Six records fall, Sycamores take nine event titles at John Gartland Invitational

Monday, January 24 2022 - John Gartland Invitational


 TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State track and field posted a strong showing in its second consecutive home meet Saturday, taking home nine event wins at the John Gartland Invitational inside the Indoor Track and Field Facility.

Indiana State placed first on the men's side by a wide margin with 207 points, 76 points ahead of second-place SEMO. The Sycamore women's placed fourth with 114 points, finishing behind Southern Illinois (169.5), Milwaukee (128) and SEMO (116).

The Sycamores continued to post record-setting numbers in a solid overall showing, as multiple Indiana State student-athletes set personal records at the meet. ISU also broke four meet records and two facility records on the day.
 
On the men's side, Indiana State won the 60m, 200m, 400m, mile, 3000m, 5000m, 4x400m and pole vault, as the Sycamores took home wins in nearly half of the meet's events. Indiana State also posted a win in the women's 5000m.
 
Top-Three Finishes

 
Sprints/Hurdles
Indiana State continues to be a force in the sprints events during the indoor season, as the Sycamores swept the men's 60m, 200m and 400m titles Saturday.
 
Shomari Rogers-Walton continued to show his versatility for the Sycamores Saturday afternoon. A week after winning both the long jump and triple jump, Rogers-Walton set the meet record in the 60m after posting a 6.86 in the event prelims. He took home the event title after crossing the finish line in 6.87 seconds in the final, just ahead of teammate Jhivon Wilson, who finished second at 6.90.
 
Cameron Stevens also posted an event win for the second consecutive week, taking home the 200m title in 22.57 seconds. JaVaughn Moore closed out the men's sprints sweep for Indiana State with a win in the 400m. Moore, who normally runs the 60 and 200, set the meet record in the 400 at 49.92.
 
Indiana State's team of Stevens, Tahj Johnson, Ben Shepard and Wyatt Wyman also won the 4x400 relay for the second straight weekend, posting a meet and facility record of 3:19.24. The Sycamore quartet won the event by more than two seconds over the second-place team from Western Illinois.
 
Reynei Wallace continued her impressive start to the season by placing third in the 200m at 25.80. The Sycamore women's 4x400 team, consisting of Sierra Long, Iyanla Hunter, Wallace and Riley Tuerff, posted a second-place finish with a season-best time of 3:58.29. Daija Springer (60m - 7.86, sixth) and Kaylen Gustafson (400m - 1:06.32, ninth) round out the Sycamore sprints contingent from Saturday.
 
ISU's hurdlers also took home a pair of podium finishes, as Daryl Black (8.23) and Quincy Armstrong (8.34, 3rd) posted top-three finishes for the second consecutive week and placed second and third, respectively. Tuerff narrowly missed out on a top-three finish in the women's 60m hurdles, placing fourth at 9.06.
 
Mid/Distance
The Sycamores took home event titles in all three men's distance events, while also earning a pair of top-three finishes in the men's 600m.
 
Included in those titles is a new meet and facility record, as Cale Kilian won the 3000 in a record-setting time of 8:19.59. Cael Light capped off a 1-2 finish in the event for the Sycamores by placing second, finishing in 8:46.10. Indiana State also went 1-2 at the top of the podium in the men's mile, as Ethan Breen won the event in 4:17.75 with Jason Dworak placing second for the Sycamores at 4:22.48.
 
Racing the 5000m for the first time this season, the Sycamores took home the title in both the men's and women's races. Layton Hall led the men and crossed the finish line first in 15:22.40, with Ian Gadberry finishing third with a time of 15:46.55. Indiana State went 1-2 at the top in the women's 5000m, with Erica Barker (18:21.52) winning the event and Maggie Falater (18:56.89) placing second.
 
Devon Zeck (600m - 1:47.22, fifth) and Morgan Dyer (3000m - 10:32.85, fourth) paced Indiana State in the remaining mid/distance events that the Sycamores competed in.
 
Jumps/Pole Vault
Indiana State had eight top-three finishes in the jumps and pole vault events Saturday, including a win in the men's pole vault.
 
William Staggs was the lone competitor in the pole vault to clear five meters, placing first after clearing 5.01m (16-05.25). On the women's side, Selene Weaver earned her sixth straight top-three finish in the pole vault dating back to last season, placing second after clearing 3.76m (12-04.50).
 
ISU had a pair of top-three in the men's long jump, with Frankie Young III leading the way for the Sycamores. Young III placed second with a jump of 7.06m (23-02.00), while teammate Dearis Herron placed third with a jump of 7.03m (23-00.75). Ryann Porter (5.42m/17-09.50) and Claire Pittman (5.36m/17-07.00) placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the women's long jump for the Sycamores.
 
Indiana State had three of the top four in the men's high jump competitors, led by Lawrence Mitchell. Mitchell placed second after clearing 2.09m (6-10.25), while fellow Sycamores Kevin Krutsch and Nathan Kiger tied for third after clearing 1.96m (6-05.00). Kelsey Bowlds earned a top-three finish in the women's high jump, clearing 1.60m (5-03.00) and falling in a jump-off to finish third.
 
Throws
Brett Norton headlined the Sycamore throwers with a second-place finish in the weight throw. Norton's fourth throw traveled 18.54m (60-10.00) and cemented a second straight top-two finish. He also finished as the Sycamores' top finisher in the shot put with a distance of 116.72m (54-10.25) on his last attempt.
 
Hannah Redlin continued her improvement, placing fourth in the shot put at 14.11m (46-03.50) while setting a new personal record in the process.
 
Up Next
The Sycamores hit the road next weekend for the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational at the University of Louisville.