IU looks to take over the Indiana Relays

The IU track and field squad will look to stay poised Saturday, when it will host the Indiana Relays at Gladstein Fieldhouse.

Runners Chelsea Blanchard and Andy Bayer will look to replicate their previous performances, as they were both named Big Ten Track Athletes of the Week last week.

“I am going to keep working hard to do better than my last performance,” Bayer said. “The more miles me and my team put in, the more solid of a team we can become when we compete.”

The Indiana Relays will also hold the Invitational Sections, which will start at 7 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday, when some of the best in the nation will compete under one roof.

Coach Ron Helmer said he still believes that the team has yet to show its true potential, even though the squad has had early success to start the season.

“More people, I guarantee, will start to show up as the season go along,” he said. “Each and every week, there is always a new person showing up and contributing.”

Coach Helmer said he can see the aspirations of some of his athletes living up to their teammates’ hype, but he said he believes not everyone can do it right away.

“Everybody wants to be respected as the guy and the star,” coach Ron Helmer said. “But our athletes aren’t envious of their teammates’ success because great athletes support their teammates and get better to one day have their moment, to show that they are great as well.”