ST. LOUIS – Indiana State will enter the 2024 outdoor track and field season once again with a target on its back. The Sycamores, fresh off sweeping the MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships, have been voted the preseason favorite on both the men's and women's side in the MVC Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll, as announced by the conference office.
 
The Sycamores were named unanimous favorites on the men's side, earning all 10 first-place votes and 100 points out of a possible 100 in the poll. Indiana State earned nine of the 12 first-place votes on the women's side and finished with 140 points out of a possible 144 Indiana State returns most of its top performers from last year's team which won the MVC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship and placed third on the women's side.
 
Three individual outdoor conference champions – Kevin Krutsch (high jump, 2.12m/6-11.50), Brett Norton (shot put, 18.40m/60-04.50), and Shomari Rogers-Walton (triple jump, 15.18m/49-09.75) – are back for the Indiana State men's team, while three-fourths of the star-studded men's 4x100m relay team (Daunte Majors, Terrance O'Bannon, Isiah Thomas) from a year ago also return. Rogers-Walton (long jump and triple jump), Krutsch (high jump), Casey Hood Jr. (60m) and Will Staggs (pole vault) all won individual titles at the MVC Indoor Championships, with Staggs also earning Second Team All-America honors at the 2024 NCAA Indoor National Championships.
 
Indiana State's sprints group only got deeper this season with the addition of 2024 MVC Indoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year Casey Hood Jr. (6.65 60m/21.25 200m), while the distance group returns scorers in both the 1500m (Ethan Breen – 3:58.71, Jackson Krieg – 3:58.74) and steeplechase (Logan Pietrzak – 9:18.69, Breen – 9:23.24). Breen (1500m, steeplechase) and Pietrzak (steeplechase, 5000m) both ranked in the top 10 in the conference in multiple distance events last season. The Sycamores also had four throwers reach the NCAA East First Round a season ago (Norton, Wyatt Puff, Noah Bolt, Elias Foor), with Puff (shot put, discus) and Bolt (discus, hammer throw) both qualifying for the regional round in multiple events.
 
Claire Pittman (long jump, 5.93m/19-05.50) returns for the Sycamores after winning an individual conference title last outdoor season, while the Trees also have a pair of indoor conference champions from this season in Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles) and Niesha Anderson (weight throw). Indiana State also features a pole vaulter with NCAA East First Round experience on the women's side in Selene Weaver (3.97m/13-00.25). Kamille Gaskin-Griffith and Grace Quinlan both cracked the program top-10 in the heptathlon a year ago, while Quinlan is also coming off a career-best indoor season in the high jump (1.77m/5-09.75). A strong core of distance runners led by Erica Barker (seventh in the 10,000m, eighth in the 5000m) returns for the Blue and White, with former two-time Division III National Championship qualifier Rachel Conhoff and freshman Emma Gresham (9:47.17 3000m in indoor season) adding to the Sycamores' depth.
 
Indiana State returns scorers in nearly every throws event from last year on the women's side, including all-conference performer Hannah Redlin in the discus (48.80m/160-01). Anderson (shot put, 14.78m/48-06.00) and Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff (javelin, 43.32m/142-01) are also back for the Sycamore throws group, while Janiya Bowman (200m, 24.02) and Iyanla Hunter (400m, 54.94) are coming off career-best outings at the MVC Indoor Championships in the sprints events.
 
The Sycamores open their 2024 outdoor track and field season Friday and Saturday at the Ole Miss Classic. Indiana State will play host to the 2024 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, presented by the Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau, May 10-12 at the Gibson Track and Field Complex.
 
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.