By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Indiana State men's track and field finished third overall while the women finished fourth at the conclusion of competition at Day Two of the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships at the UNI-Dome on Sunday afternoon.
On the men's side, Indiana State finished with 114 meet points behind champion Wichita State (141.5) and Southern Illinois (132.5) – 22 of which came from junior All-American David Timlin alone in the mile (10), 3K (10) and distance medley relay (2).
The Sycamore women, meanwhile, were part of a tight pack of four teams that were only separated by five points. The Illinois State women (121) won their first indoor title since 1997 and first in either season since 2000 with a 121-111 victory over favorite Wichita State. Following them were Northern Iowa (86.83), Indiana State (83.16), Missouri State (82) and Southern Illinois (81).
Indiana State won four conference titles on Day Two – two alone coming from the always-stellar Timlin. The Chicago native put together two superb final laps in both the mile and the 3K.
Timlin, this year's MVC Most Valuable Male Athlete, started his day with a 4:13.62 victory in the mile, during which he exploded for a 25-second 200 on his final lap to take the lead. Also scoring in the race was freshman Quentin Pierce in seventh place at 4:19.09.
Timlin was also part of the closing festivities in the 3,000 meter race, where he set a new MVC Championships record with his winning time of 8:13.51. Timlin was in third place on the final lap and exploded down the final stretch to snatch away the lead for the win.
For Timlin, today marks his first and second career indoor titles to add to his two outdoor conference championships from 2014 (1,500 meter) and 2015 (800 meter).
The Sycamores went into the men's 60-meter hurdles as heavy favorites to come away with a large point total, and they did not disappoint on Sunday. Senior All-American Adarius Washington and junior Marcus Neely both ran 7.85 in finals today, with Washington narrowly winning the title by six-thousandths of a second for his second-straight indoor title. Neely's time of 7.85 improves upon his slot in seventh all-time at Indiana State, a strong improvement over his previous PR of 7.91.
Also scoring in the 60 hurdles were Daley Carter in fourth at 8.04 and Jacob Wright in seventh at 8.18. All told, the Sycamore men came away with 25 points in just the hurdles.
Indiana State's final title of the day came courtesy of the women's team and sophomore Jamie Newsome. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native leapt a season-best 12.55m (41-02.25) for the victory to successfully defend her indoor title from 2015. Also scoring in the event was junior Ethanity Dunn, who leapt a career-best 12.02m (39-05.25) to move up to sixth all-time at Indiana State.
The Sycamores also had several All-MVC performances on Day Two. Sophomore high jumper Jamie Murtagh entered as the No. 2 jumper in the Valley behind SIU All-American Kyle Landon, and today's high jump competition didn't disappoint as the two went head-to-head for the MVC title as the only two left in competition.
After Murtagh cleared 2.11m (6-11.00) to secure second place, he missed his first attempt at 2.14m (7-00.25) and decided to pass to the next height of 2.17m (7-01.50) after Landon cleared 2.14m on his first try. Murtagh took two very good attempts at 2.17m, but was unable to convert. Landon eventually set the NCAA's third-best mark this season at 2.25m (7-04.50) for the win.
Also scoring in the high jump was DeSean Prentice, who set a season-best in sixth place for 2.05m (6-08.75).
Also posting a runner-up finish was senior Jamar Brown, the nation's No. 1-ranked shot putter amongst football players. The former Sycamore tight end topped out at a very strong 17.61m (57-09.50) for his first-career All-MVC finish.
The Sycamore women also got some intense work done in the shot put. Freshman Cassaundra Roper earned her first career All-MVC medal as well, finishing second at 15.28m (50-01.75). Also scoring were Katelyn Rutz in fifth place at 14.71m (48-03.25) and Whitney Walker in eighth at 14.29m (46-10.75) – giving ISU 13 total points from the event.
Sophomore Brittany Neeley capped off a strong initial campaign with the Sycamores with an All-MVC finish in the mile this morning. After leading off the MVC Champion DMR last night and before running in the 3K later on Sunday, Neeley was right in the mix in third place at 4:55.50.
Other impressive distance performances included Taylor Austin and Brooke Moore in the 3K, who finished sixth and ninth, respectively. Austin ran a PR time of 9:48.36, the third-best time in school history. Freshman Brooke Moore didn't score in ninth place, but she ended up running the fourth-best 3K time in school history as well at 9:50.30.
Today's finish unfortunately snaps Indiana State's streak of success at the indoor meet. The Sycamore men had won each of the previous three seasons, and the women had won the previous two titles.
However, the outdoor season isn't far off. The Sycamores will open at NC State for the Raleigh Relays on March 25-26.
