ST. LOUIS – The 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship will be held in Normal, Illinois at the Redbird Track and Field Complex from May 12-14th. Hosts Illinois State tabbed in the Coach’s Poll to earn their fifth consecutive Women’s Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Championship title adding to the program’s tenth overall. The Indiana State Sycamores are polled for the top men’s spot in the outdoor season aiming for their second consecutive outdoor title adding to the program’s twelfth overall.
 


At 140 points by the coaches for the outdoor season the Illinois State Redbirds tallied an impressive 22-point advantage to win the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships over runners-up Murray State. Myejoi Williams scored ten points for the women in the shot put, to earn the title with a throw 15.89m (52-01.75 ft.). In her second appearance at the MVC Indoor Championships, Seven Hicks placed second in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.44. Finishing 2-3 for the Redbirds in the women's mile run, Rachel Hickey clocked a time of 4:57.62 to earn second. Right behind her was Maddi Exline who clocked a time of 4:58.74. Sunday also had two podium finishes, which included, Taylor Kesner receiving a silver medal in the women's weight throw, and Melissa Parrella placing second in women's long jump with a jump of 5.83m. Jeff Bovee, head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds, was promptly named Women’s Indoor Coach of the Year totaling his 6th Coach of the year award for the program.

Slated for runner-ups, the Indiana State Sycamores polled 126 points with a thin margin over the Murray State Racers. The Sycamores tallied 99 team points at the MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships to earn third with five podium finishes. Zoe Sullivan and Ryann Porter taking the top two spots atop the 60m hurdles podium. Sullivan won the event in 8.33, the second-best time in program history, with Porter clocking a time of 8.52 to finish right behind her. Porter continued her triple jump dominance by winning her second straight MVC indoor crown with a top mark of 12.59m (41-03.75) In the triple jump. Eva Grace Quinlan also put together an all-conference performance in the high jump, clearing 1.72m (5-07.50) to finish second in the event.  Claire Pittman earned all-conference honors, in the long jump after a mark of 5.77m (18-11.25) saw her finish third. In the pole vault, Selene Weaver cleared 3.95m (12-11.50) to earn runner-up honors tying Belmont’s Tyra Finkeldey. Ryann Porter also tied three other student-athletes for Most Valuable Athlete of the Meet earning a respective 20 points alone, Porter was also named to the MVC Elite 17 honors.
 
In a tight race to the top, Murray State polled at third among the coaches with 124 points. After their MVC Indoor debut, the Murray State Racers took runner-up team honors with a point total of 108 in the Championship. The Racers saw five podium finishes on the second day, including three gold medals. Kayla Bell opened was first in adding the medal tally as she won the 400m dash, breaking the long-standing conference championship record in the process, with a time of 53.47 seconds. Verneta Lesforis of Missouri State set the previous record (53.82) in 1999. Meghan Fletcher kept the energy going as she grabbed her second gold medal of the meet by winning the high jump and setting a new school record with a 1.80m (5' 10.75") mark. Her jump is ranked 38th in the nation. Fletcher took home the gold in the Pentathlon with a point total of 3602 placing first in three of the five events. Fletcher alone gathered 20 points for the Racers tying three other athletes for the Most Valuable Athlete of the Meet.

After a fifth place Indoor finish, Southern Illinois tabbed fourth from the coaches with 98 points. The Salukis are led by upperclassmen Shaunice O’Neal and Iaunia Pointer. O’Neal took first in the women’s weight throw with a mark of 22.35m. O’Neal picked up the Valley’s Most Outstanding Field athlete of the Meet for her 12th place national mark earlier this season. The senior returned from the National meet with an 11^th place finish and a Second-team All-American Honors. Iauna Pointer co-led the Salukis with her victory in the 200m and second place in the 400m. Pointer also tied for the Most Valuable Female Athlete with her 20 points she brought for team. The Saluki Relays placed second in the 4x400 and third in the distance medley relay adding 15 points to the total. O’Neal
 
Bradley slated at fifth with 96 points after picking up fourth indoors with 84 team points. The Braves Jansen recorded a time of 16:06.69 in the Women's 5000M. On day two, Jansen finished with a time of 9:22.20 in the Women's 3000M setting MVC Meet Record in both events. Nicola Jansen earned MVC honors for Most Valuable Athlete after compling 20 points herself, alongside her co-recipients of the award. The team of Tiana LoStracco, Amiyah Davis, Julia Nielsen and Peyton Schieppe combined for a time of 11:36.77 in the Distance Medley Relay. The group also set the meet record with their time. On day two, Tiana LoStracco started the Braves off with an MVC Championship in the Women's 1 Mile with a time of 4:56.36. The Nielsen sisters headlined the Women's 800M and Wilma Nielsen won the race with a time of 2:09.66. Julia Nielsen finished in second place with a time of 2:10. Wilma Nielsen was named MVC Most Outstand female Track Athlete as her time of 2:02 in the 800m sets her at 12th in the nation. Nielsen returns from the National stage with a seventh place finish and All-American status in the 800m.
 
