All-Americans lead track and field

All-American athletes led the way for IU track and field as the team competed Saturday at the Kentucky Relays.

Freshman All-American Tre’tez Kinnaird had the best performance of his career, setting a new personal record of one minute and 47.99 seconds in the 800 meter run.

The goal of running a sub-one minute and 49 second time to beat his previous personal record had been on Kinnaird’s mind for weeks.

“I’ve been trying to get a PR for so long, and I’m so close,” he said last weekend before the Border Battle.

Kinnaird, a Louisville, Ky., native, said he hoped to shine at Cardinal Park in front of family and friends.

One week later in Lexington, Ky., he had that chance again — capitalizing on his support by securing the fourth-best 800 meter time in school history and the 10th-best in the NCAA.

It is also the first time a Hoosier has run a sub-one minute 48 seconds 800 since Keith Allen in 1988.

“The whole team was hanging on the fence as he went ripping by,” Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said. “It was a courageous race.”

Fellow All-American and junior Rorey Hunter continued his streak of success on the track, where he ran the sixth-fastest mile in program history.

Paced by teammate Robby Nierman through the first two laps, Hunter cruised for a time of four minutes and .97 seconds — the fastest clocked on the University of Kentucky’s track.

“Rorey decided to throw the hammer down,” Huntoon said. “He’s really found himself over the last two or three months, and he’s continued to run with a lot of confidence.”

Sophomore Jordan Gornall, the third All-American from the distance medley relay, tailed Kinnaird closely during the 800 meter run. He finished fourth in one minute and 50.13 seconds.

Together, the trio invited top performances from other IU teammates.

“When you have a great racer, sometimes you’re not fortunate to have them right in front of you every day at practice,” Huntoon said. “We’ve got two or three kids on this team that just display a great level of composure. There’s a wonderful relaxed rhythm that I hope a lot of the young kids on our team are watching.”

The 3000-meter steeple chase was the top event for the Hoosiers, bringing home four top-five finishers.

In the men’s race, freshman Jason Crist, junior Nolan Fife and senior Nierman took spots two through four, which included a career-best finish of eight minutes and 58.36 seconds for Crist.

Freshman Kelsey Kluesner emerged victorious in the women’s race in 10 minutes and 47.85 seconds — the 10th-best time in school history.

Freshman Nakel McClinton also set a top-10 program mark.

She finished fifth overall in the hammer throw competition, delivering on some pre-meet expectations set by Coach Huntoon.

“Nakel, as a redshirt freshman, is really starting to make some strong gains,” he said before the Kentucky Relays. “Of course, you wish you could go out there and produce big performances week after week, but the consistency of training will allow it to happen at the right time.”

Saturday proved to be the right time for McClinton. Her 55.79 meter (183 feet) toss in the women’s hammer throw is the second-best ever by a Hoosier.

Huntoon said the meet left him thinking about other historic performances in the sport.

“When we were riding back on the bus, I was thinking of when the first guy broke four minutes in the mile, and what a courageous effort that was to break down barriers,” Huntoon said. “We’ve got kids that are out there breaking barriers. It’s just impressive anytime you see someone run at that rhythm and at that pace.”