60m (fifth, 6.85)
• Daunte Majors – 200m (fifth, 21.62), 60m (sixth, 6.86)
• Grace Quinlan – high jump (fifth, 1.68m/5-06.00)
• Elias Foor – shot put (fifth, 17.77m/58-03.75)
• Niesha Anderson – shot put (fifth, 14.15m/46-05.25)
• Jake Ottersbach – heptathlon (fifth, 4671)
• Michelle McDonald – 200m (sixth, 24.58), 60m (seventh, 7.68)
• Caden Emmert – 800m (sixth, 1:53.96)
• Kyrsten Fehribach – high jump (sixth, 1.65m/5-05.00)
• Collin Forrest – 60m hurdles (seventh, 8.28)
• Ethan Breen – mile (eighth, 4:16.18)
• Erica Barker – 3000m (eighth, 9:46.91)

 
Sunday MVC Champions

• Will Staggs – pole vault (5.45m/17-10.50)
• Shomari Rogers-Walton – long jump (7.67m/25-02.00)
• Niesha Anderson – weight throw (21.40m/70-02.50)

 
Sunday All-Conference

• Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff – pole vault (second, 3.85m/12-07.50)
• Claire Pittman – long jump (second, 5.87m/19-03.25)
• Mitch Conard – long jump (third, 7.31m/23-11.75)
• Elias Foor – weight throw (third, 19.67m/64-06.50)
• Grace Quinlan – pentathlon (third, 3565)

 
Sunday Scorers for the Sycamores

• Jackson Krieg, Trent Jones, Ethan Breen, Jason Dworak – distance medley relay (fourth, 10:06.83)
• Selene Weaver – pole vault (fourth, 3.85m/12-07.50)
• Ali Ilupeju – long jump (fourth, 7.27m/23-10.25)
• Noah Bolt – weight throw (fourth, 19.64m/64-05.25)
• Dan O'Laughlin – pole vault (fifth, 4.85m/15-11.00)
• Erica Barker – 5000m (sixth, 17:17.92)
• Kyra Young, Alysha Bradford, Halle Miller, Morgan Dyer – distance medley relay (sixth, 12:09.08)
• Parker Speth – pole vault (sixth, 4.75m/15-07.00)
• Landis Brandon – pole vault (sixth, 3.75m/12-03.50)
• Abby Balllengee – pole vault (seventh, 3.75m/12-03.50)
• Dominique Wood – long jump (seventh, 5.60m/18-04.50)
• Brett Norton – weight throw (seventh, 19.23m/63-01.25)
• Aliseonna Garnett – weight throw (seventh, 16.35m/53-07.75)
• Kennedy Merrell – pole vault (eighth, 3.65m/11-11.75)
• Ryan Golliher – weight throw (eighth, 18.38m/60-03.75)

 
DAY ONE (SUNDAY) RECAP
 
Sprints/Hurdles
Championship Monday was a banner day for the Sycamore sprints and hurdles group, featuring a pair of conference champions to go along with all-conference performers in eight different events. Casey Hood Jr. led a quartet of Sycamores in the men's 60m with a time of 6.65 to narrowly beat out teammate Terrance O'Bannon (6.66) for the title. Hood Jr. also picked up all-conference honors in the 200m (21.25), while Daunte Majors scored in both the 60m (6.86) and 200m (21.62). Isiah Thomas rounded out Indiana State's stacked 60m group with a time of 6.85 to place fifth.
 
The women's 60m hurdles was a big event for the Sycamores, who went 1-2 atop the podium. Rachel Mehringer went wire-to-wire this season as the top-ranked athlete in the event and ran a time of 8.42, while Shanisa Stinson ran a PR for the second straight day of 8.51. Also earning all-conference honors in the hurdles was Quincy Armstrong on the men's side, as his time of 8.07 placed him third in the field, while Collin Forrest (8.23) added a seventh-place finish.
 
Indiana State also had all-conference honorees in both the men's and women's 400m. Iyanla Hunter ran a career-best 54.94 on the women's side to finish runner-up, while Tahj Johnson clocked a season-best 47.96 to place third on the men's side. Janiya Bowman closed her strong indoor season with an all-conference nod in the 200m, her career-best time of 24.02 placing her third. Michelle McDonald was the only Sycamore women's sprinter to score in multiple individual events, picking up points for the Trees in both the 60m (7.68) and 200m (24.58).
 
Indiana State's 4x400m relay teams both picked up points on the final day. The Sycamores' team of Alysha Bradford, Riley Tuerff, Bowman and Hunter earned all-conference honors on the women's side with a time of 3:47.33, while the men's team of Johnson, Napoleon Hernandez, Trent Jones and Cameron Stevens placed fourth with a time of 3:18.11. Both relay times were season-bests.
 
Distance
Indiana State earned points in four distance events Monday, including an all-conference performance from Napoleon Hernandez in the 800m. Hernandez (1:51.02) and Caden Emmert (1:53.96) both had career-best times in the event to place third and sixth, while Ethan Breen (4:16.18) picked up an eighth-place finish in the mile.
 
Erica Barker picked up another point for the Blue and White in the 3000m, a day after scoring for the Sycamores in the 5000m. Barker ran a time of 8:46.91 to place eighth in the event, while Jason Dworak (8:29.85) was the top finisher for the Trees in the men's 3000m.
 
Jumps
Shomari Rogers-Walton and Kevin Krutsch both earned individual titles on Championship Monday, leading the way for a strong performance from the jumps group. Rogers-Walton completed his sweep of the horizontal jumps events with a first-place finish in the triple jump (14.75m/48-04.75), while Jaden Smith was right behind him in second (14.57m/47-09.75) and Ali Ilupeju (13.92m/45-08.00) placed fourth.
 
Krutsch cleared a season-best 2.09m (6-10.25) to win the high jump title, with Lawrence Mitchell also earning an all-conference finish after clearing 2.02m (6-07.50). On the women's side, Grace Quinlan placed in the top five after clearing 1.68m (5-06.00), while Kyrsten Fehribach cleared 1.65m (5-05.00) to finish sixth.
 
In addition to the 1-2 finish in the men's triple jump, Indiana State also had an all-conference honor in the women's triple jump. Dominique Wood recorded a season-best mark of 11.84m (38-10.25) to place second in the field.
 
Throws
Indiana State had five throwers finish in scoring position in the shot put on Championship Monday, led by Bree Norton's all-conference mark in third. Norton's mark came in at 17.89m (58-08.50), just ahead of teammates Wyatt Puff (17.82m/58-05.75) and Elias Foor (17.77m/58-03.75), who were fourth and fifth. Norton's mark was a season best, while Foor's was a career best.
 
The Sycamores also had a pair score in the women's shot put, as Hannah Redlin earned a fourth-place finish with a mark of 14.27m (46-10.00) to pace the Trees. Niesha Anderson finished fifth with a mark of 14.15m (46-05.25).
 
Multis
Mitch Conard picked up all-conference honors in the heptathlon with a strong close to the two-day event. Conard scored 5168 points in the event, using top-five finishes in both the 60m hurdles (8.43) and pole vault (4.00m/13-01.50) to jump into the podium places.
 
Jake Ottersbach also earned a top-five finish in the heptathlon, closing with 4671 points. Ottersbach placed in the top three of the 60m hurdles (8.37) on the final day to help secure his top-five finish.
 
Up Next
Will Staggs' season will continue at the 2024 NCAA Indoor National Championships March 8-9 in Boston.
 
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