IU competed in its one and only home meet of the outdoor season Saturday. For the seniors, it would be their final time competing at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex.
“Anytime you go into a competition this time of the year, there are certain things you need to get done,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said. “I felt like pretty much across the board, in every case, that was what was going on. With this weather, with the facility, we had all the elements in competition to be able to get things done.”
Nine different regional qualifying marks and times were set at the Billy Hayes Invitational, and eight other IU performances placed top-60 in the region, setting themselves up for one last chance to qualify at the Big Ten Championships on May 15 in East Lansing, Mich.
The Hoosiers also won 11 of the events hosted, including a school-record throw by freshman Nakel McClinton in the women’s hammer throw with 60.81 meters.
“Coach (Cory) Martin said the goal was to hit 60 meters within the first three throws, so I did that,” McClinton said. “I actually missed the finish, so I had a lot more in me. I guess I’ll just have to do that another time.”
McClinton’s previous record was 59.66 meters at the Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational, but she left Arizona State unsatisfied as she fell short of 60 meters.
Her current record places her third in the Big Ten and 12th in the NCAA East Region, easily qualifying her for the NCAA East Regional meet May 28 in ?Jacksonville, Florida. “It feels good to get 60 meters,” McClinton said. “I really want to get 65 meters. Next week the goal is 63, and then 65 at nationals.”
McClinton is not the only top athlete on the team with lofty goals after Saturday, as sophomore middle distance runner Tre’tez Kinnaird and freshman middle distance runner Daniel Kuhn have high expectations for each other in the Big Ten ?Championships.
“We want to go one-and-two at Big Tens,” Kinnaird said about the 800-meter run. “We know that if one of us finishes first, the other one better be right ?behind him.”
That’s exactly what they did at the Billy Hayes Invitational, as Kinnaird found victory in the men’s 800-meter run at 1:47.91, with Kuhn finishing second at 1:48.52.
To accomplish their goal at the Big Ten Championships, though, they’ll have to beat Brandon Kidder of Penn State, who owns a time of 1:45.58, two seconds faster than Kuhn’s best of 1:47.80.
“We want to go score points and see what we can do for the team,” Kuhn said. “Not just for ourselves, but for the team.”
Helmer has an optimistic view of IU’s Big Ten potential, but also a realistic one, as he knows competing for a Big Ten title as a team may be out of reach.
“We don’t have the depth that we need to be able to support our really good athletes,” Helmer said. “That’s what we’re in the process of trying to fix, through recruiting and development. We’re going to be just fine. We’re going to get where we need to be. We had a great, great meet. We’re just not good enough, and we can’t get better in two weeks.”
