Hoosierland track falls to Commonwealth

IU track and field teamed up with Notre Dame on Saturday at the 2013 Border Battle. Both the men and women lost by small margins, with the women falling 101-99 and the men losing 103-97.

The Hoosiers and Fighting Irish made up team “Hoosierland” while Kentucky and the host-school Louisville accounted the “Commonwealth,” their opponents.

This was IU’s first scored meet of the outdoor season and, though they lost, IU Coach Ron Helmer said winning this meet wasn’t the most important thing they were trying to accomplish.

“While it’s always nice to come out with a win, that wasn’t our first priority,” Helmer said. “Our priority was to compete hard and get some good work and experience in.”

IU scored six wins on the day for Hoosierland, three in each competition.

Senior Caitlin Engel won the women’s steeplechase in 10:27.27, a time which ranks second in the Big Ten this year.

Sophomore Molly Winters won the women’s 5000-meter by more than 10 seconds, finishing with a time of 17:08.28.

The final women’s victory came from freshman Sydney Clute in the pole vault. She cleared 3.88 meters (12-8.75).

Helmer said he was also impressed with sophomore Taja Moore and senior Emma Kimoto on the women’s team. Moore took third in the discus with a throw of 52.82 meters (173-4). That distance is the second-best ever thrown for IU and the third best in the Big Ten this year.

Kimoto competed in the high jump and tied her personal best with a clearance of 1.81 meters (5-11.25), a centimeter higher than her winning clearance at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.

Despite the women falling short of winning, Helmer still called the women a particular success.

“There were a lot of people I was impressed with, particularly on the women’s side,” Helmer said. “They all understand that winning was not the only thing we were looking to accomplish.”

The men’s team also took home three wins in the 100-meter dash, the 4x100-meter relay and the pole vault.

Freshman Cornelius Strickland continued his successful season by tying for the win in the 100-meter dash.

He also contributed on the 4x100-meter relay along with junior Nick Turner, senior Chris Vaughn and sophomore Nick Stoner.

“Cornelius had a great meet and we were even impressed with his 200-meter time,” Helmer said. “That was his season-best and he’s having a breakout year.”

The other win came from sophomore Steven Turpin in the pole vault. He cleared 5.00 meters (16-4.75) in the victory.

This is the second time the Commonwealth has won both the men’s and women’s competitions.

After Commonwealth victories in the inaugural Border Battle in 2010, Hoosierland owned the next two years’ competitions. The men’s and women’s winning teams have never been split.

Next weekend IU will compete in its first home meet of the outdoor season with the Polytan Invitational.

The Hoosiers are now less than a month away from the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and Helmer warned that his team has to be careful about how they proceed.

“We’re still pretty early in what can be a short outdoor season if we’re not careful,” Helmer said. “Hopefully next week, we can get another chance to improve.”