DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State athletes set a pair of records in hurdles events at the Drake Relays, as the Sycamores claimed a pair of event wins on Drake Stadium's famed Blue Oval.
 
Rachel Mehringer tied her own program and MVC all-conditions record of 13.03 in the 100m hurdles and also anchored the Sycamores' record-setting shuttle hurdle relay to a first-place finish. Mehringer teamed up with Aubrey Runyon, Ellie Irwin and Sophie Hale to run a time of 55.59.
 
The Sycamores also received program top-10 contributions from the men's shuttle hurdle and distance medley relay teams, while Aliseonna Garnett added a program top-10 mark in the shot put for the Trees.
 
Event Winners

• Rachel Mehringer – 100m hurdles (13.10, tied MVC all-conditions record of 13.03 in prelims)
• Aburey Runyon, Ellie Irwin, Sophie Hale, Rachel Mehringer – shuttle hurdle relay (55.59, program record)

 
Top-Three Finishes

• David Carnell, Parker Doyle, Kieran Barnewall, Collin Forrest – shuttle hurdle relay (third, 56.96, fifth in program history)

 
Other Notable Marks

• Aliseonna Garnett – shot put (15.77m/51-9, sixth in program history)
• Nick Burns, Trent Jones, Caden Emmert, Ryan York – distance medley relay (9:51.98, sixth in program history)

 
Sprints/Hurdles
Indiana State has earned strong reputation in the hurdles events over the years, and the Sycamores lived up to the billing once again on the Blue Oval. Rachel Mehringer continued her conference dominance in the 100m hurdles, tying her own program and MVC all-conditions record of 13.03 in prelims before backing it up with a time of 13.10 in finals to claim her first individual Drake Relays crown.
 
Mehringer also teamed up with Aubrey Runyon, Ellie Irwin and Sophie Hale to deliver a Drake Relays title in the shuttle hurdle relay, with the Sycamore quartet breaking the program record in the event with their time of 55.59. Indiana State also picked up a top-five time in program history from its men's shuttle hurdle relay team, as David Carnell, Parker Doyle, Kieran Barnewall and Collin Forrest teamed up to run a collective time of 56.96. Barnewall had the top result for the Trees in the 110m hurdles, with his prelim time coming in at 14.43.
 
Casey Hood Jr. made a strong impression in his Blue Oval debut, advancing to finals in the 100m with a season-best prelims time of 10.30. Hood Jr. finished fourth in finals with his time of 10.60 and later ran the opening leg of the Sycamores' season-best 4x400m relay of 3:12.74, with Caden Emmert, Carnell and Trent Jones rounding out the relay team for the Trees.
 
Mid-Distance/Distance
Indiana State fared well in the distance medley relay, putting together a program top-10 time on the men's side. Nick Burns, Trent Jones, Caden Emmert and Ryan York ran a time of 9:51.98, which ranks sixth in program history. The women's quartet of Gnister Grant, Kyarra DeGroote, Hallie Mimbela and Halle Miller clocked a time of 12:03.43.
 
The Sycamores were also on pace to set a program top-five time in the men's 4x800m relay as Burns, Emmert and Alex Alvarez had the Blue and White at 5:35.87 through three legs. Indiana State was unable to complete the final leg of the relay, though.
 
Brittney Burak had the headline result from the opening day of the Drake Relays, closing Thursday's action with a top-five finish in the 10,000m. Burak's 10K time of 36:17.71 placed her fourth in the field with the second-fastest time in the MVC this season. Hadley Gradolf also clocked a top-10 time in the MVC this season in the event, crossing the line in 37:41.73.
 
Alvarez, Burns, York and Xavier Wills all competed in open events for the Blue and White on the opening day of competition. Alvarez ran a time of 4:10.28 in the 1500m, while York clocked a time of 9:39.44 in the 3000m steeplechase. Burns and Wills ran the 800m in 1:53.15 and 1:59.01, respectively.
 
Jumps
Indiana State had a pair of high jumpers compete at the Drake Relays, with Ellie Irwin and Noah Gilmore both representing the Sycamores on the Blue Oval. Irwin cleared 1.66m (5-5.25) to finish 11th, while Gilmore did not clear a height after missing on his three attempts at 1.98m (6-6).
 
Throws
Indiana State's throwers continued their strong campaign with multiple season and career bests posted against top-tier competition. Aliseonna Garnett had a big weekend for the Blue and White, with an outdoor career-best throw of 15.77m (51-9) in the shot put to rank sixth in program history. Garnett also posted three marks over 50 meters in the discus, with her best coming in at 53.23m (174-5) to earn a top-five finish.
 
Cora Williams also recorded a career-best performance in the shot put with two throws over the 14-meter mark, her best coming in at 14.15m (46-5.25). Sloan Cox and Ben Brown each posted their second-best marks of the season in the shot put at 17.22m (56-6) and 16.29m (53-5.5), respectively.
 
Theo Thurmond had another strong showing in the discus with three throws over 50 meters to book a spot in the top 10 in the field. Thurmond's best throw of the weekend came in at 52.07m (170-10), his second-best mark of the season. Emma Yoder added a top-five finish in the hammer throw for the Trees, with her best attempt of 58.82 (193-0) placing her fourth. Yoder broke the 58-meter threshold in four of her six attempts.
 
Up Next
Indiana State heads south for the Music City Challenge May 1-2 in Nashville, Tennessee.
 
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