TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State plays host to its first outdoor home meet of the 2026 season Friday and Saturday, welcoming competition to the John McNichols Memorial Track at the Gibson Track and Field Complex for the Pacesetter Sports Invitational.
Friday's action begins at 1 p.m. with the hammer throw and javelin, with the first events on the track slated for 5:30 p.m. Saturday's busy slate from Terre Haute kicks off at noon.
Meetday Info
There is a $5 admission fee for home track meets, which will be collected at the main gate.
Parking is available in Lot K (Chestnut Street, behind the Imperial Lanes bowling alley). Additional parking can be found in campus lots located within a 10-minute walk of the complex. 1st Street/Riverside Road is closed.
DO NOT park in the Annex or Riverfront Lofts parking lots. Any cars who park in the lots for the apartment complexes by the track and field complex (Annex and Riverfront Lofts) and any non-Indiana State University lots will be towed at the owner's expense.
Last Time Out
Indiana State's 2026 outdoor track and field season got off on the right foot, as the Sycamores accounted for 14 first-place finishes at the EIU Big Blue Classic.
Janiya Bowman broke Indiana State's school record in the long jump, which stood since 2006, with her wind-legal mark of 6.27m (20-7).
Aliseonna Garnett also recorded a career-best mark in the discus to move into the top five in program history in the event, while
Emma Yoder cracked the top 10 in program history in the hammer throw. The Blue and White secured sweeps of the top spots in the 100 and 110m hurdles, 4x400m relay and discus.
Record-Setting Start
Indiana State redshirt junior sprinter/jumper
Janiya Bowman picked up right where she left off after claiming MVC Indoor Championship MVP honors. The Plainfield, Illinois, native shattered Indiana State's school record in the long jump, which had stood since 2006, with her final attempt of the competition measuring in at 6.27m (20-7).
She also broke Eastern Illinois' facility record in the process, while recording the best wind-legal mark in the Missouri Valley Conference since 2012. Bowman owns the top mark in both the MVC and Great Lakes Region this season, while also ranking fourth in NCAA East Region qualifying and ninth in the nation in the long jump.
Bowman was inexplicably not named MVC Field Athlete of the Week by the league office, despite being the highest-ranked women's athlete in any event in the conference and one of just two athletes in the conference to rank in the top 10 nationally in an event this season (Bradley's Kaden Kingsmith, who was named MVC Men's Track Athlete of the Week, was the other).
Starting Off Strong
Indiana State accounted for the top spot in three of the four hurdles events in the season-opening EIU Big Blue Classic, headlined by a sweep of the top three in the 110m hurdles.
Collin Forrest paced the Trees in the event at 14.07, with
David Carnell and
Parker Doyle right behind with times of 14.22 and 14.34, respectively. Carnell also claimed a win in the 400m hurdles with a career-best time of 54.85.
Rachel Mehringer started her outdoor season in a big way Saturday, cruising to a win in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.29 to rank among the national leaders.
Aubrey Runyon also nabbed a top-three finish for the Blue and White with a time of 13.98 in her outdoor collegiate debut.
Forrest, Carnell and Doyle account for three of the top four 110m hurdles times in the MVC through the opening weekend, while Mehringer and Runyon occupy the top two spots in the conference in the 100m hurdles. Carnell's 400m hurdles time also ranks second in the MVC.
AG's Big Weekend
Indiana State junior thrower
Aliseonna Garnett was responsible for a large portion of the Sycamores' strong season-opening efforts in the EIU Big Blue Classic. Garnett nabbed wins in both the shot put (14.35m/47-1) and discus (53.71m/176-2), with her mark in the discus representing a top-five mark in program history. She also nabbed a top-three finish in the discus with a career-best mark of 52.70m (172-11), and was the only athlete in the field to claim top-three finishes in each of the three events.
Garnett owns top-three marks in the conference in all three events she competed in during the Sycamores' season opener. The Indianapolis native owns the top mark in the discus by more than five meters, while ranking second in the shot put and third in the hammer throw. She ranked higher than this week's MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week in both the discus and hammer throw while trailing by less than five centimeters in the shot put.
Home Sweet Home
The Pacesetter Sports Invitational is the first of four home outdoor meets for Indiana State this season, with the Sycamores set to host the Gibson Invitational April 16-18 and the Sycamore Open May 8 during the regular season. Indiana State is also the MVC Outdoor Championship host for the second time in the last three seasons, with the conference championships coming to Terre Haute May 16-17.
Indiana State has seen plenty of success in its home meets during recent years. The Sycamores have placed first on both the men's and women's side in every scored home meet since the start of the 2021-22 season, a figure which includes Indiana State's 2024 MVC Outdoor Championships sweep.
Up Next
Indiana State heads south for the Crimson Tide Invitational April 10 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
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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