TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Longtime Missouri Valley Conference track and field rivals Indiana State and Illinois State clash Saturday afternoon when the Sycamores host the Redbirds in the 21st edition of the Coughlan-Malloy Cup.
Saturday's first events from the Indiana State Indoor Track and Field Facility start at 2 p.m.
Last Time Out
Indiana State's 2025-26 track and field season got off to a strong start, as the Sycamores recorded multiple high-ranking marks at the
John Gartland Invitational.
Indiana State claimed the top spot in 14 events over the course of the weekend, with meet and facility records being set by the Sycamores in both the men's and women's 60m. The Trees also had four program top-10 marks set over the course of the weekend, with a plethora of top-50 national rankings also being posted by the Blue and White.
Entering Saturday's meet, Indiana State features 14 top-50 national marks.
About The Meet
Longtime Missouri Valley Conference rivals Indiana State and Illinois State meet Saturday afternoon for the 21st Annual Coughlan-Malloy Cup. The dual meet event, which is named after longtime coaches John Coughlan (Illinois State) and Bill Malloy (Indiana State), has taken place every year since 2005, with the exception of the 2020-21 season.
Indiana State has a 14-6 advantage in the all-time series. The Sycamores have claimed the Coughlan-Malloy Cup in each of the last two seasons, winning in 2024 by a 178-118 margin and following with a 157-145 win last season in Normal. The 60-point margin in 2024 was also the largest in the dual meet since 2015.
Weekly Winners
Indiana State track and field earned three of the four Missouri Valley Conference Athlete of the Week honors following a strong start to the Sycamores' season at the
John Gartland Invitational.
Casey Hood Jr.,
Reneisha Andrews and
Aliseonna Garnett all earned conference accolades Wednesday morning for their performances in the season opener. Hood Jr. was tabbed the MVC Men's Track Athlete of the Week, Andrews earned MVC Women's Track Athlete of the Week and Garnett was named MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week.
Hood Jr. started his 2025-26 season with a bang, claiming first-place finishes in both the 60m and 200m with meet record times at the
John Gartland Invitational. The 2025 Second Team All-American clocked times of 6.71 in prelims and 6.63 in finals to win the 60m, breaking meet and facility records in the process, and he closed out his season debut with a 21.87 in the 200m, breaking the meet record by more than three-tenths of a second. Hood Jr.'s 60m time ranked third in the nation this season and is also the fastest in both the MVC and Great Lakes Region, while his conference-leading 200m time is also second in the Great Lakes Region and 13th nationally at the time of the meet.
Andrews made an instant impression in her Indiana State debut, breaking meet and facility records in the 60m at the
John Gartland Invitational. The Trinidad and Tobago native ran a 60m time of 7.51 in prelims and followed that with a 7.40 in finals, both of which broke the meet and facility records in the event. Andrews' 60m time ranked ninth in the nation after the opening weekend while also leading both the MVC and Great Lakes Region in the event.
Garnett recorded a pair of commanding first-place finishes in the throws events at the
John Gartland Invitational, posting conference leading and top-25 national marks in both the shot put and weight throw. Her weight throw mark of 18.77m (61-7) was a career best in the event, while her throw of 15.48m (50-9.5) was the second-best mark of her career in the event. Garnett leads the MVC and ranks in the top three of the Great Lakes region in both throws events this season, with both marks ranking in the top 25 nationally at the time of the meet.
The weekly honor is the seventh of Hood Jr.'s career, having earned MVC Track Athlete of the Week honors twice during the 2025 outdoor season and four times during the 2025 indoor season. Andrews and Garnett both earned their first career MVC weekly honor.
Chart-Topping Trees
Indiana State's strong season-opening performance at the
John Gartland Invitational was fueled by a pair of facility records and three meet records set by athletes donning the Blue and White.
Casey Hood Jr. started his season with a bang, setting meet and facility records in the 60m with a blistering 6.63. Hood Jr. also picked up an event win in the 200m and is the current MVC leader in both events.
Also setting meet and facility records in the 60m was
Reneisha Andrews, as the Arkansas State transfer clocked a 7.40 in her Indiana State debut. The Trinidad & Tobago native leads the MVC in the event, with teammate
Michelle McDonald right behind her in the conference charts.
Ivan Weaver claimed the final meet record of the opening weekend for the Blue and White, with his 400m time of 49.09 establishing a new
John Gartland Invitational top mark. Weaver also anchored Indiana State's winning 4x400m relay quartet to close out the opening day of action.
Leading The Way
Indiana State enters Saturday's Coughlan-Malloy Cup with eight first-place marks in the Missouri Valley Conference through the opening stages of the 2025-26 season. The Sycamores' top marks are spread out, with four coming on the track and four in field events, with the sprints, hurdles, jumps and throws groups all represented.
Indiana State's conference-leading marks come from:
Hood Jr. and Garnett both account for multiple conference-leading marks this season, with Northern Iowa's Carter Morton being the only other athlete in the conference to own the top mark in multiple events.
Sycamores In The National Spotlight
Indiana State has been a fixture among the Great Lakes Region's top teams, and the Sycamores are poised to be among the region's best once again thanks in part to a plethora of nationally-ranked athletes.
The Sycamores enter Saturday's dual meet with 14 top-50 national rankings, with all but one of those coming from athletes with remaining eligibility beyond the 2025-26 season. Indiana State's national marks come from the sprints, hurdles, jumps, throws and multi groups.
Indiana State's top-50 national rankings come from:
- Casey Hood Jr – 60m (ninth, 6.63), 200m (33rd, 21.49 – track conversion from 21.87)
- Reneisha Andrews – 60m (28th, 7.4)
- Ivan Weaver – 400m (47th, 48.32- track conversion from 49.09)
- Collin Forrest – 60m hurdles (46th, 7.97)
- Ellie Irwin – high jump (40th, 1.72m/5-7.75), pentathlon (37th, 3492 – track conversion from 3471)
- Sloan Cox – shot put (24th, 18.00m/59-0.75)
- Aliseonna Garnett – shot put (25th, 50-9.5), weight throw (40th, 18.77m/61-7)
- Cora Williams – weight throw (45th, 18.67m/61-3)
- Jake Ottersbach – heptathlon (34th, 4960 – track conversion from 4936)
- Ty Newsom – heptathlon (46th, 4763 – track conversion from 4739)
- Zenon Rule – heptathlon (48th, 4731 – track conversion from 4707)
Up Next
Indiana State gets its first glimpse of the MVC Indoor Championships venue when the Sycamores compete in the Crossroads of America Invitational January 23-24 at the Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis.
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