Seniors soar to Big Ten Championships

Several IU athletes lined the fences at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium for the finals of the triple jump where number one ranked Hoosier Kyle Jenkins was on the runway. \nAs Jenkins teammates shouted at the top of their lungs they showed the great team spirit they built leading up to the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Champaign, Ill., this weekend. \nIU’s men’s team finished in seventh place with 69 points and the women finished in 10th place with 31 points.\nThe triple jump, one of the final events on the final day of competition excited the crowd. Senior Kyle Jenkins said the support and cheering from his teammates, which included the IU chant and slow claps, really helped him as he brought home the gold medal winning with a jump of 16.39 meters. \nFellow teammate and senior Kiwan Lawson, one of Jenkin’s biggest fans, stood on the side of the fence overlooking the jump runway with his other teammates supporting Jenkins during the triple jump. \n“I loved it,” Jenkins said. “I told Kiwan to come over here and do that IU chant for me,”\nThe day before, Lawson – who is also Jenkins’s roommate – took home the Big Ten Championship in the long jump. Lawson, the defending champion in both the indoor and outdoor Big Ten meets last year did not have the opportunity to defend his crown in the indoor season due to a redshirt decision, but said he was extremely motivated to compete this weekend. \n“It bothered me during indoor season watching the guys jump and not being able to be a part of it,” Lawson said. \nLawson’s jump which earned the senior his seventh-overall Big Ten medal measured 7.87 meters, which is nearly 26 feet. The jump also set a new facility record at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium, and is only .04 meters off fifth best in IU school history.\nLawson also competed in the 4-by-100 meter relay that took second place at the meet. Lawson thought the group did very well – especially senior Marcus Thigpen, who lead off for the relay. \n“I’ve got to give big ups to Marcus,” Lawson said. “He really ate up that first leg.” \nHelmer said he was pleased and excited with the way both his two senior jumpers competed in their last Big Ten Outdoor Championship meet. \n“It’s the way you want the senior to go out,” he said. “That was great.” \nSenior Ryan Smith also closed his big ten meet career with a new personal best in the 400-meter hurdles of 51.75 seconds, which got him third in the event. \nAnother set of roommates that competed well were sophomores Ashley Rhoades and Vera Neuenswander. Both athletes finished in third place, Rhoades in the high jump and Neuenswander in the pole vault.\nRhoades received her first big ten medal by matching her career best of 1.75 meters which converts to just over 5 feet 8 inches. \n“It was kinda surprising, but really nice,” she said. \nRhoades short career at IU so far has not been without its obstacles. The sophomore has undergone two ankle surgeries since her senior year of high school, and her freshman year seemed somewhat inconsistent. \n“My struggle in the past was day in and day out I didn’t know how I was going to do,” she said. \nIn Rhoades’s second year as a Hoosier she has reached new heights. This weekend she tied her career best which she set earlier this season, and said she feels happy with where she is.\n“I feel better and more confident now,” she said. \nSophomore Kayla Smith is a roommate of both Rhoades and Neuenswander, and had the difficult job of going back and forth to watch and cheer on her friends in both the high jump and pole vault, which were contested simultaneously.\nSmith said it was tough but she managed to do the best she could, and estimated that she went back and fourth about 10 times. Smith also cheered loudly for several teammates throughout the meet, capturing the essence of the team unity the Hoosiers have sought to build throughout the season. \nAlthough Helmer would like to have seen the men’s and women’s teams score more points, he said the fact that many young kids stepped up and did well encouraged him. \n“Its not so much about experience right now,” he said. “Its about finding young kids that can compete at this level.” Freshman Stephanie Chin finished in a tie for third place in the pole vault. Other younger athletes that scored points were sophomores Faith Sherrill, Chris Sackman, and Molly Beckwith. \nBeckwith, who competed against what Helmer called one of the best 800-meter run conferences in the country placed third with a time of 2:07.56. \nFor Jenkins this meet and his motivation centered on his pride in his school and his excitement to compete. \n“IU’s my school, gotta represent,” he said.