OXFORD, Miss. – Competing in its first of two straight meets at SEC venues, Indiana State track and field put on a show at the Joe Walker Invitational Friday and Saturday.
The Blue and White took home six event titles while also setting nine program top-10 marks over the course of the weekend.
Casey Hood Jr. cracked the NCAA top 20 this season in the 100m with a blistering 10.22, while the men's 4x100m relay team ran the fastest season-opening time in program history at 40.19. Also winning for the Sycamores at Ole Miss were the distance duo of
Ryan York (15:22.96) and
Emma Gresham (16:53.54) in the 5000m,
Rachel Mehringer (13.48) in the 100m hurdle and
Wyatt Puff (54.87m/180-0) in the discus.
Hood Jr. (100m),
Ray Brodie III (100m), Gresham (5000m), the men's 4x100m relay team,
Janiya Bowman (long jump),
Jahnel Bowman (triple jump),
Sloan Cox (shot put) and
Aliseonna Garnett (shot put and discus) all moved up the program top-10 charts during the Sycamores' stay at Prefontaine Stadium.
Event Winners
Top-Three Finishes
- Gnister Grant – 1500m (third, 4:40.88)
- Erica Barker – 5000m (second, 16:54.88)
- Rachel Mehringer, Janiya Bowman. Michelle McDonald, Angel Thomas – 4x100m relay (third, 45.69)
- Janiya Bowman, Jahnel Bowman, Kyarra DeGroote, Noelle Dilosa – 4x400m relay (second, 3:54.00)
- Brooklyn Pfaff – pole vault (third, 4.08m/13-4.5)
- Janiya Bowman – long jump (third, 6.05m/19-10.25, third in program history)
- Jahnel Bowman – triple jump (third, 12.32m/40-5, sixth in program history)
- Sloan Cox – shot put (third, 17.88m/58-8, ninth in program history)
- Aliseonna Garnett – discus (second, 48.60m/159-5, tenth in program history)
- Emma Yoder – discus (third, 46.83m/153-7)
Other Notable Marks
Sprints/Hurdles
Casey Hood Jr.'s first 100m of the season certainly didn't disappoint, as the Second Team All-American from indoor season clocked a career-best 10.22 for the win. Hood Jr. climbed all the way to second in program history and into the top 20 nationally this season, while teammate
Ray Brodie III added a career-best 10.44 to move up to seventh in program history in the event. Prior to the 100m, Hood Jr. and Brodie teamed up with
Terrance O'Bannon and
Daunte Majors to win the 4x100m relay with a time of 40.19. The Sycamores' 4x100m relay time ranked seventh in program history and was the fastest season-opening 4x100 time in program history.
Rachel Mehringer continued her hurdles dominance with a time of 13.48, her fastest in the early stage of the 2025 outdoor season. Mehringer was more than three-tenths of a second faster than anyone in the field, and climbed into the top 30 nationally this season in the event. Indiana State also had three of the top 10 finishers in the 110m hurdles, with
Parker Doyle's career-best time of 14.39 leading the way in fifth.
David Carnell also added a career-best 14.42 to finish sixth, while
Collin Forrest came ninth with a time of 14.79. Carnell also pulled double-duty Saturday, as he made his 400m hurdles debut with a time of 55.76.
The men's 4x100m relay wasn't the only quartet to have success on the track Saturday, as the women's 4x100m and men's 4x400m relay teams both improved their times from the first meet of the season. Indiana State's women's 4x100m team of Mehringer,
Janiya Bowman,
Michelle McDonald and
Angel Thomas earned a third-place finish with a time of 45.69, just one-tenth of a second off the program top-10 charts. The Sycamores' men's 4x400m team of
Trent Jones,
Xavier Wills,
Deangelo Hughey and
Ivan Weaver ran a time of 3:13.22 which was faster than any indoor time run by a Sycamore 4x4 team this season. Indiana State's women's 4x400m relay team of
Janiya Bowman,
Jahnel Bowman,
Kyarra DeGroote and
Noelle Dilosa also earned a top-three finish with a time of 3:54.00.
Indiana State's weekend for the sprinters started with the 200m, as Majors and McDonald led the way in their outdoor season debuts. Majors ran a time of 21.49 to place 10th and was followed behind by career-best efforts from Weaver (21.57) and O'Bannon. McDonald ran a time of 24.72 to finish 13th on the women's side. Hughey also clocked a career-best 400m time of 49.26 Saturday, while Dilosa added a 400m hurdles time of 1:04.17.
