Hoosiers continue to rewrite record books

Two days, nine provisional qualifying marks, two automatic qualifying marks and one record – just another weekend at Gladstein Fieldhouse for the IU track and field team.

The Hoosiers continued their successful season Friday and Saturday at the Indiana Relays with strong performances from both runners and field athletes.   

Freshman distance runner Andy Bayer surpassed expectations, becoming the first IU student-athlete to run the mile in under four minutes inside Gladstein Fieldhouse.

With a time of 3:58.972, Bayer earned his first NCAA automatic qualifying mark.

“Breaking four minutes in the mile is a big benchmark in running,” Bayer said. “It’s kind of something that you have as a goal for yourself since sixth grade.”

Bayer’s teammates, juniors Andrew Poore and De’Sean Turner, also had career days.

Turner picked up a provisional qualifying mark in the mile, while Poore broke a Gladstein Fieldhouse record by running the 5,000 meter race in 13:48.88.

The time was a personal record for Poore and places him second in the IU record books for the 5K.

Senior Molly Beckwith raised the bar for the rest of the country, as she recorded the best time for the mile in Division I this season.

In field events, the Hoosiers proved equally as impressive.

Senior Jeff Coover cleared 18.05 feet in the pole vault to set a new personal high and achieve an automatic qualifying mark. Clearing the mark makes him the third Hoosier to ever surpass 18 feet.

Coover, who said he has attempted the mark over 40 times in the past, erupted with emotion after realizing he achieved a height he had been attempting for years.

Also taking off to new heights was junior Ashley Rhoades. In the high jump she beat out the competition with a 5.9-foot jump, a new career best.

Senior Kristen Crawford’s 62.2-foot toss in the weight throw gave her a provisional qualifying mark and the fourth-best throw in IU history.

The Hoosiers will take this momentum and their national ranking to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational on Friday.