Track to compete in Crimson Tide Invite

From Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Palo Alto, Calif., IU track and field athletes will spend the weekend honing their skills against the nation’s top competition.

The majority of the team will compete Saturday in the Crimson Tide Invite, with a select group of distance runners racing in the Stanford Invitational Friday.

In Palo Alto, junior Samantha Ginther will look to duplicate her record-setting performance.

Last year, she ran the third-fastest women’s 5k in school history, carrying on a long tradition of success at the Stanford Invitational.

Four of the top-10 women’s 5k times in school history have been set at the Stanford Invite — Ginther’s included.

At 16:15.34, the performance was a lifetime best.

But Ginther said she hopes that mark will change on Friday.

“Stanford is a place where it’s really easy to run fast because all the races are set up,” she said. “I’m in the same heat that I was in last year so hopefully I place a little higher and push a little harder and the PR will come.”

Two weeks ago at the 49er Classic, Ginther set another school record in the women’s 3k steeple chase.

The effort earned her the seventh-best time in program history and Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Week honors.

Sophomore Cornelius Strickland also had a strong performance at the 49er Classic.
He competed in a total of five different races, with top-five finishes in each event.

This Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Strickland said he will focus on the 100- and 200-meter dash, keeping his end-of season goals in mind.

“My goal for both races is to get my ticket to regionals,” he said, “I’m staying real focused, just keeping my eye on the prize.”

The Crimson Tide Invite will offer Strickland plenty of opportunities for fast results.
The meet features a opponents from Florida State University, Louisville, Ky., Missouri, Oklahoma, Penn State and the University of Texas-Arlington.

“My competition is hard, it’s challenging,” Strickland said. “These are the people we beat last year in regionals, so I just want to come back and show them that I didn’t go anywhere.”

Meanwhile, in Palo Alto, the men’s distance runners will chase the school 10k record that was set at the 2011 Stanford Invitational by IU alum Andrew Poore.

Junior Evan Esselink and sophomore Kyle Overway will compete in the men’s 10k, with the rest of the nine-man roster loaded in the highly competitive men’s 5k.

IU Coach Ron Helmer said Stanford provides his team a chance to capitalize on early season success and stability.

“I think that everybody that goes should run a time that will get them qualified for the NCAA first round,” he said. “If we can get that done this early in the season, then we can start filling in the gaps and train. It gives us a lot of options.”