TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field returns to the Fall Creek Pavilion for the second time in a three-week span, as the Sycamores take part in the Fairgrounds Invitational Friday and Saturday.
Friday's first events start at 1 p.m., with Saturday's action for the Sycamores starting at 10:30 a.m.
Last Time Out
Indiana State recorded a pair of first place finishes Friday and Saturday at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational, with seven Sycamore program top-10 marks being recorded inside the Hearnes Center.
Janiya Bowman and
Rachel Mehringer recorded wins in the 60m and 60m hurdles, respectively, with Mehringer's hurdles time being an MVC-leading mark. Bowman (60m),
Landon Dobbs (pole vault),
Ellie Irwin (pentathlon),
Halle Miller (mile),
Jake Ottersbach (heptathlon) and
Ivan Weaver (400m) all registered program top-10 marks for the Sycamores over the course of the weekend, along with the men's 4x400m relay team.
Indiana State also swept the top spots in all four throws events Saturday at the Rose-Hulman Classic, while seven different Sycamores earned a first-place finish inside the SRC Fieldhouse.
The Sycamores posted 18 top-three finishes as a team, with half of that total coming from the throws group.
Will Riley,
Jocqael Thorpe,
Brandon Mueller,
Sloan Cox,
Olivia Marshall,
Austin Grays and
Aliseonna Garnett all recorded first place finishes for the Blue and White Saturday.
Sweeping The Field
Indiana State athletes accounted for both of the MVC Field Athlete of the Week honors, with
Jake Ottersbach and
Olivia Marshall recognized by the league office Wednesday for their strong performances during the Sycamores' split-squad weekend. Ottersbach was tabbed the MVC Men's Field Athlete of the Week after a career-best performance in the heptathlon, while Marshall nabbed MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week accolades after career-best marks in both throws events.
Ottersbach recorded the best heptathlon performance of his career at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational, placing second in the field with 5,217 points. Ottersbach tallied personal-best marks in four of the seven events over the course of the weekend, those being the 60m hurdles (8.26), 1000m (2:52.77), shot put (11.59m/38-0.25) and pole vault (4.20m/13-9.25). In addition, he also added season-best marks in the long jump (6.84m/22-5.25) and high jump (1.91m/6-3.25). Ottersbach's performance moved him to second in program history in the heptathlon and was the best by a Sycamore in the event since 2014. He ranks second in the MVC, fifth in the Great Lakes Region and 49th nationally in the event. Ottersbach also ranks in the top 10 in the MVC in the 60m hurdles (10th) and owns top-15 MVC marks in the long jump (13th) and high jump (15th), all of which were recorded over the past weekend.
Marshall recorded career-best marks in both throws events at the Rose-Hulman Classic, with the sophomore also earning a first-place finish in the shot put Saturday. Marshall opened her day with a career-best mark of 14.72m (48-3.5) to take top spot in the event and followed up with her best-ever weight throw mark of 18.37m (60-3.25) to place second, as Indiana State claimed the top four spots in both throws events. Marshall owns top-three MVC marks in both events with Saturday's performance, ranking second in the shot put and third in the weight throw. In addition, she ranks in the top 20 in the Great Lakes Region in both events (13th in the shot put, 17th in the weight throw) while also ranking 95th nationally in the shot put.
The weekly honors are the first for both Ottersbach and Marshall in their respective careers. Indiana State has earned seven MVC Athlete of the Week accolades during the 2025-26 indoor season, with multiple MVC weekly winners on three separate occasions (Dec. 17, Jan. 21, Feb. 4).
Chart Climbing
Indiana State athletes recorded seven different program top-10 marks during the Sycamores' weekend at the Dr. Rick McGuire Invitational, with the sprints, distance, jumps and multi groups all recording movement up the program ranks in the Show-Me State.
Three of the seven program top-10 marks set came from the sprints group, with
Janiya Bowman (60m, 7.45),
Ivan Weaver (400m, 47.64) and the 4x400m relay of
Trent Jones,
Parker Doyle,
Caden Emmert and
Ivan Weaver (3:13.93) working their way up the charts.
Indiana State featured a pair of combined event athletes who recorded career-best and program top-10 marks in Columbia.
Jake Ottersbach tallied the best heptathlon score by a Sycamore in over a decade (5217), while
Ellie Irwin surpassed her previous best by more than 20 points in the pentathlon (3493).
Halle Miller also recorded a career-best time in the mile (4:56.07), while
Landon Dobbs cracked the 5-meter mark for the first time in his career in the pole vault (5.05m/16-6.75)
Topping The Conference
Indiana State enters the weekend with nine first-place marks in the Missouri Valley Conference this season. Six of the Sycamores' conference-leading marks are on the track, with three coming in field events. The Sycamores' sprints, distance, jumps and throws groups are represented among the MVC leaders.
Indiana State's conference-leading marks come from:
Indiana State enters the weekend ranked first on both the men's and women's side in the USTFCCCA Conference Rankings.
Region Rated
Indiana State remained a top-10 program in the Great Lakes region on both side in Tuesday's USTFCCCA Region Rankings, as the Sycamores enter the weekend ranked sixth on the men's side and ninth on the women's side in the Great Lakes region. The Trees are one of two schools outside the Power Four conferences to rank in the top 10 in the region on both sides, alongside Akron.
Indiana State features 19 marks which rank in the top 10 in the Great Lakes region this season. Of those 19 top-10 regional marks, nine rank in the top five of the Great Lakes Region, consisting of schools from Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Indiana State's top-five region marks come from:
- Casey Hood Jr. – 60m (second, 6.61)
- Reneisha Andrews – 60m (third, 7.40)
- Rachel Mehringer – 60m hurdles (fourth, 8.25)
- Nick Burns, Xavier Wills, Caden Emmert, Emerson Fayman – distance medley relay (fourth, 10:07.30)
- Janiya Bowman –long jump (fourth, 5.99m/19-8)
- Jaden Smith – triple jump (first, 15.11m/49-7)
- Aaron Massiah – triple jump (third, 14.83m/48-7.75)
- Jahnel Bowman – triple jump (first, 12.80m/42-0)
- Jake Ottersbach – heptathlon (fifth, 4960 – track conversion from 4936)
In The National Spotlight
Indiana State has sent athletes to the NCAA Indoor National Championships in each of the last three seasons, and the Sycamores will look to continue that trend in 2026.
The Sycamores enter the weekend with six top-50 national marks this season, including one which ranks inside the top 16. The Trees are also ranked inside the top 100 nationally on the men's side this season.
Indiana State's top-50 national rankings come from:
Up Next
Indiana State competes in its second split-squad weekend of the season Feb. 13-14, with the Sycamores fielding entries in the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas and the Music City Invitational at Vanderbilt.
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