Mid-Distance/Distance
Indiana State's distance crew made an instant impression in Oxford, as
Emma Gresham and
Erica Barker went 1-2 in the women's 5000m and were the only two athletes under 17 minutes in the field. Gresham led the way with a time of 16:53.54, moving up to seventh in program history in the event, while Barker finished right behind her with a time of 16:54.88.
Gresham wasn't the only Sycamore to win a 5000m run, though, as
Ryan York bookended the weekend with a first-place finish in the open section of the men's 5000m. Running the 5k for the first time since an early-season meet at Eastern Illinois in 2024, York clocked a time of 15:22.96.
Ryan Handy competed in the invite section of the 5000m and ran a time of 15:30.83.
The Sycamores also got positive results beyond just the 5000m sweeps.
Xavier Wills (1:51.85),
Caden Emmert (1:52.71) and
Nick Burns (1:54.35) all ran outdoor career-times in the 800m, with Wills' time representing the fastest time he has run, indoor or outdoor.
Kamilla Gibson also earned a top-five finish for the Blue and White in the 3000m steeplechase, placing fourth in the event with a time of 11:16.72.
The Sycamores also picked up a top-three finish from
Gnister Grant in the open section of the 1500m, with the local product placing third with a time of 4:40.88.
Halle Miller led the way for the Sycamores in the invite section of the 1500m with a time of 4:41.60, while
Jason Dworak (3:47.46) and
Emerson Fayman (3:49.04) both posted top-10 finishes in the invite section of the men's 1500m. Fayman's time also represented a career best in the event.
Jumps
Indiana State featured a pair of horizontal jumpers who climbed up the program top-10 charts at the Joe Walker Invitational.
Janiya Bowman recorded a wind-legal career-best mark of 6.05m (19-10.25) to place third at the meet, moving up to third in program history in the event among wind-legal marks and fifth for all condition.
Aaliyah Thurman also reached the event finals and placed sixth with a top mark of 5.74m (18-10).
Jahnel Bowman also climbed the program ranks in her outdoor triple jump debut. Bowman's wind-legal mark of 12.32m (40-5) placed her third in the meet and sixth in program history in the event. Thurman added her second top-10 finish of the weekend with a mark of 11.67m (38-3.5) to place ninth. The Sycamores also had a strong showing in the men's long jump, as
Kilan Macklin placed fourth in his outdoor season debut with a mark of 726m (23-10).
Jake Ottersbach recorded his top wind-legal long jump mark since last season's meet at Ole Miss with a mark of 6.86m (22-6.25).
Indiana State also had a trio of pole vaulters place in the top 10 over the weekend.
Brooklyn Pfaff cleared 4.08m (13-4.5), her best clearance of the 2024-25 indoor or outdoor season and a top-50 mark in the nation this season, to place third on the women's side.
Will Staggs cleared 5.08m (16-10) in his outdoor season debut to place sixth on the men's side, while
Parker Speth cleared an outdoor career-best 4.93m (16-2) to place eighth.
Throws
Aliseonna Garnett had a banner weekend in the throws events to lead the way for a strong weekend from the Sycamore throwers. Garnett recorded program top-10 in both the shot put and discus, with her shot put mark of 15.34m (50-4) ranking eighth in program history and her discus mark of 48.60m (159-5) sitting 10th in the program ranks. Garnett earned a second-place finish in the discus and placed fifth in the shot put, while
Emma Yoder (46.83m/153-7) placed third in the discus.
Wyatt Puff also picked up an event win for the Blue and White in the discus with a season-best mark of 54.87m (180-0), moving into the top 50 nationally this season.
Noah Bolt added a top-five finish in the discus for the Trees with a mark of 52.36m (171-09), while also placing fifth in the hammer throw with a mark of 60.54m (198-7).
Olivia Marshall (49.44m/162-2) and Garnett (158-3) both added personal-best marks on the women's side in the hammer throw.
Sloan Cox moved up the program ranks in the shot put in just his second outdoor meet as a Sycamore, earning a third-place finish with a mark of 17.88m (58-8). Cox moved up to ninth in program history and into the top 50 nationally this season in the event, while
Wyatt Puff placed fifth in the meet with a mark of 17.62m (57-9.75).
Up Next
Indiana State continues its southern swing at the Crimson Tide Invitational April 11-12 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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