TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Indiana State track and field continued its assault on the program top-10 charts Friday and Saturday, with 10 Sycamores moving up the program best lists at the Crimson Tide Invitational.
Competing against its deepest field to date, the Trees took home six first-place finishes, four of which came in field events. Indiana State got first-place finishes on the track from
Rachel Mehringer (100m hurdles) and
Ryan Handy (3000m steeplechase), while
Will Staggs (pole vault),
Justice Boston (triple jump),
Wyatt Puff (discus) and
Aliseonna Garnett (discus) picked up wins in field events for the Blue and White.
Indiana State's distance crew accounted for six of the Sycamores' 10 program top-10 marks set over the course of the meet, putting together its best outdoor meet of the season.
Ivan Weaver (400m),
Erica Barker (1500m), Handy (3000m steeplechase),
Alli Steffey (3000m steeplechase),
Brittney Burak (5000m),
Peyton Smith (5000m),
Emerson Fayman (5000m),
Justice Boston (triple jump),
Noah Bolt (hammer throw) and
Lillian Gibbs (javelin) all moved their way up the program top-10 lists.
In addition to the strong marks from the distance runners, Gibbs broke the school record in the javelin for the second time this season and numerous Indiana State athletes put themselves in a strong position to qualify for next month's NCAA East First Round.
Event Winners
Top-Three Finishes
Other Notable Marks
Sprints/Hurdles
Rachel Mehringer's dominance of the 100m hurdles continued in Tuscaloosa, clocking a time of 13.48 for the second straight week on her way to another first-place finish in the event.
David Carnell (14.45) and
Collin Forrest (14.54) both earned top-15 finishes in the 110m hurdles, while
Parker Doyle ran a career-best 400m hurdles time of 54.97.
The Sycamore men's 400m group also had their best showing of the 2025 outdoor season at Alabama, led by
Ivan Weaver with his career-best time of 47.42 to move up to seventh in program history in the event.
Trent Jones also went under 48 seconds in the 400 for the first time in his career with a 47.64, while
Deangelo Hughey also had his best time of his collegiate career at 48.60.
Casey Hood Jr.'s strong sophomore season carried on at the Crimson Tide Invitational, as he placed second in the 100m with a time of 10.26. Hood Jr. wasn't the only Sycamore in the top 10 in the event, with
Terrance O'Bannon clocking a 10.46 in his 100m season debut, while
Daunte Majors earned a top-15 finish with his time of 10.63. On the women's side,
Michelle McDonald ran a time of 11.98, the fastest wind-legal time by a Sycamore this season, to earn a top-15 finish.
Indiana State also had a season-best performance in the 200m from
Janiya Bowman, with her time of 24.12 being nearly a half-second faster than any Sycamore this season. Bowman placed in the top 15 on the women's side, while
Matthew Wray clocked a time of 21.58, the best wind-legal time of his career.
The Sycamores also put together strong performances in the 4x100m relay Saturday. O'Bannon, Majors,
Ray Brodie III and Hood Jr. placed second with a time of 40.25, while Mehringer, McDonald, Bowman and
Krystian Dilosa placed fifth with their time of 45.93.
Mid-Distance/Distance
Indiana State's distance crew had its best meet of the season, and one of its best in recent years, at the Crimson Tide Invitational, with six program top-10 marks set over the course of the Sycamores' two days in Tuscaloosa. Half of those program top-10 marks came in the two 5000m races, with
Brittney Burak (16:58.51) and
Peyton Smith (17:02.95) both moved up the program ranks on the women's side, while
Emerson Fayman clocked a career-best 14:26.16 on the men's side. Burak and Smith moved up to eighth and ninth in the 5000m program history, respectively, while Fayman's time ranked seventh in program history on the men's side.
The 3000m steeplechase was another source of major success for the Blue and White during their time in the south, with multiple program top 10 marks set in the event. Indiana State had three of the top four finishers in the men's steeplechase, with
Ryan Handy's event-winning time of 9:03.10 also ranking eighth in program history.
