IU Coach Ron Helmer had high praise for the level of competition and said this will be the best early season meet in the country.
The Hoosiers enter the season with a massive freshman class. Thirty-five freshmen, who combined for 22 state championships at their respective high schools, have joined IU this season. However, the freshman presence isn’t holding the team back from being competitive.
“Where we have really solid upperclassmen in place, it’s obvious who the upperclassmen are and who the freshmen are,” Helmer said. “But in some groups, the freshmen actually are the ones who have stepped up and made the workouts go at a high level.”
Sophomore high jumper Paul Galas, who will miss the Hoosier Open because of a minor injury, was also very positive about the freshman class. He emphasized the potential they’ve shown in practices and said he is looking forward to seeing how they translate that into meets.
The Hoosiers will be relying on their upperclassmen to take the reigns of the team and guide the freshmen through the season. Helmer mentioned sophomore middle distance runner Daniel Kuhn and senior distance runner Rorey Hunter as two runners have been noticeably leading the freshmen.
Last season, at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, Hunter finished third in the mile run, less than half a second out of the top spot. Kuhn posted IU’s best time for the men’s 500 meters.
In field events, redshirt senior Dylan Anderson and senior Stephen Keller, both multi-event athletes, qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the heptathlon last season. Anderson finished ninth, Keller finished 10th, and both were All-Americans.
For the women, redshirt junior middle distance runner Taylor Wiley will be one of the upperclassmen looked upon to lead this young team. Last season, Wiley posted IU’s best times for the women’s 500m and 800m. She said she expects a balanced performance this weekend.
“Our strong performances can come from anywhere and everywhere,” Wiley said. “It varies from meet to meet. I think in every area, we’re going to have several people that really pop off this first meet.”
Redshirt senior pole vaulter Sophie Gutermuth is another upperclassman who will look to follow up on her strong 2014-15 season. She was the only one from IU women’s track and field to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, and she finished 12th to earn All-American honors.
Redshirt junior hammer thrower Nakel McClinton is another Hoosier coming off a solid 2014-15 season. McClinton set the school record with a 60.81m throw at the Billy Hayes Invitational.
A strong showing at the Hoosier Open would be a nice first step toward achieving Helmer’s overall goal for the season: get better as a team.
“We’ve had some pretty good teams in the past, (but) the past couple years have not been real good,” Helmer said. “This group of coaches recruited really well last year. We just have to get better.”
