Track & Field

Track and Field Athletes of the Week (Dec. 14)

St. Louis - The 2022-23 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor track and field seasons takes off as 10 institutions compete in early December meets. This week's MVC indoor track athletes of the week are Hassy Fashina-Bombata of Illinois State, Ryann Porter of Indiana State, Isiah Thomas of Indiana State, and Carter Morton of UNI.

Female Track Athlete – Hassy Fashina-Bombata of Illinois State, Sr., Sprints, Nanaimo, B.C., Canada 
Competing in just her second meet as a Redbird, Hassy Fashina-Bombata smashed a school record in the 60m hurdles and picked up a pair of event wins at the Blue Demon Holiday Invite. This came after she posted a mark of 7.39 in the 60m dash at the John Coughlan Invitational on Dec. 3 that is currently tied for number 7 in the country. Fashina-Bombata's winning time of 8.22 in the hurdles set a new indoor standard at Illinois State, topping the previous record of 8.30 set in 2019 by Demetria Anderson. That mark also currently ranks No. 2 in the NCAA Indoors, while her winning time of 24.27 in the 200m dash is tied for 7th in the NCAA and ranks 4th on the ISU indoor best list all-time.

        Honorable Mention Zoe Sullivan of Indiana State – Earned second place in the 60m Hurdles with personal best time of 8.45 at the Blue Demon Holiday             Invitational breaking the meet record and placing 21st in the nation and second in the MVC.

Female Field Athlete --  Ryann Porter of Indiana State, Jr., Jumps/Hurdles, Janesville, Wisconsin
Ryann Porter opened her indoor season with a win in the triple jump and a top-three finish in the 60m hurdles at the Blue Demon Holiday Invite. She was one of two athletes in the field to clear 12.50m in the triple jump, winning the event with a meet-record mark of 12.59m (41-03.75). She also placed third in the 60m hurdles, winning her prelim heat with a time of 8.68 and improving in the finals with a time of 8.66. Porter ranks fifth in the nation, first in the Great Lakes region and first in the MVC in the triple jump, and 11th in the Great Lakes region and third in the MVC in the 60m hurdles.

    Honorable Mention Rachel Hagans of Murray State – Won the long jump at the John Coughlan Invite with a distance of 6.01m (19'8.75). Hagans leads the     conference and is tenth in the nation.

Male Track Athlete – Isiah Thomas of Indiana State, Jr., Sprints, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Thomas had a meet to remember in his Indiana State debut, breaking the meet record in the 60m at the Blue Demon Holiday Invite. He ran a time of 6.75 in the prelims, setting the meet record and finishing as the top qualifier, and followed with a meet-winning time of 6.76 in the finals. The 6.75 in the prelims was also his personal best, with his times in Chicago representing the two best 60m times in his collegiate career. Thomas' time is currently 13th in the nation second in the Great Lakes region and first in the MVC.

      Honorable Mention Parker Kiewiet of Northern Iowa – Earned a first place finish in the 300m at the Jimmy Grant Invitational with a time of 32.72. Kiewiet       earns eighth in the USTFCCCA rankings and collegiate history.

Male Field Athlete – Carter Morton of Northern Iowa, Jr., Multi-Events, Jefferson, Iowa 
Carter Morton competed at the 2022 Iowa State Holiday Invitational. Morton competed in the Heptathlon setting personal bests in five of the seven events recording his best score to date of 5,651 points. The Panther recorded his best improvement in the high jump where he jumped 2.10 meters (6'10.75") where he currently resides as first in the Missouri Valley and tied for sixth in the nation in this event alone. He recorded the fourth highest Heptathlon score in UNI history with and his second career win in the event. Morton's score currently ranks first in all of NCAA Division I indoor track and field, first in the Missouri Valley, and first in the Midwest Region in the Heptathlon.

        Honorable Mention Amari Buchanan of Illinois State – Won both the weight throw and shot put at the Blue Demon Holiday Invite. Buchanan     is first in the         MVC in the shot put with a distance of 17.65m and 18th in the nation with this mark. Buchanan sits second in the MVC for the     weight throw with a distance         of 19.63m and 16th in the nation.