The IU men took home seventh place in the championship with 49 points, while the women took 11th place with 34 points. Even with the lackluster finishes, though, one fact stood out.
Twenty-nine of IU’s 49 competitors were freshmen and sophomores.
This fact is nothing new to the program, as nine men’s events and 11 women’s events are all topped by underclassmen, but in the biggest competition in the conference, the Big Ten saw one IU sophomore, Tre’tez Kinnaird, win the 800-meter championship and four IU true freshmen earn points for the team, a feat that is rarely obtained.
“We have a lot of young athletes doing great things,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said after the meet Saturday. “If we can fill up the holes that we have with some new recruits, then we can start working back to where we want to be.”
The four true freshmen scored a total of 11 points, an achievement that seems unimportant but is impressive when the competitors are facing the best athletes in the conference.
“Going into the season, I had no idea where I would be at,” said freshman Jill Whitman, who owns the best 3K and 5K times on the team. “I just knew that the training was going to be different.”
Whitman scored seven points, the most of the four true freshmen, by placing fifth in the 3K and sixth in the 5K.
She set personal records in both races and claimed the fifth-fastest 5K time in IU history.
“Amanda (Behnke) and I have been training together a lot lately,” Whitman said about her sophomore teammate who finished one spot behind her in both races. “That helped a lot in trusting the training going into it.”
Freshman Daniel Kuhn also urged his teammates, Kinnaird and the rest of the middle distance crew to trust in Coach Helmer’s training.
“It really helps when Tre goes in and does the same workout as me and then runs a 1:48.20,” Kuhn said, regarding Kinnaird’s school record. “I’m there doing the same workout, so it just gives me confidence and a competitive edge to want to beat him in workouts so I can beat him on the track.”
Kuhn came into the program after running just one season of track and field in high school, but in that one season, he won the Indiana state title in the men’s 800-meter run and later decided to run track for the Hoosiers.
“The hardest part was just getting into the routine of running five or six times every week, eating healthier and getting more sleep,” Kuhn said. “Now I actually have more time since my schedule isn’t as full as high school, so I can get that recovery that track demands.”
Kuhn set a personal record of 1:18.29 in the 600-meter run preliminary trials last weekend, good enough for the fourth-fastest time in IU history.
He then went on to finish seventh in the 600-meter final and score two points.
After just nine months of competitive track and field experience, Kuhn said his goal for the outdoor season is to qualify for the USA Track and Field Junior Championships, the same championships Kinnaird participated in last season.
The third of the four true freshmen is Brenna Calder, who finished eighth in the women’s mile as the only freshman in the final and set a personal record of 4:45.01 in the trials last weekend.
“I was nervous at first because I was the youngest in the group,” Calder said. “I just tried to stay calm and fall back on my confidence and training, and I felt like I was coming in in good shape.”
After fearing she may be redshirted this season, Calder owns the eighth-fastest mile time in IU women’s history after her one-point performance Saturday.
“I came in with a five-minute 1,600 from high school,” Calder said. “So I didn’t even think that I’d be in uniform this season. Luckily, I got the opportunity to wear the uniform, and I just PR’ed in every race to keep my time clicking down and down, until it got to where it is today.”
High jumper Paul Galas is the final athlete of the four true freshmen to score for the team, as he posted a 1-point performance with his eighth-place finish of 2.03 meters.
Whitman, Kuhn and Calder all finished the indoor season with top marks in at least one event on the team and have no intentions of stopping now.
“I think I’ll be running for a championship-caliber team before I graduate,” Calder said. “We have a couple really good classes in the sophomore and freshman, and I think, as we get older, we are going to be a high-caliber team. I just can’t wait to be a part of that.”