Ryan York (9:13.49) and
Cannen Wolf (9:19.84) clocked career-best times to place second and fourth, respectively, while
Alli Steffey ran a career-best time of 11:03.28 to move up to ninth in program history in the event.
Indiana State also had a strong showing in the women's 1500m, as
Erica Barker and
Emma Gresham both recorded top-10 finishes in a strong field. Barker's time of 4:26.65 moved her up to sixth in program history in the event, while Gresham's time of 4:28.80 was the second-fastest time of her career in the event.
Jumps
Indiana State picked up a pair of first-place finishes in the jumps events at the Crimson Tide Invitational, headlined by
Will Staggs' top-10 mark in the nation in the pole vault. Staggs cleared 5.45m (17-10.5), the second-best mark of his outdoor career, to take the win at Alabama and move up to fifth in the nation in the pole vault this season. Staggs wasn't the only notable in the pole vault, though, as
Parker Speth (4.85m/15-11) placed in the top 15 on the men's side, while
Brooklyn Pfaff (3.98m/13-0.75) and
Kennedy Merrell (3.73m/12-2.75) both placed in the top 10 on the women's side. Pfaff finished third, while Merrell recorded an outdoor season-best clearance to place ninth.
Justice Boston also had a big showing for the Blue and White, making a major statement in her outdoor triple jump debut. Boston recorded a top mark of 12.31m (40-4.75) to place first in the event, and also added a wind-legal mark of 12.11m (39-8.75) in Tuscaloosa. Boston moved up to eighth in program history for all-conditions marks, while her wind-legal mark ranked ninth in program history.
Jaden Smith made his season debut on the men's side and finished with a top mark of 13.44m (44-1.25).
Kilan Macklin and
Piere Hill also registered top-15 finishes for the Blue and White in the long jump, with Macklin placing eighth with his top mark of 7.09m (23-3.25) and Hill finishing 11th with a top mark of 6.99m (22-11.25).
Aaliyah Thurman recorded a top mark of 5.31m (17-5.25) on the women's side. In the high jump,
Noah Gilmore and
Amare Draughn both cleared 1.95m (6-4.75) for the second time this season on the men's side, while
Ellie Irwin cleared 1.60m (5-3) on the women's side.
Throws
Lillian Gibbs broke her own school record in the javelin for the second time this season, with her top mark of 47.07m (154-5) also earning her a top-five finish in the meet and putting her atop the MVC rankings in the event. Gibbs' top three attempts Saturday were all better than her previous school record.
Noah Bolt recorded a personal-best effort in the hammer throw for the second time in the last three weeks, as his top mark of 61.28m (201-0) put him sixth in program history in the event. Bolt also recorded a mark of 54.08m (177-5) in the discus, competing in the invite section of both events.
Indiana State swept the top spots in the men's and women's discus, with
Wyatt Puff's top mark of 54.30m (178-2) giving him a first-place finish in the discus for the second straight week.
Aliseonna Garnett earned a first-place finish on the women's side with a mark of 46.75m (153-4) after moving into the top 10 in program history in the event the previous week, while
Emma Yoder (44.00m/144-4) also placed in the top 10 in the meet.
Garnett also added a top-10 finish for the Trees in the shot put, placing ninth with a top mark of 14.07m (46-2).
Olivia Marshall (13.86m/45-5.75) and
Niesha Anderson (13.69m/44-11) both placed in the top 15 in the event, with Anderson also recording a mark of 51.92m (170-4) in the invite section of the hammer throw. Puff had the top mark for the Trees in the men's shot put at 17.35m (56-11.25) to place 11th, while
Sloan Cox (16.95m/55-7.5) and Bolt (16.70m/54-9.5) also placed in the top 15.
Up Next
Indiana State plays host to the Gibson Invitational Thursday through Saturday at the Gibson Track and Field Complex. The three-day meet serves as Alumni Weekend for the Sycamores, and Indiana State will also dedicate the John McNichols Memorial Track at the Gibson Track and Field Complex prior to Saturday's first events.
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