McLean County Times

Illinois State University athletes delivered strong performances on the second day of the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships held at the Gibson Track Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Senior Amiri Buchanan led the way by winning the men's shot put with a personal-best throw of 19.29 meters, earning him All-MVC honors and placing him tied for 19th nationally.

In other men's events, freshman Ryan Schaefer secured third place in the decathlon with a personal-best score of 6,344 points, also receiving All-MVC recognition. Sophomore Rob Pulliam achieved second place in the high jump with a season-best height of 2.05 meters and eighth place in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 7.03 meters.

On the women's side, junior Mattison Plummer finished second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:20.16, while teammate Claire Fuhlhage took third with a time of 10:25.85. Both athletes earned All-MVC honors.

Several Redbirds qualified for Sunday's finals in their respective events:

Men's Finals Qualifiers:

- Jaden Johnson (110m hurdles)

- Dewayne Johnson (110m hurdles)

- Raydoffa Barziel (400m dash)

- Eyninnaya Nwagwu (400m dash)

- Edward Watkins (400m dash)

Women's Finals Qualifiers:

- Hassy Fashina-Bombata (100m hurdles)

- Courinna Courser (100m hurdles)

- Macee Rivers (100m hurdles)

- Chavi Flowers (400m dash)

- Lindsey Miller (100m dash)

In team standings after day two, Indiana State leads both men's and women's categories with scores of 105.5 and 90 respectively. Illinois State's men are currently second with 70 points, while their women are fifth with 34.5 points.

The final day of competition will commence at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, beginning with the women's triple jump followed by other track and field events.