Valparaiso and UIC will co-host the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Championship at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center in Chicago, IL February 25th and 26th, 2024. This will be the Missouri Valley Conference's 3rd consecutive Indoor Championship held at this facility dating back to 2022. In addition to competing for Conference champion titles, student-athletes also compete for the final opportunities to qualify for the 2024 NCAA Indoor National Championship held in Boston, Massachusetts hosted by Boston College and University of Massachusetts Lowell, held March 8th and 9th.
Currently, Valley Student-Athletes holds 14 national top 50 spots this season, with 5 top 35 performances, and 2 top 15 performances as well as top regional team spots with Indiana State leading both the men and the women in the Great Lakes Region at 7 and 14th respectively. In the Midwest Region, Northern Iowa lead the men in 9th and Bradley leads the women in 16th. In the South and Southeast, Belmont men and women rank 24th and 16th, with Murray State in 13th in the Southeast. According to the USTFCCCA Week 5 Indoor rankings.
2024 PRE CHAMPIONSHIP POLL
The 2024 MVC women's indoor track and field pre-championship poll tabbed Murray State at the top of The Valley at 138 points and 6 first-place votes. The Indiana State Sycamores tabbed 4 first-place votes and 135 votes from the coaches for a tight second place in the poll. The reigning 2023 MVC Indoor Champions Illinois State earned 2 first place votes from the coaches paired with 124 points. Bradley tabbed 96 points from the coaches for fourth place followed by Southern Illinois in fifth with a close 96 points, ahead of Belmont's 93 points from the coaches for sixth. Northern Iowa, Drake, and Missouri State tab places 7-9th with 77, 65, and 50 points respectively. Followed by Valparaiso, UIC, and Evansville's 28, 27, and 23 points respectively.
Indiana State collected 9 first-place votes from the coaches for a near-perfect score of 99 points out of 100 (10 first-place votes). Illinois State and Northern Iowa tabbed 5 points apart of each other for second and third at 87 points and 82 points respectively. Drake and Southern Illinois also find their positionings 5 points apart of each other with Drake tabbed at 65 points and Southern Illinois at 60 points. Belmont and Bradley tab 6th and 7th in the coach's vote four points apart from each other. Valparaiso, UIC, and Evansville round out the coaches poll with 27 points, 19 points, and 14 points respectively.
MURRAY STATE
Women - 1st
- Murray State received the most first-place votes in the 2024 MVC Pre-Championship poll, sitting just five points ahead of Indiana State with 138 points. Five different Racers hold top spots in five different indoor events and 21 top-10 spots across all indoor events. Faith Bostick holds the top conference spot in the 60-meter dash at 7.39 seconds, setting a new personal and program record at the Bellarmine Classic in February. The senior also sits in third in the 200-meter at 24.25 seconds. The top two spots in the 400-meter are currently held by Chelby Melvin and Kayla Bell, separated by just over a tenth of a second (54.44, 54.60). Anouk Krause-Jentsch and Darrione Joseph also sit top 10 in the 400 with times of 55.68 and 56.43. Bell also sits in the runner-up spot in the 800-meter with a time of 2:06.83, just over two seconds behind Bradley’s Julia Nielsen. Amirr Evans sits in sixth in the same event with a time of 2:11.27 which is an indoor personal best for the senior. Melvin holds another runner-up spot in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.54 seconds recorded at the season-opening Saluki Fast Start with Jenna Pauly just two spots behind her with 8.60 seconds clocked at the Vanderbilt Invitational, a personal best recorded in the pentathlon. The Racers hold the top conference spot in the 4x400-meter relay with a program record time of 3:39.60, over eight seconds ahead of Southern Illinois’ time. Three Racers are top five in the high jump led by Meghan Fletcher with a height of 1.76m, just .04m short of her record that was accomplished at the 2023 MVC Indoor Championships. Pauly and Brooke Probst sit just behind Fletcher in a tie for third at 1.72m. Pauly also sits top 10 in the pole vault at 3.80m, followed by freshman newcomer Tayla Tootle who sits 10th at 3.70m. Pauly is the lone Racer in the top 10 of the long jump at 5.95m, .05m short of another personal best for the senior out of McHenry, Illinois. Pauly rounds out her impressive showing with the top spot in the pentathlon nearly 300 points ahead of UNI’s Katy Stephens with 3800 points, which was a personal and program record. Andrea Segovia is also in the top five after competing in her first multi-event with 3403 points. Alyssa Williams rounds out an impressive Murray State lineup with a runner-up spot in the triple jump at 11.76m. Murray State looks for a strong showing at their second MVC Indoor Championship.
