ISU 'focused' going into MVC Indoor Track at Indy, women defending champs
· Yahoo Sports
Indiana State has a strong track record — no pun intended — going into the Missouri Valley Conference indoor track and field championships in Indianapolis, scheduled for Sunday and Monday at the State Fairgrounds.
Among its top individual contenders is junior Rachel Mehringer, who broke the ISU and MVC records in the women's 60-meter hurdles on her way to a first-place finish in the event at the ISU Open. Her time of 8.16 seconds in prelims broke meet, facility, school and conference records in the event.
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The Northern Iowa Panthers are picked to repeat as champions on the men's side, while the Sycamores were picked to finish first on the women's side with 10 first-place votes and 120 points.
Coach Angela Martin's Indiana State squads enter the competition with a long record of success. Her Sycamores won three of the four MVC championships during the 2024-25 campaign (women’s indoor, men’s outdoor, women’s outdoor).
"We have been very team focused," said Martin on Friday morning. "Track and field is traditionally an individual sport but it is so much fun to succeed as a group. We really work on positive energy on meet day and if each individual succeeds then the team comes home with a trophy. The team has bought into that."
ISU won its ninth women’s MVC indoor title last season, coupled with those from 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2014, 2015, 2022 and 2024. The Sycamore men finished second last season and have won seven MVC indoor titles in the 21st century, including 2024.
This week, the Sycamores swept the MVC Women's Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards, announced by the Valley on Thursday afternoon.
Mehringer named Track Athlete of the Week after her ISU Open performance, as was junior Aliseonna Garnett as the Field Athlete of the Week following a career-best performance in the weight throw at that same meet.
Mehringer has the Valley's four fastest 60-meter hurdles times in the this season at 8.16 seconds, 8.25, 8.26 and 8.29, and set a conference record in the event. She has the top 60-meter hurdles time in the Great Lakes Region, which spans Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Garnett delivered a career-best effort in the weight throw and won the shot put at the ISU Open. Garnett’s mark of weight throw of 62 feet, 8.75 inches was the best among collegiate athletes in the field. She also topped the 15-meter mark in the shot put for the second straight week with a throw of 49-9.75. Garnett has the MVC's top shot-put mark this season.