Track & Field

Indiana State Tabbed for a Sycamore Sweep at the 2025 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championships

ST. LOUIS – The 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships is set to take place on May 17th and 18th in Carbondale Illinois on the campus of Southern Illinois at Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex. In preparation for the championship, all 12 Valley head coaches were polled for their predictions on the team rankings at this year’s competition. In a unanimous decision head coaches polled Indiana State to claim the women’s champion title, followed by Illinois State and Northern Iowa in second and third place respectively. In a similar order on the men’s side, the head coaches polled Indiana State with six first place votes, followed by Illinois State by one, and Northern Iowa in third with three first place vote.

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With 144 total points and twelve first-place votes, Indiana State dominantly earns the top spot among the coaches, looking to earn their ninth MVC Outdoor Track and Field women’s title after claiming their first outdoor program title since 2013, last year at the 2024 championships. The Sycamores hold five top spots in The Valley best list this season in the 100 meter Hurdles, Pole Vault, Long Jump, Triple Jump, and Javelin. In addition to Sycamore’s top spots, they also mark 34 total scoring positions in the top eight across all events. Most notably Rachel Mehringer leads the Sycamores with her 13.03 time, set this past weekend, where she became the new MVC All-Time Record holder for the event that has not been broken in nearly a decade. Mehringer also holds top spots on the National stage with this time where she is ranked fourteenth in the entire NCAA and eighth in the NCAA East Qualifying List. In the Pole Vault Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff lead the Sycamore squad with a best height of 4.09 meters this past weekend. The Sycamores currently hold four top five positions in the event heading into the championship weekend.

In the second-place position among the coaches Illinois State earned 129 points among the coaches holding three top spots in on The Valley best list in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and 4x100 meter relay. Most notably, Lindsey Miller returns to lead the Redbirds on the track, after earning the 2024 MVC Champion Title in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at last year’s championship. She currently holds the top spot in The Valley in the 200m dash with a time of 23.53 and aids the Redbird 4x100m relay team’s top time of 44.87 seconds. In the 2025 Indoor Championships Miller also claimed the 60m dash and 200m dash title.

With 112 points, Northern Iowa earns the third-place position as a team with five top spots among The Valley best list in the 400m Hurdles, 4x400m relay, 3000 Steeplechase, shot put, and heptathlon. Panther standout Katie Fare not only leads the UNI squad in the Shot Put but also nationally ranks 19th in the entire NCAA with her mark of 17.23m set at the Drake Relays earlier this season. On the Track, Carlie Jo Fusco holds the top spots in the 400m hurdles with a time of 59.26 seconds and aids the Panthers top spotted 4x400m relay team’s time of 3:42.89.

In fourth, Murray State earned 90 points among the coaches and are led by Diamonasia Taylor’s top performance in the High Jump of 1.80m set earlier this spring and the return of 2024 Olympic Trials Qualifier Chelby Melvin in the 400m Hurdles. Tied for fifth-place Belmont and Bradley each earned 81 points amongst the coaches followed by Missouri State in seventh with 79 points. Drake (72), Southern Illinois (69), and UIC (35) earn the eighth through tenth place spots, respectively, and Valparaiso (23) and Evansville (21) round out the poll.
 
 
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Indiana State earns six first place votes among the coaches for a total of 96 points. The Sycamores hold seven top Valley spots in the Discus, Long Jump, Pole Vault, 4x100m relay, 110m Hurdles, 200m dash, and 100m dash. In addition to the Sycamores’ top spots the squad also holds 41 total scoring positions in the top eight across all events. All-Americans Will Staggs and Casey Hood Jr. headline the Sycamore squad not just in The Valley but on the national map. Will Staggs sits second in the NCAA East Qualifying Region and is tied eighth in the entire NCAA in the Pole Vault with a height of 5.53m set at the Jesse Owens Classic earlier this month. Coming off his NCAA National Indoor Track and Field Championships All-American honors, Casey Hood Jr. leads in The Valley in the 100m and 200m with top times of 10.08 and 20.64 respectively. The Sycamore currently sits 13th in the 100m and 29th in the 200m in the East Qualifying Region List. In addition, Hood Jr. also sits 20th overall in the NCAA in the 100m dash. The Sycamores look to keep their outdoor streak alive to earn their fourth straight MVC men’s outdoor title and fourteenth in program history. The last time the Sycamores achieved a four-peat on the men’s side was from 2011-2014 led by John McNichols.
 
Illinois State earns one first place vote among the coaches and a total of 87 points. The Redbird’s hold two top Valley spots in the High Jump and Triple Jump. In addition to the Redbird’s top spots, they hold 34 total scoring positions in the top eight of The Valley best list. Leading the Redbirds on the Track Zach Paul and Enyinnaya Nwagwu each tab five top eight positions in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, and 4x400m relays. In the field Rob Pulliam leads in the top spot of the men’s Jump with a height of 2.04m set earlier this season alongside Victor Byaundaombe’s top mark in the triple jump of 15.32m.

In third the Panthers tabbed three first place votes among the coaches and a total of 85 points. The Panthers hold five top Valley spots in the Decathlon, Javelin, Shot Put, 4x400m Relay, and 800m run. On the track Drake Hanson leads The Valley in the 800m run with a time of 1:47.90 set earlier this season and aids the top 4x400m time set earlier this month. In the field, Carson Lienau holds the top spot in the shot put with a mark of 18.66m and a top five spot in the discus with a mark of 53.74m set earlier this season. 2024 MVC Outdoor Javelin Champion Justice Miller also returns to the field with a top mark of 65.30m set in April.

In fourth Southern Illinois tallied 66 points among the polls where they are led by Shane Ashton’s top time of 51.90 in the 400m Hurdles and Andre Jackson II’s top time of 46.66 in the 400m dash. In fifth, Drake earned 56 points among the coaches, followed by Bradley in sixth with a total point score of 55. Belmont’s 45 points and Valparaiso’s 22 points earn seventh and eighth, respectively, with Evansville and UIC rounding out the poll in a tie of 19 each.

For more information on the 2025 MVC Outdoor Track and Field Championship visit the link here.