Indiana State
MEN - 1ST
- Indiana State enters the conference championships with high expectations. The Sycamores feature 22 marks that rank in the top five in the MVC, including Will Staggs’ school-record mark of 5.52m (18-01.25) in the pole vault. Indiana State features a pair of top-two rankings in both the 60m (Terrance O’Bannon 6.63, Casey Hood Jr. 6.67) and the 200m (Hood Jr. 21.39, Daunte Majors 21.39), while Tahj Johnson (400m, 48.16), Luigi Rivas (60m hurdles, 7.95) and the DMR team (9:50.13) all rank in the top three in the conference. Logan Pietrzak (8:15.10 3000m, 14:15.42 5000m) and Jason Dworak (8:12.43 3000m, 14:35.66 5000m) lead a strong distance crew, while Shomari Rogers-Walton (7.67m/25-02.00 long jump, 15.11m/49-07.00 triple jump), Kevin Krustch (2.08m/6-09.75 high jump) and Staggs combine to top the conference in all the jumps events. In addition to the conference leaders, Lawrence Mitchell (high jump, 2.02m/6-07.50), Mitch Conard (long jump, 7.25m/23-09.50) and Jaden Smith (triple jump, 14.69m/48-02.50) all rank in the top three of the MVC in their respective events. Indiana State’s throws group is also deep, as Wyatt Puff leads the conference in the shot put (18.28m/59-11.75), while Noah Bolt (weight throw, 20.65m/67-09.00) and Brett Norton (shot put, 17.61m/57-09.50) also own top-five conference marks.
WOMEN - 2nd
- Indiana State enters the conference championships off the heels of a strong indoor season. The Sycamores feature a trio of conference-leading marks, with Rachel Mehringer (60m hurdles, 8.39), Grace Quinlan (high jump, 1.77m/5-09.75) and Niesha Anderson (weight throw, 21.36m/70-01.00) all topping the MVC in their respective events. The Trees are deep in the 200m with a pair of top-five conference marks (Michelle McDonald 24.40, Janiya Bowman, 24.41), with Erica Barker leading the way for the Blue and White in the distance events (9:38.99 3000m, 16:49.68 5000m). Shanisa Stinson (8.57) gives the Sycamores a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the hurdles charts with Mehringer, while Kyrsten Fehribach (1.71m/5-07.25) give the Trees a second athlete in the top five of the high jump alongside Quinlan. Brooklyn Giertz-Pfaff (3.90m/12-09.50) leads a pole vault group that features half of the MVC’s top 10 in the event, while Claire Pittman (5.87m/19-03.25) and Bowman (5.81m/19-00.75) account for two of the conference’s top three marks in the long jump. Hannah Redlin (shot put, 15.06m/49-05.00) and Anderson pace the Sycamores in the throws events, while Kamille Gaskin-Griffith (3368) cracked the top 10 in program history in the pentathlon this season.
