TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field takes part in a pair of meets over a three-day span starting Thursday, as the Sycamores gear up for the Drake Relays and Clark Wood Invitational.
Thursday's action from the Drake Relays starts at 6:10 p.m., with Friday's first events getting underway at 1:05 p.m. and Saturday's action starting at 1:20 p.m. Friday's first events at the Clark Wood Invitational in Louisville will start at 10 a.m., with Saturday's first events taking place at 9 a.m.
| 2025 Clark Wood Invitational |
| Date |
Friday, April 25 | 10 a.m. // Saturday. April 26 | 9 a.m. |
| Location // Venue |
Louisville, Ky. // Owsley B. Frazier Cardinal Park |
| Meet Info |
Meet Info // Meet Schedule |
| Live Stats |
Live Results |
| Tickets |
$10 Admission Collected At The Gate - $5 Parking Per Vehicle |
| Social Media |
@IndStXCTF // @IndStAthletics |
Who's In The Field?
The Drake Relays is one of the premier meets in track and field, and features more than 100 teams competing, mostly from Midwest states. Among the notable teams with entries are Baylor, Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. MVC teams in the field include Bradley, Drake, UIC, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois, in addition to the Sycamores.
The Division I schools joining Indiana State and meet host Louisville in the Clark Wood Invitational field are Bellarmine, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Dayton, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Florida Atlantic, IU Indy, Kent State, Marshall, Miami (Ohio), Morehead State, Murray State, North Carolina, Northern Kentucky, Notre Dame, Oakland, Ohio, Ohio State, Purdue Fort Wayne, SIU Edwardsville, Southeast Missouri State, Southern Indiana, Tennessee, Valparaiso, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wofford and Xavier
Last Time Out
Indiana State's first meet on the newly-dedicated John McNichols Memorial Track at the Gibson Track and Field Complex ended the same way many meets in Terre Haute have, as the Sycamores placed first on both the men's and women's side at the Gibson Invitational.
In a weekend which forever immortalized McNichols, who led the Sycamores to 38 MVC Championships in his illustrious head coaching career, while also honoring past championship teams in program history, the Blue and White continued to stake their claim as one of the premier mid-major programs in the nation. Indiana State racked up 163 points on the men's side and 131.5 on the women's side. The Sycamores were 53 points ahead of the second-place men's team, Southern Illinois, while the Sycamore women finished 46 points ahead of SIU.
Wyatt Puff broke Indiana State's outdoor program record in the shot put on the final day of competition, while
Will Staggs and
Casey Hood Jr. broke meet records in the pole vault and 200m, respectively. Indiana State recorded 10 event wins over the weekend, while seven program top-10 marks were set over the course of the weekend.
Weekly Winner
Indiana State thrower
Wyatt Puff was tabbed the MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week Tuesday afternoon after a season-best and record-breaking performance at the Gibson Invitational.
Puff broke the program shot put record which had stood for nearly 20 years, marking the second straight week that a Sycamore thrower broke a school record. His mark of 18.47m (60-7.25) on his third attempt won him the invite section of the shot put at the Gibson Invitational, beating a pair of nationally-ranked athletes from Northern Iowa, and took down the previous program record of 18.40m (60-4.5) which was originally set in 2006 and matched in 2023. In addition, he also recorded a season-best mark of 55.06m (180-7) in the invite section of the discus, placing second behind only teammate
Noah Bolt.
Puff's shot put mark is second in the MVC, sixth in the Great Lakes Region, 18th in NCAA East Qualifying and 41st nationally. His mark in the discus is third in the MVC, sixth in the Great Lakes Region, 25th in NCAA East Qualifying and 69th nationally. Puff is a three-time NCAA East First Rounds qualifier (2021, 2022, 2023)
The weekly honor is second of Puff's career, having previously been named MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week once during the 2023 outdoor season. Indiana State athletes have earned four outdoor MVC weekly honors, after earning 14 MVC weekly honors during the 2024-25 indoor campaign.
Record-Breaking Weekend
Indiana State athletes broke a pair of meet records at the Gibson Invitational, with
Will Staggs and
Casey Hood Jr. both continuing to write their names all over the program charts. Staggs cleared an outdoor season-best 5.48m (17-11.75) to break his own meet record from last season. Hood Jr. clocked a wind-legal 200m time of 20.88, the first 200m time under 21 seconds in meet history.
