After a three-week preparation period, the outdoor season has arrived in a whirlwind of anticipation for the Hoosiers as they take on their first outdoor meets this week.
The majority of the IU roster will travel to Arizona State to compete in the inaugural Pac-12 vs. Big Ten Invitational while four select athletes, juniors Sophie Gutermuth, Terry Batemon, Dylan Anderson and Stephen Keller, will participate in one of the largest relay events in the nation, the Texas Relays.
“We felt like those four athletes earned the right to compete in the best situation as possible,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said. “Dylan and Stephen need a multi, and we have had success with our pole vaulters in Texas before.”
The Texas Relays, which take place at the University of Texas in Austin, stretch over a span of four days between today and Saturday and feature over 30 schools nationwide.
Eight Hoosiers competed in last season’s Texas Relays, highlighted by a women’s long jump victory from then-freshman Ari Nelson and a third-place finish by then-sophomore Gutermuth.
Keller and Anderson finished 12th and 13th respectively, while Batemon, who redshirted his sophomore outdoor season due to a hamstring injury, missed last season’s Texas Relays.
“I’m really excited to be competing in outdoors,” Batemon said. “My legs are feeling great, and I’m feeling fast and strong. I feel like I can have a really good outdoor season, starting from ?Texas on.”
Batemon has been fighting his way back to form since the end of the 2014 indoor season when he suffered two pulled hamstrings, as he pulled both the upper and lower muscles in his right leg.
He set his overall personal record in the Big Ten Indoor Championships in February with a height of 5.27 meters.
“I just want to keep getting better,” Batemon said.
Keller and Anderson will begin decathlon competition at 11 a.m. Wednesday and finish Thursday afternoon, while Gutermuth and Batemon will participate in the women’s and men’s pole vault Friday and Saturday ?afternoon.
Meanwhile on Saturday in Tempe, Ariz., the remaining athletes on the roster will go head-to-head with athletes of the West Coast.
“It’s always exciting to face athletes that I don’t know,” said Nelson, who will not compete in Texas Relays but will jump at Arizona State. “I don’t know their marks or how they jump, so I can just go in and do my thing.”
Nelson jumped to victory as a freshman in 2014 with a jump of 6.16 meters at the Texas Relays and set the sixth-best outdoor long jump in IU history with a clearance of 6.19 meters at the Billy Hayes Invitational.
She matched her indoor personal record of 5.95 meters to finish seventh at the Big Ten Championships in February.
“I feel confident going into this outdoor season,” Nelson said. “I feel like I don’t need to fear any of the better athletes because I have proven myself and keep getting better marks.”
