TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field returns to action Friday for its final meet before the MVC Outdoor Championships, as the Trees play host to the Sycamore Open at the Gibson Track and Field Complex.
Friday's first field events start at noon, with the first events on the track beginning at 1:30 p.m. The Sycamores will recognize their senior class at 2:30 p.m.
Meetday Info
There is a $5 admission fee per day 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 walking distance 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
Rachel Mehringer made Missouri Valley Conference history as the first athlete in the history of league to run under 13 seconds in the 100m hurdles, leading the Blue and White in a big weekend at the Music City Challenge.
Mehringer ran wind-legal times of 12.95 in prelims and 12.96 in finals to place first in a field featuring multiple All-Americans.
Kieran Barnewall also took home a first-place finish in the 110m hurdles with an MVC-leading 13.89, while
Aliseonna Garnett and
Theo Thurmond swept the top spots in the discus.
Olivia Marshall tacked on a career-best performance to win the open section of the hammer throw.
Seven different Sycamores set program top-10 marks in the Music City, with Mehringer's Valley record in the 100m hurdles highlighting the bunch. Barnewall and Garnett registered program top-10 performances in the 110m hurdles and shot put, respectively, while a pair of Sycamore distance runners in
Gnister Grant and
Kamilla Gibson tallied top-10 times in program history in the 3000m steeplechase.
Ivan Weaver rose up the program ranks in the 400m in his outdoor season debut, while
Hadley Gradolf cracked the top 10 in program history in the 5000m.
Back To Back
Indiana State junior hurdler
Rachel Mehringer and junior thrower
Aliseonna Garnett completed their second straight MVC Athlete of the Week sweep following standout performance for the Sycamores at the Music City Challenge, the league office announced Wednesday afternoon. Mehringer was named MVC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for the fifth consecutive week, while Garnett was named MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week for a second straight week after the Sycamore duo posted career-best outings in Nashville.
Mehringer made Missouri Valley Conference history at the Music City Challenge, becoming the first athlete in the history of conference to run under 13 seconds in the 100m hurdles. Mehringer ran a program and conference record-breaking time of 12.95 in prelims, then backed up her performance with a time of 12.96 in finals to place first in a field which featured three All-Americans along with the Sun Belt and ASUN indoor hurdles champions. Mehringer's MVC record time ranks first among wind-legal times in the Great Lakes Region, which includes six Big Ten schools, while placing her eighth in the NCAA East Qualifying list. She also ranks ninth nationally in the event this season, making her the highest-ranked athlete in the conference in any event. Mehringer is one of just 16 athletes in the nation to run a 100 hurdles time under 13 seconds this season, and one of two athletes outside of the Power Four conferences to accomplish the feat.
Garnett continued her career-best campaign by finishing as the top collegiate athlete in two throws events at the Music City Challenge, including an outdoor career-best performance in the shot put. Her shot put mark of 16.13m (52-11) placed her fifth in program history and made her the first athlete in the MVC to surpass the 16-meter mark. Garnett also added a first-place finish in the discus by clearing the 50-meter mark for the fourth time this season, with her best attempt measuring at 51.07m (167-7). In addition to her high marks in the shot put and discus, Garnett claimed a sixth-place finish in the invite section of the hammer throw with a mark of 53.30m (174-10), the second-best of her career. Garnett owns the top mark in the conference in both the shot put and discus, while also ranking seventh in the hammer throw. Her shot put mark ranks eighth in the Great Lakes Region, 28th in NCAA East Qualifying and 47th nationally, while her discus mark is fifth in the Great Lakes Region, 24th in NCAA East Qualifying and 47th nationally.
Mehringer's weekly honor is her fifth straight of the 2026 outdoor season and her 14th MVC Athlete of the Week award (five outdoor 2026, one indoor 2025-26, two outdoor 2025, three indoor 2024-25, one outdoor 2024, two indoor 2023-24). Garnett's weekly honor is her second straight of the 2026 outdoor season and the fifth of her career, after earning MVC Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors three times during the 2025-26 indoor season. Indiana State athletes have now earned nine MVC Athlete of the Week honors through the first six weekends of the 2026 outdoor season.
Senior Sendoff
Friday's meet marks the last home meet for Indiana State's senior class, with the 2026 class cementing a strong legacy during their time in Terre Haute. Indiana State's 2026 senior class has been a part of 10 MVC Championship-winning teams over the last four years, including the first men's and women's indoor-outdoor sweep in program history.
Included in this year's senior class are four NCAA East First Round qualifiers from last season
Niesha Anderson,
Collin Forrest,
Kilan Macklin and
Terrance O'Bannon, with
Janiya Bowman on pace to join the group of regional qualifiers this season. Anderson, Bowman, Forrest and O'Bannon all won individual conference titles during their time in the Blue and White, while Macklin,
Trent Jones and
Dan O'Laughlin join that quartet as all-conference honorees at Indiana State.
The 2026 senior class made their mark on the program charts, as 13 Sycamores being recognized Friday – Anderson, Bowman, Ray Brodie,
Nick Burns, Forrest,
Taylor Jackson, Jones, Macklin, O'Bannon,
Zenon Rule,
Alli Steffey,
Jocqael Thorpe and
Xavier Wills – have achieved program top-10 marks in at least one indoor or outdoor event.
Soaring Higher
Indiana State athletes continued to make noise in the Music City, with seven additions to the program top-10 charts.
Rachel Mehringer made MVC history with her 100m hurdles time of 12.95, while
Aliseonna Garnett had a career-best shot put mark of 16.13m (52-11) as the Sycamore duo swept the MVC Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors.
Mehringer wasn't the only Sycamore hurdles athlete to make an impression on the program charts in Nashville.
Kieran Barnewall became the first MVC athlete to go under 14 seconds in the 110m hurdles, with his time of 13.89 ranking eighth among wind-legal times in the program charts.
Indiana State's distance crew had a big weekend down south, with a trio of program top-10 marks being set at Vanderbilt.
Gnister Grant and
Kamilla Gibson both cracked the 11-minute mark in the 3000m steeplechase at 10:57.69 and 10:57.76, respectively. Grant's time ranked eighth in program history, while Gibson's was ninth.
Hadley Gradolf also reached new heights with a career-best time in the 5000m, running 16:53.47 to rank 10th on the program best list.
Ivan Weaver also made a major impact in his return from injury. After missing the first five weekends of the 2026 outdoor season, Weaver clocked a career-best 47.24 in the 400m in his season debut to rank sixth on the program top-10 charts.
Postseason Feeling
Indiana State has fared well in the postseason, with the Sycamores sending double-digit entries to the NCAA East First Round in each of the last four seasons with a pair of All-Americans in 2025. The Blue and White currently have seven athletes occupying regional qualifying spots, with
Aliseonna Garnett currently on pace to qualify in multiple events.
Indiana State's current athletes occupying qualifying spots are:
In addition, the Sycamores also have multiple athletes who are within reach of qualifying spots, which go to the top 48 athletes in each event and the top 24 relay teams with the exception of the heptathlon and decathlon. Those who are just outside qualifying positions entering the weekend include:
Up Next
Indiana State hosts the 2026 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 16-17 at the Gibson Track and Field Complex.
Follow the Sycamores
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track & Field and Cross Country teams, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
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