By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Indiana State's distance crew came away with two event victories after the first day of action at the Tom Botts Invitational on Friday evening. Through four scored events, the Sycamore women are in third place and the men fourth.
Sophomore Taylor Austin, currently the No. 7 steepler in the NCAA East Region, made another dent into ISU's record book on Friday night. Three weeks after breaking her own school record in the steeplechase, Austin ran the fifth-best 5K time in Indiana State history, winning the event at a time of 17:10.66.
Freshman Megan Doty also scored in the event, finishing third at 17:42.28. Doty has run three 5Ks in four weeks for the Sycamores.
Also winning on Friday was junior All-American David Timlin, who remained perfect in the 1500 in his second attempt this outdoor season. Timlin improved slightly to 3:47.98 in the win, which currently puts him 39th in the NCAA East Region.
Blake Kramer also scored in the event, finishing seventh at 3:56.20.
Sycamore distance runners also claimed two decent finishes in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase as well. Freshmen Abigail Grider (11:37.47) and Ryan Kritzer (9:51.98) both finished fourth in their first-career attempts at the steeple.
Indiana State also had a couple impressive performances in the hammer throw. Sophomore Jasmine Noel scored for the Sycamore women in seventh place, throwing a new career-best 51.92m (170-04) in the process. Her newest PR moves her from 10th to ninth on ISU's all-time list.
Ryan Chestnut wasn't able to score in a stacked men's field, but was still able to record a new PR for the third straight week. Chestnut finished ninth overall at 52.89m (173-06).
Competition will resume at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday with the beginning of the women's pole vault. Events on the track will begin will begin at 2 p.m. with the 4x100-meter relays.
Men's Team Scores (Through four events):
1. Northern Iowa – 36
2. Missouri – 30
3. Southern Illinois – 28
4. Indiana State – 15
5. Saint Louis – 14
Women's Team Scores (Through four events):
1. Northern Iowa – 41
2. Southern Illinois – 29
3. Indiana State – 23
4. Missouri – 14
5. Missouri State – 8
5. Saint Louis – 8
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.