Illinois State
Men - 2nd
- The Redbird men had a strong indoor season with many personal-best times and marks as well with senior Ariel Atias breaking his heptathlon school record with 5348 at the Illini Challenge. Atias sits atop the MVC in the heptathlon. Freshman Ryan Schaefer sits in 6th for the heptathlon with his personal-best score of 4677. In the 200m dash, Enyinnaya Nwagwu sits in 4th with his season-best time of 21.57 seconds. Nwagwu also sits in 4th for the 400m with his season-best time of 48.54 seconds. Raydoffa Braziel sits in 6th with his season-best time of 21.60 seconds. In the mile, Mathis Chavand sits in 9th in the MVC with his season-best time of 4:07.62. Chavand sits atop the MVC in the 3,000m with his personal-best time of 8:00.73, which is second in school history. Senior Brandon Ratliff looks to defend his indoor title in the 60m hurdles as he sits atop the MVC with his season-best of 7.85 seconds. Ratliff tied his personal-best this season at the Larry Wieczorek Invite. The Redbird 4x400m relay sits atop the MVC with a time of 3:15.19 where they ran this at the Music City Challenge. Sophomore Rob Pulliam sits in second in the MVC with his 2.03m (6-7.5). In the pole vault, sophomore Charles Cruse sits in 3rd with his personal-best mark of 4.95m (16-2.75). Senior Amiri Buchanan sits in 3rd in the MVC for the shot put with his season-best throw of 18.07m (59-3.5). Buchanan also sits in 4th for the weight throw with his personal-best mark of 20.49m (67-2.75). Senior Joe Boyer sits in 6th for the shot put with his personal-best mark of 17.34m (56-10.75). The Redbird men had seven personal-best times and marks in the Redbird Tune-Up.
Women - 3rd
- The Redbird women had a stellar ladder half of the indoor season with many personal-best and records including junior Windsor Roberts breaking her own Horton Field House record with her mark last weekend with 3.89m while her personal-best mark is 4.06m (13-3.75). Roberts sits atop of the MVC in the women's pole vault. The Redbird women had a strong performance down in Nashville at the Music City Challenge, where sophomore Nnnena Okpara had a personal-best time of 24.18 seconds in the 200m dash..Okpara sits second in the MVC and fourth in school history. Sophomore Lindsey Miller sits in 5th for the 60m dash with her season-best time of 7.57 seconds at the Keck Select. Junior Corrina Courser had a 8.62 second 60mH time at the Meyo Invitational where she sits in 6th and freshman Cambria Geyer had a 8.66 second 60mH at the Coughlan/Malloy Cup where she sits in 7th in the MVC. Sophomore Abby Milott had a personal-best leap of 5.64m (18-6) at the Keck Select where she sits in 5th in the MVC in the long jump. Junior Madison Saunders sits atop the MVC in the triple jump with her season-best mark of 12.19m (40-0). Senior Kiley Sanders sits in 3rd in the pentathlon with her season-best score of 3465 at the Larry Wieczorek invite in Iowa City. At the Redbird Tune-Up the Redbirds had 13 total personal-best and are heading into the Missouri Conference Championships with some momentum.
third place - MEN
Northern Iowa
The Panthers tab 3rd place by the coaches with 82 points and are led by Brendan Safley has recorded five individual wins in the 2024 indoor season. While also notched a career-best vault of 5.23-meters at the Iowa State Classic where he recorded one of his five first-place finishes. Safely heads into the MVC Indoor Championships after a win at the Iowa Open with a vault of 5.15-meters. Safley recorded second place at the MVC Indoor Championships last year in the pole vault with 4.85-meters. In the men’s long jump premier last weekend, Jack Sumners leaped 7.17 meters for a new season-best mark to finish in second place at the Iowa Open. Last year at the MVC Indoor Championships, Sumners finished in second place in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.02, and 3rd place in the long jump (7.15m). Coming to secure his title in the 60-meter hurdles this year.Chase Knoche earned MVC Men’s Track Athlete of the Week (1/25/24) after competing at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational where he placed second in the 800-meter in a time of 1:49.61 and fifth in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:19.06. Knoche competed at the Badger Windy City Invite and finished fourth in the 800 meters in a time of 1:48.66. Knoche holds a career-best time of 1:48.50 in the 800-meter event. Last year at the MVC Indoor Championships, he finished 5th place in the DMR (10:10.95), and 10th in the 800-meter (1:53.14). Multi athlete, Zach Butcher did not compete last year throughout the indoor season, but Butcher’s has had top-five performances throughout the 2024 indoor season. Ready to compete this year at the 2024 MVC Indoor Championships. Butcher won the long jump with 6.90-meters at the Iowa Classic and took third place in the long jump with 7.16 meters at the Iowa Open this past weekend.
