TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field takes part in its second meet of the outdoor season Friday and Saturday when the Sycamores compete in the EIU Big Blue Classic.
Friday's events from O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois, kick off at 3 p.m., with Saturday's proceedings starting at noon. Indiana State will also have a contingent at the WashU Distance Carnival in St. Louis Friday.
Who's In The Field?
Joining Indiana State in this weekend's field are Detroit Mercy, Eastern Illinois and Harris Stowe State.
Last Time Out
Led by
Will Staggs' outdoor program record mark in the pole vault, Indiana State picked up three first-place finishes Friday and Saturday at the Ole Miss Classic. The Sycamores also set four program top-10 marks over the course of the weekend at the Ole Miss Track and Field Complex.
Elias Foor was responsible for half of the program top-10 marks set at the opening meet of the 2024 outdoor season, recording career-best efforts in both the hammer throw (61.72m/202-06) and discus (53.77m/176-05).
Lillian Gibbs climbed into the top five in program history in the javelin (42.30m/138-09) in her collegiate debut, while Staggs (5.36m/17-07.00) broke Indiana State's outdoor pole vault record which had stood for 30 years.
As a team, Indiana State collected 25 top-five finishes against a field consisting of multiple programs that finished the indoor season in the top 25 nationally. Of those results, 16 were top-three finishes.
Last Time Out
Indiana State had a standout showing in its season-opening meet, racking up 25 top-five finishes at the Ole Miss Classic. Every event group that had multiple entries for the Sycamores had multiple top-five finishes on both the men's and women's side.
Indiana State's impressive weekend came against a strong group of competition. Included in last weekend's field were multiple teams that earned top-25 finishes at the NCAA Indoor National Championships (Virginia Tech, Ole Miss), the Division II Men's Indoor National Champion and Women's Indoor National Runner-Up (Pittsburg State), and multiple indoor conference champions (Arkansas State, Southeast Missouri State).
Sycamores In The Region Rankings
The USTFCCCA's first outdoor track and field regional and national rankings were released Monday, with Indiana State checking in at No. 6 in the Great Lakes Region on both the men's and women's side. Indiana State ranks ahead of the likes of Michigan State, Wisconsin and Notre Dame on both the men's and women's side, with the Sycamore women also ranking ahead of Purdue on the women's side.
Indiana State is the only program in the MVC to have both its men's and women's teams ranked in the top 10 in its respective region. The Sycamores also opened the outdoor national rankings at No. 84 on the men's side, the highest national ranking of any team in the MVC and a 48-spot improvement from the Sycamores' highest 2023 outdoor national ranking.
Trees In The National Charts
With one meet in the books, Indiana State features eight men's marks and three women's marks that currently sit in the top 48 of NCAA East Region qualifying.
Elias Foor is the lone Sycamore to achieve top-48 marks in multiple events, having done so in both the discus and hammer throw.
Indiana State's current marks that are in NCAA East Region qualifying spots are:
- Will Staggs – pole vault (5.36m/17-07.00), fourth in NCAA East qualifying, seventh nationally
- Logan Pietrzak – 3000m steeplechase (9:17.55), ninth in NCAA East qualifying, 23rd nationally
- Brett Norton – shot put (17.57m/57-07.50), 18th in NCAA East qualifying, 39th nationally
- Elias Foor – hammer throw (61.72m/202-06), 23rd in NCAA East qualifying, 50th nationally
- Jaden Smith – triple jump (14.68m/48-02.00), 27th in NCAA East qualifying, 58th nationally
- Elias Foor – discus (53.77m/176-05), 28th in NCAA East qualifying, 49th nationally
- Kyrsten Fehribach – high jump (1.70m/5-07.00), 29th in NCAA East qualifying, 49th nationally
- Ryan York – 3000m steeplechase (9:38.08), 30th in NCAA East qualifying, 57th nationally
- Lawrence Mitchell – high jump (2.04m/6-08.25), 42nd in NCAA East qualifying, 69th nationally
- Niesha Anderson – shot put (14.49m/47-06.50), 44th in NCAA East qualifying, 87th nationally
- Lillian Gibbs – javelin (42.30m/138-09), 48th in NCAA East qualifying, 108th nationally
Preseason Pressure
Indiana State entered the 2024 season with a target on its back, a familiar feeling for the Sycamores. After sweeping the MVC Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships for the second time in a three-year span, the Sycamores were tabbed the outdoor preseason conference favorites by the head coaches in the MVC.
Indiana State was picked the unanimous preseason favorite on the men's side, with the Sycamores also earning nine of the 12 first-place votes on the women's side.
Up Next
Indiana State takes part in the Tennessee Invitational April 5-6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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