Track to compete for conference championship

Track and field teams across the Big Ten have one purpose this weekend — bringing home a conference championship.

But this meet has a different significance for IU senior Kyla Buckley and sophomore Stephen Keller.

Keller, the 12th-place finisher at last year’s indoor championship, will be looking to win her first Big Ten title when the team travels to Geneva, Ohio, Wednesday.

Buckley, the team’s only returning Big Ten champion, will look to defend her title.
“It’s going to be a head hunt between me and Purdue,” Buckley said. “I’m going to have to hone in, focus, and know that I can win it.”

Since 2009, IU has claimed the Big Ten Indoor title for the women’s shot-put. Buckley said maintaining that tradition is of the utmost importance to her.

Although she threw for a career best of 16.98 meters this season, Buckley will have to out-perform Purdue’s Dani Bunch, who currently leads the conference at 17.19 meters.
The pair have met twice this season. Bunch won both encounters.

In addition to the Big Ten meet, Buckley and Bunch will square off at Nationals, where the throwers rank No. 7 and No. 4, respectively.

“Nationals are going to take care of themselves if I win against Purdue,” Buckley said. “That mark will have to be the best in the country. So if I win at Big Tens, everything will fall into place.”

Heptathlon competitor Keller, on the other hand, has nowhere to go but up.

After finishing near the bottom of the Big Ten last season, Keller made vast improvements in several key events, including a personal record of 15.19 seconds in the 110 meter hurdles — a mark that he accrued at the USA Decathlon Championships last summer.

He is currently sixth in the men’s heptathlon conference rankings behind junior teammate Matt Gerbick (fifth) and sophomore teammate Dylan Anderson (fourth).

“Being young, there’s a lot to learn,” Keller said. “That’s why the older I get, the better the score is going to be. As long as I keep improving and keep learning, then everything is good.”

IU Coach Helmer said his focus will not be on wins and losses. Instead, he will evaluate his athletes in order to prepare for future championship contention.

“If you can just lower expectations to a manageable level, and then have people go compete hard, you normally will get really good results,” he said. “Everybody thinks you’re supposed to get excited, but that all takes care of itself when the gun goes off.”

Helmer said he hopes to replicate last weekend’s performance, where he saw his men’s distance medley relay race into national contention by recording the fifth-fastest time ever by a collegiate team.

If all his athletes race with the same composure and competitive effort, Helmer said, he will be satisfied with whatever place the team finishes.

“Some young people are going to have their coming out party this week,” he said. “I just want see a group go out and compete in a composed manner, and have results that reflect the level of preparation and work we’ve been doing.”