fourth place
Women - Bradley
After finishing x in the 2023 MVC Indoor Championship, the Braves tabbed fourth by the coaches with 96 points. The Braves saw top performances over the season from veteran, MVC all-conference honoree and champion, Julia Nielsen in the 800m with her top time of 2:04.58 set at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational to reset the MVC All-time 800m record, not just once but twice this season. Nielsen sits 35th in the NCAA and is the MVC’s highest nationally ranked women’s runner entering this weekend’s championship. The Braves are also ranked 1st in the Mile where they hold 4 top 5 positions led by Freshman Trixie Wraith’s time of 4:38.85 set at the Boston University David Hemery Valentine Invitational, supported by Julia Nielsen, Abigail Hancock, and Nadia Potgieter. The Braves also hold multiple MVC top 10 spots in the 400 with Amiyah Davis in 7th, Mile, 3000, 800m, 60m hurdles with Kyra Koontz’s 5th place positioned time of 8.61. 4x400 relay, and long jump with Peter-Shae Fuller’s 4th place positioned mark 5.66m.
Men - Drake
Isaac Basten returned to Boston and broke his own Drake program and MVC record in the mile at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational with a time of 3:53.54 to finish eighth overall (second amongst collegiate competitors). Basten was named MVC Track Athlete of the Week two weeks in a row (Feb. 8 and Feb. 15). Distance running has always been a strong suit for the Bulldogs. In the 3000m run, Enzo Marie, Brogan Giffin, Aziz JDai, and Aidan Ramsey finished 1-4 at the Iowa State Classic on Feb. 3. Adam Phillips won the Cyclone Open men's weight throw on Friday, Jan. 19 after a school record toss of 21.61m/70' 10.75". That measurement currently ranks first in MVC, eighth in the Midwest region, and 27th in the NCAA. Phillips was named MVC Field Athlete of the Week twice this indoor season.
fifth place
Women - Southern Illinois
The women's team boasts two track athletes who have stuffed the record books, Iaunia Pointer and Rachel Anderson. Pointer etched her name into another spot in the books after she broke the school record in the 300-meter dash at the Badgers Midwest Invite. She has coupled that with five first-place finishes this indoor season, three coming in the 200-meter dash and two in the 60-meter dash. Anderson broke the school record in the one-mile and the 3000-meter run to go along with two first-place finishes, one in each event. Pointer and Anderson are the only Salukis who hold three school records.
Men - Southern Illinois
The Southern Illinois men's and women's track and field teams both enjoyed success during the 2023-24 Indoor Season. The Salukis hosted two indoor meets and traveled to competitions hosted by Bellarmine, Boston, Indiana, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin. The men's team is led by sophomores Xavier Preston, Jadon Robertson, and freshman Dallas Hodge. Preston has already cemented himself as one of the all-time great sprinters in Saluki history, taking over the record books in the 60 and 200-meter dashes. He has two victories in the 60 and one in the 200. Robertson is a true Swiss army knife, showing this with first place finishes in multiple track and field events. Hodge has been Southern Illinois' best thrower so far, showing out in both home meets with two finishes, one in the weight throw and one in the shot put.
Both teams have shown depth as many young athletes have given coaches and fans alike reasons to believe Southern Illinois track and field will be in good hands for years to come.
sixth place
Women - Belmont
- Belmont looks to improve in their second showing at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships. Throwers Rebekah Stucker and Logan Gray have had phenomenal seasons so far, setting records and claiming event wins in both the weight throw and shot put. Stucker currently holds the program record in weight throw and sits at No.36 on the NCAA’s Indoor Qualifying List. Gray is the shot put program record holder and sits inside the top 75 of the same list. Brooke Garter has headlined for the distance crew, securing program records in the 1000m and the 3000m, while also claiming an event win in the mile during the indoor season.
