By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
DES MOINES, Iowa – Indiana State men's and women's track and field will split squad this weekend, traveling to the 107th running of the prestigious Drake Relays and to Oxford, Ohio, for the Redhawk Invite at Miami University on Saturday.
The world's best athletes will descend upon Des Moines this week, many of whom will likely compete in the upcoming 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Among the college division entries, Indiana State will be sending some of the finest in the nation to compete at Drake – led by senior All-American hurdler Adarius Washington.
The Indianapolis native currently ranks No. 6 in the NCAA in the 110-meter hurdles at 13.58 seconds, and he will be up against some of the very best hurdlers in the NCAA right now. Including Washington, four of the NCAA's top-10 hurdlers will be in attendance at Drake: No. 4 Aaron Mallett of Iowa (13.50), Teivaske Lewin of South Dakota (13.59) and Nate Pozolinski of Milwaukee (13.66).
Junior and fellow Indianapolis native Marcus Neely isn't far behind in the national rankings in 25th at 13.83 seconds, giving the Sycamores the chance for two to make it into what will likely be a very fast final.
Junior All-American David Timlin will also run in a competitive race in the seeded collegiate 1500-meter run. Timlin, currently No. 3 in the Valley in the 1500 at 3:47.98, will go up against the current Valley leader – Bradley's Michael Ward, who has run 3:44.33 this year.
As a sophomore in 2015, Timlin ran a school-record 3:42.22 at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Timlin could be ready for a breakthrough, though, as he ran the second-fastest 800 time in the conference at home last week (1:49.40, third all-time at Indiana State).
Not all the Sycamores are heading to Drake, though, as a strong ISU contingent will head east to Oxford for the Redhawk Invite. Included in that group will be the Sycamore men's and women's pole vaulters, led by seniors Connor Curley and Kimyanna Rudolph. Curley currently ranks 26th nationally and 13th in the NCAA East Region at 5.26m (17-03.00), while the All-American Rudolph ranks second in the Valley right now at 3.91m (12-10.00).
Competition will begin for the Sycamores at Drake at 5:40 p.m. ET on Thursday night with the 4x1600-meter relay, while competition will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in Oxford.
Drake Relays Schedule (all times Central):
Thursday, April 28:
4:40 p.m. – Women's 4x1600-Meter Relay (Austin, Moore, Neeley, Grider)
7:30 p.m. – Women's 10K (Doty)
Friday, April 29:
9:32 a.m. – Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Dziekonska)
9:45 a.m. – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Prelims (Neely, Washington)
10:58 a.m. – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Prelims (Dziekonska, Woods, Camble, Jackson)
11:00 a.m. – Men's Shot Put (Brown)
11:10 a.m. – Men's 4x100-Meter Relay (Washington, Schreiber, Parmley, Keys)
12:25 p.m. – Women's 100-Meter Dash (Obasih)
1:00 p.m. – Women's High Jump (Evans)
1:00 p.m. – Women's Javelin (Walker)
1:00 p.m. – Women's Discus (Rutz)
2:55 p.m. – Women's 4x400-Meter Relay Prelims (Newsome, Woods, Camble, Jackson)
3:20 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay Prelims (Dowdell, Blake, Anyaebunam, McGee)
6:45 p.m. – 4x200-Meter Relay (Schreiber, Keys, McGee, Dowdell)
Saturday, April 30:
8:30 a.m. – Women's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelims (Dziekonska, McLean, Morgan, Moore)
8:45 a.m. – Men's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Prelims (Neely, Stamm, Washington, Wright)
10:00 a.m. – Women's Sprint Medley Relay (Jackson, Camble, Newsome, Green)
10:00 a.m. – Men's High Jump (Murtagh)
12:00 p.m. – Men's Long Jump (Mikell)
12:20 p.m. – Women's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Finals
12:25 p.m. – Men's Shuttle Hurdle Relay Finals
12:30 p.m. – Women's Shot Put (Roper, Rutz, Walker)
1:00 p.m. – Women's Distance Medley Relay
2:30 p.m. – Women's 100-Meter Hurdles Finals
2:44 p.m. – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles Finals
3:06 p.m. – Men's 1500-Meter Run (Timlin)
3:14 p.m. – Women's 4x100-Meter Relay Finals
3:20 p.m. – Men's 4x100-Meter Relay Finals
3:45 p.m. – Women's 4x400-Relay Finals
3:52 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Relay Finals
Redhawk Invite Schedule (all times Eastern):
Saturday, April 30:
10:00 a.m. – Men's Hammer (Chestnut)
10:30 a.m. – Men's Long Jump (Beacham)
11:00 a.m. – Men's Shot Put (Chestnut, Laconi)
11:00 a.m. – Women's Hammer (Noel)
12:00 p.m. – Men's High Jump (Prentice, Wenger)
12:00 p.m. – Men's Pole Vault (Curley, Smith)
12:00 p.m. – Women's Long Jump (Herron, Jones, Mehne)
12:10 p.m. – Men's 1500 (Kramer, Medrano, Pierce, Stewart, Wright)
12:30 p.m. – Women's Shot Put (Noel)
12:30 p.m. – Women's 1500 (Rogers)
12:55 p.m. – Men's 110-Meter Hurdles (Wright)
1:05 p.m. – 100-Meter Hurdles (Herron)
1:30 p.m. – Men's Triple Jump (Brown)
1:30 p.m. – Women's High Jump (Cooke, Koltsidou)
1:45 p.m. – Men's Discus (Chestnut)
1:45 p.m. – Men's 800 (Rigoni)
2:15 p.m. – Women's Pole Vault (Brady, Herring, Jackson, Keele, Rudolph)
2:15 p.m. – Men's 400-Meter Hurdles (Payton, Shaw)
2:30 p.m. – Women's Triple Jump (Dunn)
2:35 p.m. – Men's 200 (McQuay)
2:50 p.m. – Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (Cash, Kritzer, Swem)
3:00 p.m. – Women's Discus (Noel)
3:20 p.m. – Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
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Men's National Top-50:
6. Adarius Washington – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.58
25. Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.83
26. Connor Curley – Pole Vault – 5.26m (17-03.00)
Women's National Top-50:
31. Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – 10:18.28
Men's NCAA East Region Top-48:
3. Adarius Washington – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.58
13. Connor Curley – Pole Vault – 5.26m (17-03.00)
14. Marcus Neely – 110-Meter Hurdles – 13.83
28. Devyn Mikell – Long Jump – 7.50m (24-07.25)
43. David Timlin – 800 Meters – 1:49.40
Women's NCAA East Region Top-48:
15. Taylor Austin – 3,000-Meter Steeplechase – 10:18.28
33. Whitney Walker – Shot Put – 15.20m (49-10.50)
36. Katelyn Rutz – Discus – 49.20m (161-05)
45. LeVisa Evans – High Jump – 1.73m (5-08.00)
45. Katelyn Rutz – Shot Put – 14.76m (48-05.25)
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.