Northern Iowa tabbed at sixth in the conference with a 82 points, after tying with the Belmont Bruins at sixth indoors. Northern Iowa tallied a total of 55 points in the Indoor Championships with notable performances coming out of the field with Katie Fare and Makenna Wilson placing second and third respectively in the shot put. The pair marked 1 meter difference between each place at 15.88m and 14.88m respectively. In the 4x400m relay the Panthers earned the Bronze with a time of 3:46.71. The Panthers saw most points coming from spots fourth through eighth in the final tallies.

Missouri State finished eighth with 45 points, with one MVC champion and four All-conference honors. Calandra Henry took first place in the Women’s 60 meter dash with a time of 7.28 seconds. Henry also placed second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.62 seconds. The Lady Bears also found points in the High Jump and 400-meter dash from performances by DaeLin Switzer and Tamera Rhode, respectively.

After a tie in sixth in Chicago, Belmont slated 68 points in the polls for eighth. The Bruins’ most notable performances came from the field, where Emma Garcia Pelencia placed third in the Pentathlon with a point total of 3,525. The Bruins also placed Pole Vaulter Tyra Finkeldey on the Podium for a tied second place finish of a height of 3.95m. The Bruins also placed 4th in the DMR and 5,000 meter run adding to their 55points.
Drake polled 61 points by the coaches, for ninth. Drake finished with a team score of 27 in Chicago with impressive performances in the 5000 meter run and 3000 meter run by Brooke Mullins. Mullins finished in the top 3 for both events boosting the Drake point total by 14 points.

UIC polled the coaches for tenth place with 36 points. UIC Finished the in Chicago with three points scored by the Distance Medley Relay’s 6th place time of 12:13.11. UIC finished 8th at the Horizon League Championships Outdoors in 2021-22. Teresa Mejia brings competition to the Valley after her top 15 place finishes at the Indoor championships in the Mile, DMR, and 3000.

Projected for eleventh and twelfth, Valparaiso tabs 24 points in the polls for eleventh and Evansville tabs 14 for twelfth. The Beacons look to use indoor momentum after placing many events close to the top 8 at the February Championships. The Aces look to gain from grad transfer Melanie Helder from Michigan State in long distance after coming off an MVC all-conference honor in the 2022 cross country championship. Helder qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the 1,500-meter run to finish 34th in the East Region in 2022.



The Indiana State Sycamores polled 96 points from the coaches for the top spot. The Sycamores claimed their 6th men’s indoor title with 153 points total indoor. JaVaughn Moore led a sweep of the men's 60m podium for the Sycamores, with his time of 6.56 shattering the school, championship and facility record while also qualifying him for the NCAA Indoor National Championships. Moore returns from the National Stage with a 9^th place finish in the 60m and a second team All-American status. Terrance O'Bannon was right behind him in second at 6.65, the second-best time in program history, while Noah Malone rounded out the podium sweep in third at 6.76. Noah Malone also picked up all-conference honors in the 200m with a time of 21.62.  Kevin Krutsch (2.12m/6-11-50) and Trevor Thompson (2.07m/6-09.50) both earned all-conference honors in the high jump by placing second and third. Wyatt Puff led the way on the second day with a second-place finish in the shot put, with his top mark coming in at 17.89m (58-08.50). Brett Norton was right behind him in third, also earning all-conference honors with a throw of 17.85m (58-06.75). Norton's mark of 20.55m (67-05.25) in the weight throw also earned him the top spot in the Valley. William Staggs stole the show for the Sycamore jumps and pole vault group with a double PR and school record performance in the pole vault. Staggs cleared 5.41m (17-09.00) to break the program record which had stood since 1996. The  Sycamores also picked up three specialty awards including Coach of the Year to Angela Martin.
 
The Illinois State Redbirds tabbed second with 88 points, after earning runner-up honors, at 149 points indoors. After placing in the top-5 for weight throw on Sunday, Amiri Buchanan became the first male to win an MVC title in the shot put since 2014. Buchanan threw 18.46m (60-06.75 ft.).  As the second Redbird to earn the title, Brandon Ratliff clocked a 7.88 in the 60-meter hurdles on Monday securing the men's MVC Indoor Championship. Ratliff has earned All-Valley honors for this event three times, finally grabbing the title.  Riley Wells earned his third medal as a Redbird in the indoor 800m run. Clocking a time of 1:55.74, Wells earned a third-place finish for Illinois State. Leslie Fisher jumped a 14.49m (47-06.50 ft.) earning All-Valley honors in the men's triple jump for the first time. With that mark, Fisher placed third overall. Evan Pickard placed third in the men's pole vault. Ariel Atias rounded the Redbirds with a scored 4,858 points in the heptathlon placing second. Atias has now earned All-Valley honors for the second time.
 