Men - Belmont
- Headed for its second round of competition at the Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Championships, Belmont's top athletes had several record-breaking performances throughout the indoor season. Freshman Austin Belle topped the 300m program record in his first collegiate race and hasn’t looked back since. Belle also holds the program record in the 400m and has the top time in the conference headed into the championships.
- Distance runners Carter Cheeseman and Kevin Vanderkolk also had stellar performances throughout the season. Cheeseman made his mark early by setting new records in the mile and the 3000m with three top-10 finishes overall. Vanderkolk also topped previous mile records and set his own in the 800m this season.
Seventh Place
Women - Northern Iowa
The Panthers tab seventh by the coaches with 77 points. Alivia Silvestri has gained five individual first-place finishes in the pole vault this 2024 indoor season. Most importantly marking a personal-best vault of 3.86 meters at the Iowa Open this past weekend to take home first place. With that performance, Silvestri tied for the third-highest mark in program history. At the MVC Indoor Championships last year she finished in 11th place in the pole vault (3.60m). Multi Athlete for the women’s team, Katy Stephens finished in 5th place in the pentathlon with a career-best score of 3,258 at the 2023 MVC Indoor Championships last season. This year Stephens won the first meet of the Indoor season at the ISU Holiday Classic in the Pentathlon with a career-best score of 3496. Junior distance runner, Sophia Jungling returns for another year for the Panthers. This past weekend at the Iowa Open, Jungling recorded second place in the 800-meter in a time of 2:11.57. She ran a personal-best time of 2:08.23 in the 800-meter event. As she didn’t compete in the 2023 MVC Indoor Championships, Jungling was an MVC champion in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:08.23 and part of a second-place 4x400 relay team at the 2022 Indoor MVC Championships.
Men - Bradley
The Bradley men were tabbed seventh by the coaches with a point total of 45 points after finishing 5th in the 2023 MVC Indoor Championship. The Braves currently hold 11 top 10 Valley spots with Micheal Rebello and Jack Crull holding one or more top 2 positions. Rebello leads the conference in the 5000m run with a time of 13:58.42. In the 2022 championship, Rebello was crowned the champion in the 3000m and 5000m as a freshman. Crull holds second-place positions in the 800m and 1500m with times of 1:50.43 and 3:41.93 respectively. The Braves also find top spots in the sprints led by School record holder Eli Recker in the 60m dash and 200m where he is positioned at 9th and 13th respecitively going into the championship weekend.
eighth place
Women - Drake
- At the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, Emilie Meyer broke Gina DeWitt's record with her 800m time of 2:08.19. The previous record (2:09.24) by DeWitt was set back in 1995. Also in Fayetteville, Centaine Noom-Duckworth bettered her own program record in the Tyson Invitational women's weight throw with a toss of 19.26m/63-2 ¼. She ranks fourth in the MVC, 21st in the Midwest region and 78th in the NCAA. Noom-Duckworth has an MVC Field Athlete of the Week honor to her credit this indoor season. Brooke Mullins and Carmen Krawczynski Gonzalez are two names to look out for in distance events for the Drake women in the 3000m.
Men - Valparaiso
- The Valpo men boasted several program records during the indoor season, including Micah Mullings establishing the program mark in the long jump (7.50m) on Feb. 9 at GVSU and Evan Walda breaking his own program record in the 3000 (8:12.75) in that same meet. Walda also set a new program standard in the 5000 this season, stopping the clock in 14:18.32.
Ninth Place
Women - Missouri State
- The Bears were tabbed ninth by the coaches with 6 top-10 Valley positionings. The Bears are led by senior Brooke Jenkin's Long Jump and triple jump positions of 8th and 5th respectively after posting season-best marks at the 2024 Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational and the Crimson & Gold Invitational. On the track, Olivia Rogers leads in the 60m with a time of 7.57 for 5th in The Valley set at the 9th Annual Indoor Gorilla Classic earlier this month. DaeLine Switzer also leads in the high jump with a top-ten height of 1.68m. The Bears also rank among the 5 in the distance medley and 4x400 relay with times of 12:11.23 and 3:49.32 respectively.
