ST. LOUIS – In a vote by the head coaches, Indiana State has been tabbed to win the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships for both men and women. The 2025 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships are co-hosted by UIC and Valparaiso and are held March 2^nd and 3^rd in Chicago, Illinois, at The Dr. Conrad Worrill Track at Gately Park.

This season, The Valley saw a total of six overall records broken (1 men’s, 5 women’s). For the men, William Sinclair of Illinois State reset the 5,000m record with a new time of 13:45.46, originally set by Jeff Schirmer of Southern Illinois in 2011.

For the women, Kayla Bell of Murray State reset two individual records in the 400m dash with a time of 52.84 and the 800m run with a time of 2:02.99. In addition to those two records, she aided the Murray State 4x400m team to a new conference record with a collective time of 3:35.54 breaking the 1999 record of 3:36.18 originally set by Missouri State. Rachel Mehringer of Indiana State earned the 60m hurdle record this season with a new MVC all-time record of 8.19 resetting Taylor Larch-Miller of Wichita State’s 2017 record of 8.21. The Bradley women reset the 2015 Distance Medley Relay time set by Northern Iowa, to a new 11:14.28, a full 3.22 seconds faster then the previous 11:17.50.



In the coaches’ polls, the Indiana State women earned nine first place votes among the coaches with a total of 140 points overall. The Sycamores claimed the 2024 indoor title for their first women’s program title since 2022. The Sycamores currently lead The Valley in four events (60m Hurdles, Pole Vault, Triple Jump, and Weight Throw) while having multiple student-athletes among the top 5 in six additional events. Illinois State tabbed second amongst the coaches with one first place vote and a total of 127 points. The Redbirds lead The Valley in five events (Pentathlon, High Jump, Mile, 200m dash, and 60m dash). For third, Northern Iowa earned 110 points overall followed by Murray State’s 105 points. Northern Iowa holds two top event positions in The Valley (Long Jump, Shot Put) while Murray State holds three (400m, 800m, and 4x400m). Belmont and Bradley were tied among the coaches, each earning 89 points a piece followed by Southern Illinois’ 69 points for seventh place. Drake and Missouri State tabbed eighth and ninth, within a point of each other at 61 and 60 respectively. UIC, Valparaiso, and Evansville tabbed the tenth, eleventh and twelfth place positions by the coaches to round out the women’s poll.



For the men, Indiana State claimed the top spot by one point over Northern Iowa. The Sycamores earned four first place votes amongst the coaching body for a total of 94 points. The Sycamore men claimed their seventh program title, third consecutive in the 2024 championships. Currently the men hold top Valley positions in four events (Weight Throw, Pole Vault, 200m, and 60m) and top 5 Valley positions in eight additional events (Shot Put, Triple Jump, Long Jump, High Jump, Distance Medley Relay, 4x400m, 60m hurdles, and 400m). The Panthers tabbed a close second with five first place votes and a total of 93 points. Northern Iowa holds six top Valley positions (400m, 60m Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, and Heptathlon) in addition to seven top 5 positions (200m, 800m, Mile, 5,000m, 4x400m Relay, Pole Vault, and Triple Jump). Illinois State claimed the final first place vote from the coaches for third place with a point total of 83 followed by Southern Illinois’ 67 points by the coaches for fourth. Bradley earns fifth among the coaches in a narrow margin from the Salukis earning 66 points. Drake, Belmont, and UIC follow suit for the sixth, seventh, and eighth place spots respectively, as Valparaiso and Evansville round out the poll for ninth and tenth.

Entering championship weekend The Valley currently has eleven student-athletes in the conversation for the 2025 NCAA indoor national championships ranging in the top 30 rankings.

• Carter Morton, UNI - 8^th in the Heptathlon with a score of 5807
• William Staggs, Indiana State - tied 16^th in the Pole Vault with a height of 5.56m
• Casey Hood Jr., Indiana State - 20^th in the 60m dash with a time of 6.59
• Kayla Bell, Murray State - 20^th in the 800m with a time of 2:02.99
• Katie Fare, UNI - 23^rd in the Shot Put with a mark of 17.09m
• Terrance O’Bannon, Indiana State - 23^rd in the 60m dash with a time of 6.60
• Niesha Anderson, Indiana State - 24^th in the Weight Throw with a mark of 21.28m
• Immaculate Daniel, Illinois State - 29^th in the 60m dash with a time of 7.26
• Spencer Kessell, UNI - 28^th in the Shot Put with a mark of 18.93m
• Brendan Safley, UNI - tied 29^th in the Pole Vault with a height of 5.43m
• Kiley Sanders, Illinois State - tied 30^th in the High Jump with a height of 1.80m

 
For all information regarding the 2025 MVC Indoor Championship, visit the link here.