5 Hoosiers to compete in championship

Several Hoosiers will try adding to the esteemed history of IU track and field this weekend.

Five IU athletes will begin competition today in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

The first Hoosier to compete in Track Town USA will be junior Rorey Hunter in the 1,500-meter semifinals.

Hunter punched his ticket by winning his heat at the preliminaries two weeks ago.

Hunter, like many others making the trip to Eugene, is no stranger to winning titles.

He won the Big Ten Championships with a facility record time of 3 minutes, 44.59 seconds earlier this season.

Friday is the first opportunity for the Hoosiers to earn hardware and the first opportunity for freshman Matt Schwartzer.

Schwartzer qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 5,000-meter, thanks to a preliminary performance where he placed fourth in his heat.

He’s the first freshman runner to qualify for the NCAA Championships under the guidance of IU Coach Ron Helmer.

But this weekend won’t be Schwartzer’s first experience at the NCAA level.
Last fall, he competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, and he helped the team to an eighth-place finish.

Senior Kelsie Ahbe and sophomore Sydney Clute are the Hoosier duo vying for a championship in the pole vault Friday.

Of all the pole vaulters to don the cream and crimson, Ahbe might be among the best. This will be Ahbe’s third trip the NCAA Championships. She followed up her freshman finish of 14th with a sixth-place finish her sophomore year.

Ahbe is the IU indoor pole vault record holder with a mark of 4.21 meters, and she needs just one more centimeter to tie the outdoor record of 4.36 meters.

Clute qualified for her first NCAA Championships with a career best vault of 4.20 meters at the prelims.

Senior Kyla Buckley will be the final Hoosier to compete. Buckley will throw her first shot put Saturday, the final day of competition.

She looks to add to her prior successes this season, which include two Big Ten Championships in the shot put and a ninth-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Buckley’s mark of 17.19 meters is the eighth best in the country this season.

A Hoosier leaving the NCAA Championships victorious is anything but a rarity. It has happened 26 times.

These five Hoosiers will try to continue the tradition.