Men - UIC
- The UIC indoor track and field teams are off to a good start for their second season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Before preparing to co-host the 2024 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships for the second straight season, the Flames participated in several meets. The Flames kicked off their indoor season at DePaul's Blue Demon Holiday Invite on Dec. 8., but took a pause until 2024 for the nearby Aurora Grand Prix on Jan. 19. This was a standout competition for the team, with the men's team placing second out of 16 teams and the women finishing fourth out of a pool of 12 teams. Individually, multiple Flames placed in the top three in their respective events. Freshman Praise Oyebanji earned a first-place finish in the 800m, while the Flames men took the top five spots in the 3000m run, with senior Luke Malone leading the way. A week later, the Flames competed at another DePaul meet, the Blue Demon Alumni Classic (Jan. 26-27). At this meet, held at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center at Gately Park, senior Daniela Martinez and freshman Theodore Cunningham represented UIC well in the unseeded mile, both claiming first-place finishes. UIC also made two trips to South Bend, Ind., for the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 2-3) and Alex Wilson Invitational (Feb. 17). On Feb. 9, the Flames competed against some of the top schools in the nation at the Big Meet at Grand Valley State University. Freshman Makaya Phillips stood out in long jump, taking home gold for her mark.
TENTH PLACE
Women - Valparaiso
- Freshman Taylor Pusateri burst onto the scene with a record-setting time of 42.54 seconds in the 300 on Dec. 9 at Purdue. Her emergence was among the highlights of the indoor season for the Valpo women, who most recently saw senior thrower Tori Gerhardt enter the program's all-time top five in the weight throw with a toss of 16.67 meters to place third of 45 at the GVSU Big Meet on Feb. 10.
Men - Evansville
- The Aces hold 8 top 20 positions in The Valley with four top 11 spots in the field and on the track. On the track, Cedrik Flipo leads in the 800m at an 8th place spot with his time of 1:52.86 set at the PNC Bank Bellarmine Classic. Flipo also aids the 4 x 400 Relay team where they sit 5th in The Valley. In the field Zach Dove and Jayden Hayes in the weight throw with matching distances of 17.83m. While Zach Dove also put up a top-20 performance in the shot put with a disctance of 15.53m.
Eleventh & TWELFTH PLACE
Women - UIC
- The UIC indoor track and field teams are off to a good start for their second season in the Missouri Valley Conference. Before preparing to co-host the 2024 MVC Indoor Track and Field Championships for the second-straight season, the Flames participated in several meets. The Flames kicked off their indoor season at DePaul's Blue Demon Holiday Invite on Dec. 8., but took a pause until 2024 for the nearby Aurora Grand Prix on Jan. 19. This was a standout competition for the team, with the men's team placing second out of 16 teams and the women finishing fourth out of a pool of 12 teams. Individually, multiple Flames placed in the top three in their respective events. Freshman Praise Oyebanji earned a first-place finish in the 800m, while the Flames men took the top five spots in the 3000m run, with senior Luke Malone leading the way. A week later, the Flames competed at another DePaul meet, the Blue Demon Alumni Classic (Jan. 26-27). At this meet, held at the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center at Gately Park, senior Daniela Martinez and freshman Theodore Cunningham represented UIC well in the unseeded mile, both claiming first-place finishes. UIC also made two trips to South Bend, Ind., for the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 2-3) and Alex Wilson Invitational (Feb. 17). On Feb. 9, the Flames competed against some of the top schools in the nation at the Big Meet at Grand Valley State University. Freshman Makaya Phillips stood out in long jump, taking home gold for her mark.
Twelfth Place - Evansville
The Purple Aces tabbed twelfth with 23 points by the coaches. Led by Nicole Prauchner in the 800m who sits 9th in the MVC with a time of 2:11.99 and also aids in the 4x400m relay's time of 3:58.59. Freshman Gwen Darrah leads the Aced in the field with a weight throw with a distance of 14.45m for 14th in The Valley. The Aces enter a young and competitive squad into the championship with 8 events cracking the top 20 all held by sophomores or freshman.