TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State won five different field events Saturday while also advancing a large majority of its track entries to finals, putting the Sycamores in first place after two days of the MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
 
Saturday's event wins for the Sycamores consisted of a sweep of the men's and women's high jump and long jump, along with Indiana State's first conference champion in the decathlon since 2001. Kyrsten Fehribach, Ali Ilupeju, Kevin Krutsch, Jake Ottersbach and Claire Pittman all claimed gold on the second day of competition, while five additional Sycamores claimed all-conference honors Saturday.
 
Entering Championship Sunday, the Sycamores have amassed 105.5 points on the men's side and 90 points on the women's side. Indiana State sits 35.5 points ahead of Illinois State on the men's side and 16 points ahead of Belmont on the women's side.
 
Team Scores
MEN
1. Indiana State – 105.5
2. Illinois State - 70
3. Northern Iowa - 56
4. Drake – 33
5. Belmont – 28.5
6. Southern Illinois - 24
7. Valparaiso – 23
8. Bradley - 8
 
WOMEN
1. Indiana State – 90
2. Belmont – 74
3. Murray State – 44.5
5. Illinois State – 34.5
6. Drake – 32
7. Missouri State – 17.
8. Southern Illinois – 12
9. Bradley - 7
 
Saturday MVC Champions

• Kevin Krutsch – high jump (2.05m/6-08.75)
• Kyrsten Fehribach – high jump (1.76m/5-09.25)
• Ali Ilupeju – long jump (7.64m/25-00.75)
• Claire Pittman – long jump (6.07m/19-11.00)
• Jake Ottersbach (decathlon/6471 points)

 
Saturday All-Conference

• Grace Quinlan – high jump (second, 1.76m/5-09.25)
• Shomari Rogers-Walton – long jump (second, 7.51m/24-07.75)
• Brett Norton – shot put (second, 18.34m/60-02.00)
• Elias Foor – shot put (third, 17.74m/58-02.50)
• Lawrence Mitchell – high jump (third, 2.00m/6-06.75)

 
Saturday Scorers For The Sycamores

• Logan Pietrzak – 3000m steeplechase (fourth, 9:00.90)
• Janiya Bowman – long jump (fourth, 5.89m/19-04.00)
• Hannah Redlin – shot put (fourth, 14.57m/47-09.75)
• Ryan Handy – 3000m steeplechase (fifth, 9:03.23)
• Grace Quinlan – heptathlon (fifth, 4865 points)
• Kamille Gaskin-Griffith – heptathlon (sixth, 4743 points)
• Rachel Conhoff – 3000m steeplechase (seventh, 10:54.51)
• Zenon Rule – decathlon (eighth, 5709 points)

 
Previous Day Recaps: Friday
 
Sprints/Hurdles
Indiana State continued its strong trend of sending most of its athletes through to finals, as nearly every Sycamore entry advanced out of prelims. Rachel Mehringer led the way for the Blue and White, setting an all-conditions program record in the 100m hurdles with a blistering time of 13.05. Mehringer will be joined in the finals by Shanisa Stinson and her season-best time of 13.82, while Collin Forrest ran a career-best 14.15 to advance to the 110m hurdles finals.
 
The Trees will have four in the men's 100m finals, with Terrance O'Bannon (10.47), Daunte Majors (10.55), Casey Hood Jr. (10.57) and Isiah Thomas (10.59) all qualifying from prelims. That quartet will be joined on the women's side by Angel Thomas (11.76) and Michelle McDonald (11.83), who both qualified for the 100m dash finals.
 
The Trees also advanced a pair to 400m finals, with Iyanla Hunter automatically qualifying by virtue of winning her heat with a season-best 54.99. Trent Jones came through for the Sycamores on the men's side with a career-best 48.38 to advance out of prelims.
 
Mid-Distance/Distance
Indiana State's distance crew continued their strong weekend, picking up points in both steeplechase races while qualifying both of its 800m entries to finals.
 
Logan Pietrzak (9:00.90) and Ryan Handy (9:03.23) both placed in the top five in the men's steeplechase with career-best times, with the Sycamore duo both cracking the top 10 in program history in the event. Ryan York narrowly missed out on a point-scoring position, but delivered a career-best time 0f 9:15.80 in the event. On the women's side, Rachel Conhoff bettered her career-best time by running 10:54.51 to place seventh, also climbing up the program top-10 charts.
 
Indiana State was a perfect 2-for-2 in qualifying its men's 800m entries to finals. Xavier Wills advanced by winning his heat with a career-best time of 1:52.71, while Napoleon Hernandez advanced with a time of 1:53.13.
 
Jumps
Indiana State swept both the high jump and long jump titles as part of a banner day in the field events. The Sycamores saved their best for last in the long jump, with Ali Ilupeju (7.64m/25-00.75) and Shomari Rogers-Walton (7.51m/24-07.75) both posting their top marks on their final attempts as part of a sweep of the top two spots. Claire Pittman's two best marks came in her last two attempts, with her winning mark being a career-best 6.07m (19-11.00) to claim gold for a second straight season. Janiya Bowman also added points for the Blue and White in the event, with her top mark of 5.89m (19-04.00) placing her fourth.
 
The Trees' high jump sweep was highlighted by outdoor career-bests from Kyrsten Fehribach and Grace Quinlan to take the top two spots. Both cleared 1.76m (5-09.25), with Fehribach placing first and Quinlan finishing second. On the men's side, Kevin Krutsch repeated as high jump champion by clearing 2.05m (6-08.75), while Lawrence Mitchell cleared 2.00m (6-06.75) to finish third.
 
Throws
All-conference showings from Elias Foor and Brett Norton in the shot put led the way for the Sycamores on the second day of competition. Norton notched a season-best mark of 18.34m (60-02.00) to place second, while Foor tossed a career-best 17.74m (58-02.50) to finish third.
 
Indiana State also picked up points in the women's shot put, as Hannah Redlin placed fourth with a mark of 14.57m (47-09.75). Aliseonna Garnett finished in the top 10 in the event with a career-best throw of 13.64m (44-09.00).
 
Multis
Indiana State claimed gold in the decathlon for the first time since 2001, as Jake Ottersbach's strong day one compiled with top-three placings in the 110m hurdles (14.87) and pole vault (3.80m/12-05.50) helped him finish atop the podium with 6471 points. Zenon Rule had the top pole vault mark of 4.30m (14-01.25) on his way to finishing in point-scoring position with 5709 points.
 
The Sycamores also picked up points in the heptathlon, with Quinlan leading the way for the Trees. Quinlan finished in the top 10 in all three events of the second day after a good opening day, finishing fifth overall with 4865 points. Kamille Gaskin-Griffith used top-five finishes on day two in both the long jump (5.36m/17-07.00) and javelin throw (31.47m/103-03) to finish sixth with 4743 points. Chloe Rolen also finished with a career-best 4277 points, her top result on day two coming in the 800m with a time of 2:34.83.
 
Up Next
Indiana State looks to keep the MVC hardware in Terre Haute, with the final day of the 2024 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships starting Sunday at 11:30 a.m.
 
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