INDIANAPOLIS — The Illinois State University track & field programs captured strong runner-up finishes at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships Monday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
The Redbird women totaled 142.5 points, while the men scored 151.5 points, with ISU athletes winning eight event titles. Top-three finishers earned All-MVC First Team honors, while fourth through eighth-place finishers were named All-MVC Honorable Mention.
"I'm very proud of both teams, as we battled hard all the way down to the final and last event," said Director of Cross Country & Track and Field Jeff Bovee. "It's hard to come up just a few points short, but we out-performed the pre-championship poll in the field and on the track. We had many stellar individual and relay event champions and are fortunate to get another crack at team titles in just over two months."
The Redbirds made history by sweeping the top three positions in both the women's 60m hurdles and the men's 200m dash, a first for the program at the MVC Championships. Macee Rivers claimed the women's 60m hurdles title in 8.36 seconds, marking the Redbirds' first champion in the event since 2021, and she was named the Women's Most Outstanding Track Performer. Nya Browne earned silver in 8.37, and Erin Starks took bronze in 8.45.
On the men's side, Enyiannaya Nwagwu captured the 200m title in 20.99 seconds, the program's first since 2018. Zach Paul earned silver with a career-best 21.11, and Reece Curtis recorded a career-best 21.13 to take bronze.
The women's 4x400 relay squad, featuring Starks, Chavi Flowers, Lindsey Miller and Temi-Tope Olusesan took home first place with a time of 3:44.23.
Astor Snaider earned gold in the triple jump with a mark of 15.19m, putting him eighth in program history. Becca Heitzig claimed her first-career MVC title in the women's 800m with a time of 2:08.74.
SPRINTS/HURDLES/RELAYS
Miller ran a 7.39 in the 60m finals to earn silver. Miller also placed fourth in the 200m, while Starks took seventh.
Paul, Curtis, Nwagwu and Jaiden Reed represented the Redbirds in the 60m finals. Paul took silver with a time of 6.68, finishing just three milliseconds behind the title winner. Curtis placed fourth in 6.77, and Nwagwu and Reed followed in sixth and seventh place.
The men's 4x400 relay team, comprised of Jake Welch, Curtis, Paul and Nwagwu, took bronze with a time of 3:11.97.
MID-DISTANCE/DISTANCE
Pauline Schedler took silver in the women's mile with a career-best time of 4:40.61, which ranks second in school history. Heitzig followed in fourth place in 4:43.74, and Astrid Van Breedam placed ninth. Cayde de Waal took fifth in the men's mile with a time of 4:09.94. Colleen Zeibert met Heitzig on the 800m podium, taking bronze with a time of 2:12.32. Mattison Plummer placed fourth in the women's 3000m with a time of 9:34.87, while Julian Baker was crowned a champion on the men's side in 8:09.33.
JUMPS/MULTIS
Ryan Schaefer earned silver in the men's heptathlon with a career-best 5,280 points, good for second in program history.
Victor Byaundaombe took fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 14.64m. Ava Lawless earned a spot on the podium in the women's triple jump, taking third with a career-high jump of 11.99m. Megan Clark and Abby Milott followed in sixth and seventh place.
THROWS
Kiera Fax took 10th in the women's shot put with a throw of 12.65m. Four Redbirds finished in the top 10 in the men's shot put, with Jacob Klink leading the pack in fifth with a mark of 17.59m.
MVC TITLE WINNERS
Men's Triple Jump - Astor Snaider, 15.19m
Men's 200m - EJ Nwagwu, 20.99
Men's 3000m - Julian Baker, 8:09.33
Men's 5000m - Julian Baker, 14:09.54
Women's 60m Hurdles - Macee Rivers, 8.36
Women's 800m - Becca Heitzig, 2:08.74
Women's 5000m - Mattison Plummer, 16:28.42
Women's 4x400m Relay - Flowers, Starks, Miller & Olusesan, 3:44.23
