MVC Track & Field Weekly Honors (Apr. 15)
 

ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Valley Conference revealed the men’s and women’s track and field weekly honors on Wednesday. Indiana State’s Trent Jones was named Men’s Track Athlete of the Week, Drake’s Cooper Cerese earned Men’s Field Athlete of the Week honors, Indiana State’s Rachel Mehringer was selected Women’s Track Athlete of the Week, and Drake’s Centaine Noon-Duckworth received Women’s Field Athlete of the Week recognition.

MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Trent Jones, Indiana State, Sr., Crawfordsville, Ind.

Jones posted the best performances of his career at the Crimson Tide Invitational, becoming the first Sycamore in nearly 20 years to break the 47-second mark in the 400m while also running a career-best anchor leg in the 4x400m relay. His career-best 400m time of 46.97 ranked in the top five among collegiate times at the meet and also placed him fourth in school history in the event. Jones followed by anchoring Indiana State’s season-best 4x400m relay team, running a career-best split of 45.98 as the Trees clocked a collective time of 3:14.00. The Crawfordsville, Indiana, native has run his two best 400m times in back-to-back weeks, after previously clocking a time of 47.02 at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational. Jones’ 400m time currently ranks second in the MVC, 10th in the Great Lakes Region and 82nd in NCAA East Region Qualifying, while the Sycamores’ 4x400m relay ranks fourth in the MVC and seventh in the Great Lakes Region.

MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Cooper Cerese, Drake, Redshirt Jr., Roselle, Ill.

Cooper Cerese had another standout week for the Bulldogs at their home Jim Duncan Invitational. Cerese led the MVC for the third straight week with the furthest shot put heave among all MVC throwers and highest nationally ranked performance of all MVC male performers. Cerese is ranked 58th in the NCAA, 27th on the West qualifying list, and 6th in the Midwest Region.

WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Rachel Mehringer, Indiana State, Jr., Schnellville, Ind.

Mehringer’s assault on the program and conference record books carried on at the Crimson Tide Invitational, as the 2025 Second Team All-American matched her own Indiana State and MVC record time of 13.04 Friday. Mehringer cruised to another first-place finish, crossing the line more than two-tenths of a second ahead of the field which featured three SEC athletes and three more in NCAA East Region Qualifying spots.  Mehringer owns the top three times in the MVC this season (13.04, 13.20, 13.29), with her record-tying time being more than six-tenths of a second faster than anyone in the MVC. She also owns the top wind-legal time in the conference by nearly a full second. In addition to leading the conference in the event, Mehringer ranks first in the Great Lakes Region, seventh in NCAA East Region Qualifying and 10th nationally in the event this season.

 

WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Centaine Noon-Duckworth, Drake, Sr., Auckland, New Zealand

Centaine Noom-Duckworth posted the best hammer throw performance in the MVC for the third consecutive week. She posted the furthest hammer toss in the league this week and had the highest nationally ranked women’s throw among all MVC performers. Noom-Duckworth is 56th in the NCAA, 28th on the West qualifying list, and 14th in the Midwest Region.