EUGENE, Ore. – Indiana State had a pair of freshman throwers climb the program charts Thursday evening at the USATF U20 Championships, with Ben Brown and Theo Thurmond both producing career-best efforts in the discus for the Blue and White.
 
Thurmond, the MVC runner-up in the event, earned a top-10 finish with his mark of 55.82m (183-1). Brown, who finished fifth in the event at the MVC Championships, had a career-best toss of 54.58m (179-1) to place 14th in the field. Both Sycamore freshman moved up the program top-10 charts, with Thurmond ranking sixth and Brown sitting in ninth in program history in the discus with their performances at Hayward Field.
 
Thursday's performance caps a memorable freshman season for Thurmond, who closed his first year as a Sycamore in style. In addition to his career-best toss of 55.82m (183-1), he also had a throw of 54.82m (179-10) at the USATF U20 Championships. Thurmond carded a top-30 finish in the discus at the NCAA East First Round in May with a throw of 53.67m (176-1), ranking sixth among all freshmen in an NCAA East qualifying region which includes most of the SEC, Big Ten and ACC. He was also runner-up in the discus at the MVC Outdoor Championships with a top mark of 54.39m (178-5). Thurmond finished the 2026 outdoor season with the top discus and hammer throw marks on the team.
 
Brown's career-best mark in Thursday's competition continued his rapid rise up the Sycamore ranks. His two best performances in the discus came in his last two meets, with his marks of 54.58m (179-1) at the USATF U20 Championships and 53.06m (174-1) at the MVC Outdoor Championships. Brown's MVC Championships performance in the discus earned him a top-five finish in the conference in the event, and had represented a five-meter PR from his previous best prior to resetting his best mark at the USATF U20 Championships.
 
Up Next
Ben Brown's season continues Friday evening with the shot put at 7 p.m., while Kieran Barnewall will compete in the 110m hurdles at the Canada U20 Championships Saturday evening starting at 6:02 p.m.
 
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