Northern Iowa voted third by the coaches with 80 points. After finishing third indoors with a point total of 123, led by Carter Morton kicked off his whirlwind second day of competition with a first place finish in the triple jump (42 feet, 8.75 inches) and first in the long jump. Morton followed the win up by clinching the Heptathlon title with 5,278 total points. Teammates Drew Bartels (4,729 points) and Brody Lovell (4,726) finished in third and fourth place respectively in the Heptathlon. Parker Kiewiet topped the podium in the men's 400-meter dash, setting a new UNI, facility and meet record with a time of 46.13. Drake Hanson took home gold for UNI in the men's 800-meters (1:55.04) and second in the 800m. Reigning men's 60-meter hurdles champion Jack Sumners earned another podium finish as he took second place with a career-best time of 8.02 second. Carter Morton earned most Valuable athlete honors for the Panthers after tagging an impressive 34 points throughout the competition. The Panthers closed the meet as the UNI men's broke a 21-year old MVC Championship meet record in the 4x400-meter relay, as Mitchell, Kiewiet, Hanson and Feguson notched a time of 3:12.63 to clinch one last first place finish for the purple and gold.

In fourth, Southern Illinois tabbed 72 points from the coaches after Dawson Plab’s performance in the Indoor Championships winning the high jump with a height of 2.15m. Plab also picked up the Most outstanding field athlete for his best height of the season at 2.16m set at the 24th highest in the nation. Freshman of the Year Xavier Preston took first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.06. Junior Ethan Senti brought home the only medal of the day for the Saluki Men. He ran a 14:16.07 in the 5000-meter run to take home the Bronze Medal.  Dasani Edwards took second in the Triple Jump with a mark of 14.59m. The 4x400 relay rounded out the Salukis with a second place finish and a time of 3:14.13.

Tying for fifth, Bradley and Drake tally 57 points a piece. Bradley earned fifth indoors with 72 points. In the Men's 3000M, the Bradley team swept the podium with Matt Aho and Alec Danner taking second and third place behind George Watson who won the event with a time of 8:11.81. This event alone earned the Braves 30 points across the board. In the Men's DMR, Caleb Lind, Ivan Westcott, Will Smith and Jack Crull combined for a second-place finish. Jack Crull made the podium in the Men's 1 Mile race with a third-place finishing time of 4:14.71. Drake taps 47 points from the indoor championships with Isaac Basten earning the gold in the mile with a time of 4:13.34. Basten currently sits 9th in the nation in the mile with a time of 3:54.89. Basten returned from the national stage with a resounding 2^nd place finish in the Mile to earn the Silver and First-team All-American honors. In the field Anthony Barmes and Adam Phillips picked up second and third in the weight throw with marks of 20.26m and 19.72m, totaling 17 points in the men’s weight throw. The distance medley relay rounded out the Bulldogs with a combined time of 10:07.01 and a first place finish giving the Bulldogs 10 more points.
 
Belmont polled 7^th after a tie with Valparaiso at 14 points indoors. The Bruins found points from Ethan Hammer in the 5000 meter run with a fourth place finish and a time of 14:24.51. Noah Grimm picked a few points for the Bruins in the high jump at a mark of 2.02m. Heptathlete Ian Robertson showed great promise in the event with a final point count of 4465 and a seventh place finish.
 
Valparaiso tie with UIC for the eighth place spot with 25 points a piece. Tristan Malatlian and Ignacio Veloz Bonilla of Valparaiso earned 4th place in the Pole Vault and 800 meter run, respectfully. Malatlian finished with a mark of 4.75m and Veloz Bonilla finished with a time of 1:55.95. The Beacons found few points in the seventh and eighth places throughout various events. UIC finished 7^th in the Horizon League in the 2022 Outdoor season. While at the 2023 Indoor MVC Championship scored in the 4x400 with a clocked time of 3.22.42 for seventh place. With the distance medley relay the time stopping the timer at 10:15.70 for sixth place.

With 11 points in the polls Evansville is slated for tenth place in the Valley. Sprinters Giovanni Purser and Geordan Blades return after being part of UE’s 4x100-meter relay team which earned a podium finish at last year’s outdoor championships.  Senior thrower Zach Dove returns with his, holds school records in the indoor weight throw, discus, and hammer.
 
The 2023 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship will be held in Normal, Illinois at the Redbird Track and Field Complex from May 12-14th.