IU women’s track and field was pushed out of fourth place by just one point this weekend but racked up enough points to land themselves in fifth place overall at the Big Ten Championships with 69 points.
The women’s team has not been able to crack the top five spots since 2011 but was able to do so this year and set a standard for the years to come.
IU Coach Ron Helmer said entering the weekend that he felt his team should place somewhere in the fourth to eighth place range.
“We came up just a point short of being as good as we expected,” Helmer said. “But it was certainly a big big step for us from where we have placed in the past.”
Sophomore Katherine Receveur continued her successful season this weekend by shaving more than 20 seconds off her personal best time for the 5,000-meter run. With a sprint on the final lap she was able to place in first with a time of 15:28.99 and became the first IU athlete to win gold at the Big Ten Championship in this event since 1990.
“She just really enjoys the challenge and is not completely consumed by it,” Helmer said. “I think she will continue to grow, and it’s going to be really fun to watch her over the next two years and see what she has the ability to accomplish.”
Sophomore Maggie Allen also scored a point for the Hoosiers in the same event as Receveur by crossing the finish line in eighth place and beating her personal collegiate record by posting the fourth-best time in school history in the 5,000-meter.
In the women’s 600-meter run, junior Kendell Wiles took bronze and teammate sophomore Taylor Williams finished sixth, which picked up important points for the team total.
As for the 800-meter run, senior Olivia Hippensteel also took bronze with a time of 2:08.73 and sophomore Kelsey Harris picked up fifth, good for four points.
The Hoosiers earned a silver medal in the mile as junior Brenna Calder finished with a time of 4:42.33. Junior Corinne Cominator and sophomore Haley Harris were right behind in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
With the team’s success this weekend, Helmer said that as a group they are going to focus more on winning races than improving times throughout the rest of the season.
“We are going to continue to make it about winning races, I think getting too caught up in times is the wrong thing to focus on,” Helmer said. “We want to continue to enjoy racing, enjoy competition and enjoy trying to beat people and the times will follow.”