Final Men's Team Scores:
1. Wichita State – 141.5
2. Southern Illinois – 132.5
3. Indiana State – 114
4. Illinois State – 88.5
5. Northern Iowa – 84.5
6. Loyola – 39
7. Drake – 35
8. Bradley - 27
Final Women's Team Scores:
1. Illinois State – 121
2. Wichita State – 111
3. Northern Iowa – 86.83
4. Indiana State – 83.16
5. Missouri State – 82
6. Southern Illinois – 81
7. Bradley – 45
8. Drake – 38
9. Loyola - 15
Specialty Awards:
Women's Most Valuable Athlete: Paige Knodle, Northern Iowa
Men's Most Valuable Athlete: David Timlin, Indiana State
Women's Track Most Outstanding Athlete: Paige Knodle, Northern Iowa
Men's Track Most Outstanding Athlete: Brandon Carnes, Northern Iowa
Women's Field Most Outstanding Athlete: Paige Knodle, Northern Iowa
Men's Field Most Outstanding Athlete: Kyle Landon, Southern Illinois
Day Two Champions:
Jamie Newsome – Triple Jump
David Timlin – Mile
David Timlin – 3,000 Meter
Adarius Washington – 60-Meter Hurdles
Day Two All-MVC:
Jamie Newsome – Triple Jump, First Place
David Timlin – Mile, First Place
David Timlin – 3,000 Meter, First Place
Adarius Washington – 60-Meter Hurdles, First Place
Jamar Brown – Shot Put, Second Place
Jamie Murtagh – High Jump, Second Place
Marcus Neely – 60-Meter Hurdles, Second Place
Cassaundra Roper – Shot Put, Second Place
Brittany Neeley – Mile, Third Place
Other Day Two Scorers:
Daley Carter – 60-Meter Hurdles, Fourth Place
Jaynard Keys – 60-Meter Dash, Fifth Place
Devyn Mikell – Triple Jump, Fifth Place
Kimyanna Rudolph – Pole Vault, Fifth Place
Katelyn Rutz – Shot Put, Fifth Place
Jamie Newsome, Demetra Camble, Ahmanah Woods, Oschtisha Jackson - Women's 4x400 Meter Relay, Fifth Place
Taylor Austin – 3,000 Meter, Sixth Place
Ethanity Dunn – Triple Jump, Sixth Place
Patrycja Dziekonska – 60-Meter Hurdles, Sixth Place
LeVisa Evans – High Jump, Sixth Place
Jaynard Keys – 200 Meter Dash, Sixth Place
Tristan Parmley – 60-Meter Dash, Sixth Place
DeSean Prentice – High Jump, Sixth Place
CJ Anyaebunam, Terry McGee, Carl McQuay, Rhett Blake – 4x400 Meter Relay, Sixth Place
Emily Brady – Pole Vault, Seventh Place
Jessi Conley – 800 Meter, Seventh Place
Quentin Pierce – Mile, Seventh Place
Jacob Wright – 60-Meter Hurdles, Seventh Place
Aleksey Green – 800 Meter, Eighth Place
Kim Jackson – Pole Vault, Eighth Place
Ioanna Koltsidou – High Jump, Eighth Place
Whitney Walker – Shot Put, Eighth Place
Day One Champions:
Connor Curley – Pole Vault
Brittany Neeley, Ahmanah Woods, Aleksey Green, Jessi Conley – Distance Medley Relay
Day One All-MVC:
Connor Curley – Pole Vault, First Place
Brittany Neeley, Ahmanah Woods, Aleksey Green, Jessi Conley – Distance Medley Relay, First Place
Devyn Mikell – Long Jump, Second Place
Blake Kramer, Tyrell Dowdell, Tony Rigoni, David Timlin – Distance Medley Relay, Second Place
Taylor Austin – 5,000 Meter, Third Place
Other Day One Scorers:
Katelyn Rutz – Weight Throw, Fifth Place
Kaisha Martin – Long Jump, T-Fifth Place
Jasmine Noel – Weight Throw, Sixth Place
Cassaundra Roper – Weight Throw, Eighth Place
Day One Men's Team Scores:
1. Southern Illinois – 60
2. Wichita State – 46.50
3. Indiana State – 31
4. Illinois State – 19
5. Northern Iowa – 14.50
6. Loyola – 10
7. Drake – 9
8. Bradley - 5
Day One Women's Team Scores:
1. Wichita State – 44
2. Northern Iowa – 33
3. Indiana State – 28
4. Illinois State – 21
5. Bradley – 20
6. Missouri State – 13
6. Drake – 13
8. Southern Illinois – 12
9. Loyola – 11
For the latest information on the Sycamore Track and Field team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.