Not included among the six meet records set by competing athletes at the meet was
Wyatt Puff's outdoor school record in the shot put. Puff's mark of 18.47m (60-7.25) broke a program record which had stood since 2006. Puff's shot put record was one of six Sycamore program top-10 marks set over the course of the weekend.
Back Atop The Valley
Indiana State has been the top-ranked team in the Missouri Valley Conference on the men's and women's side in every USTFCCCA Conference Ratings Index this season. The Sycamores currently own 11 conference-leading marks, accounting for more than 25 percent of the conference-leading marks this season in the MVC.
Indiana State's first-place rankings in the MVC come from:
The athletes currently owning first-place marks showcase the depth across the Sycamores' roster. Of the Indiana State athletes currently in top rankings in the MVC, only three – Staggs, Pfaff and Bolt – are out of eligibility after this season.
Trees In The National Ranks
Indiana State is seeking its fourth straight season with double-digit entries in the NCAA East First Round, and the Sycamores are currently on pace to accomplish the feat.
Entering the weekend, Indiana State has 13 entries currently in a qualifying spot, with multiple additional entries near the current cutline. The Sycamores currently in qualifying positions for the NCAA East First Round are:
- Casey Hood Jr. – 100m (28th, 10.22)
- Janiya Bowman – 100m (46th, 11.51), long jump (39th, 6.05m/19-10.25)
- Rachel Mehringer – 100m hurdles (32nd, 13.48)
- Will Staggs – pole vault (sixth, 5.48m/17-11.75)
- Brooklyn Pfaff – pole vault (32nd, 4.08m/13-4.5)
- Wyatt Puff – shot put (18th, 18.47m/60-7.25), discus (25th, 55.06m/180-8)
- Sloan Cox – shot put (33rd, 17.97m/58-11.5)
- Aliseonna Garnett – shot put (36th, 15.34m/50-4)
- Noah Bolt – discus (23rd, 56.11m/184-1), hammer throw (48th, 61.28m/201-0)
- Lillian Gibbs – javelin (33rd, 47.07m/154-5)
Doing It All
Indiana State took part in the heptathlon and decathlon for the first time this season, with all three Sycamore decathletes placing in the top 10 and both heptathletes recording career-best totals.
Jake Ottersbach had the top finish among the Indiana State decathletes with a total of 6399 points to place fifth. Ottersbach had career-best performances in the 100m (10.98), long jump (7.10m/23-3.5), pole vault (4.05m/13-3.5) and javelin (43.67m/143-3) while also having the top high jump clearance in the field (1.88m/6-2).
Zenon Rule placed ninth with a total of 6169 points, more than 400 points better than his previous best. Rule had career bests in the long jump (6.50m/21-4), high jump (1.73m/5-8), 110m hurdles (15.34) and discus (31.70m/104-0) while clearing 4.35m (14-3.25) in the pole vault.
Ty Newsom finished with 6105 points to place 10th. Newsom's career-best total was aided by career-best marks in the 100m (11.04), 400m (51.15), 110m hurdles (16.10), discus (31.61m/103-8) and 1500m (5:05.97).
Kathryn Ison placed 12th in the heptathlon in her event debut, leading the Sycamore contingent with 4355 points. Ison had career-best marks of 14.79 in the 100m hurdles, 9.54m (31-3.75) in the shot put, 26.73 in the 200m and 28.23m (92-7) in the javelin.
Chloe Rolen also had a career-best total of 4326 to earn a top-half finish. Rolen had career-best marks in the 100m hurdles (15.21), long jump (5.22m/17-1.5) and javelin (27.36m/89-9).
Forever A Sycamore
The Indiana State University Athletic Department has announced the Gibson Track & Field Complex will now honor John McNichols by naming the John McNichols Memorial Track after the legendary Sycamore Hall of Famer. The Sycamores made the announcement in October following the passage of a vote by the Indiana State Board of Trustees.
McNichols, who led the Sycamore cross country/track and field programs from 1983 until his death in 2016, guided the Blue and White to 38 MVC Championship titles while winning 23 MVC Coach of the Year honors. He coached 15 NCAA Track National Champions, 112 All-Americans, 173 NCAA Track National Qualifiers and 13 NCAA Cross Country National qualifiers. He oversaw the design, development and construction of the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course which has hosted 13 NCAA Division I Cross Country National Championships.
The John McNichols Memorial Track was officially dedicated at the Gibson Invitational, which took place April 17-19.
Up Next
Indiana State travels east for the Jesse Owens Classic May 2-3 in Columbus, Ohio.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field and Cross Country teams, make sure to check out
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