Hoosiers make their mark in West Lafayette, Texas

It was another weekend full of success for the IU men’s and women’s track squads.
It was a split squad weekend, with athletes traveling to two separate meets in West Lafayette and Austin, Texas.

At the Texas Relays on the campus of the University of Texas, senior triple jumper Olu Olamigoke recorded a jump of 15.58 meters, which places him sixth on the Division I list this season. The jump pushed Olamigoke to within six centimeters of his career best.

Also competing at the Texas Relays was senior Rex Parker, who placed sixth in the triple jump with a distance of 15.40 meters. The mark is a career best for Parker, who now sits alone in 12th place on the Division I list this season.

Joining Olamigoke and Parker in the festivities was senior sprinter Kind Butler, who clocked a time of 10.42 in the 100-meter preliminaries. The time was 0.01 seconds short of a spot in the finals of the same event. However, Butler’s time places him second in the Big Ten this season.

In the field events, the Hoosier men high jumpers sent a message to the rest of the country with sophomore Darius King and junior Derek Drouin finishing second and third in the event, respectively.

King cleared 2.18 meters, placing the sophomore fourth in school history. Meanwhile, Drouin cleared 2.15 meters. Both athletes pushed themselves into the top 10 nationally.

At the pole vault pit, junior Kelsie Ahbe set a season-best mark, clearing the bar at 4.25 meters. The mark placed Ahbe eighth in the event and moved her into first place in the Big Ten this season.

In West Lafayette, the Hoosier throwers put their skills on display. Senior Monique Riddick set the tone, placing second in the women’s hammer throw with a distance of 50.62 meters. Finishing behind Riddick in the same event were sophomore Kyla Buckley in fourth and redshirt freshman Taja Moore in 10th. Buckley’s distance of 49.51 meters ranks eighth in Indiana Track and Field history.

In the discus, Moore took second place with a toss of 45.78 meters. Moore’s counterparts, Riddick and redshirt freshman M.J. Doan, competed in the women’s shot put, placing third and fifth, respectively.

Senior Dan Galos was a one-man wrecking crew on the men’s side, placing second in the men’s hammer throw. Galos posted a career-best throw of 59.97 meters, which is 13 feet 5 inches farther than his previous career best. The mark also places Galos fifth in school history in the event.

Following his outstanding performance Friday, Galos claimed a victory in the men’s discus Saturday. Galos won by a large margin of 3 feet, tossing the discus 49.86 meters.

The Hoosiers will be in action again next weekend at the Florida Relays and Stanford Invitational.

- Connor Killoren