IU track and field Coach Ron Helmer said while the results matter for indoor track, proper training is just as important. But for outdoor season, he said performance results gain added significance.
This week, the team begins its outdoor season with the Pac 12 vs. Big Ten Invitational in Tempe, Arizona. Other schools that will attend the meet are Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Arizona, Arizona State, California and Washington.
Helmer was excited for the team’s addition for the outdoor season — senior pole vaulter Sophie Gutermuth. Gutermuth was competing unattached during indoor season because she had used up her eligibility for indoor track last year, but she still has one year of eligibility remaining for outdoor track.
Gutermuth is third in the outdoor school record book in pole vault. Along with senior Sydney Clute, who won the Big Ten Championship this indoor season, IU’s women pole vaulters should be among the best in the conference. However, neither of them are joining the team in Tempe this weekend.
“I want to have an all-time PR again outdoor,” Gutermuth said. “And then I qualified for the (Olympic) trials indoor, but I think that was B-standard. So I think it’d be cool if I qualified for the A-standard for the trials. It’d be a big jump, but I think it’s possible.”
Helmer said many Hoosiers took big strides in their events during indoor season. Clute, along with junior thrower Nakel McClinton and senior multi-athlete Dylan Anderson, went to nationals. Helmer also said sophomore middle distance runner Daniel Kuhn had a great season, and he’ll be looking for all of them to carry their success over to outdoor season.
“The way any of them keep their momentum going is by being enthused about the direction they’re moving,” Helmer said. “Being excited about the fact that really good things are starting to happen for them.”
Kuhn enters the outdoor season fresh off of his strong indoor season. He set school records in the 800 meter and the 600 meter, and he won the Big Ten Championship in the 600. He narrowly missed qualifying for nationals in the 800.
But despite coming off such a strong season, Kuhn said his goals and expectations heading into the season aren’t that different compared to other seasons.
“I just want to be on the podium at Big Tens,” Kuhn said. “I want to make it through to nationals, not just regionals, and just be as competitive as I can every single race. I can have an off meet but still be competitive. I just want to be one or two in every race that I’m in.”
Helmer said distance runners Rorey Hunter, a senior, and Jason Crist, a redshirt junior, are on the verge of taking the strides Kuhn took during indoor season. On the women’s side, he said senior thrower Laura Schroeder should make some noise in the hammer throw. He also said he’s looking forward to seeing how the team’s large group of freshmen perform in outdoor season.
“That whole group of freshmen, who are pretty solid athletes, appear to be still on task and still very focused,” Helmer said. “There’s a big difference between a January-February freshman and a May-June freshman.”
In their team meeting Tuesday, Gutermuth said a team goal was established to get the women’s team up to the same level as the men’s team. The women’s team finished 10th at indoor Big Tens, while the men’s team finished seventh.
“I’d just like to see both sides of our team do really well,” Gutermuth said.
An earlier version of this story misidentified Jason Crist's year. He is a redshirt junior, not a senior. The IDS regrets this error.
