Three Hoosiers qualified for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday. Sydney Clute and Nakel McClinton have school records in their events, and Dylan Anderson is third in school history in his.
IU Coach Ron Helmer said they’ll already be remembered as some of the best the school has ever seen in their events. But he said becoming an All-American could really help cement their legacies at IU.
There was no meet last week, so the athletes all said they’re well-rested heading into NCAAs. The last time they competed was at the Big Ten Championships on February 26-27.
McClinton has been dominant all year long for IU in the weight throw. She has set the school record in the event four times this season, including a stretch of three consecutive record-setting weeks. McClinton is seeded 15th in weight throw for NCAAs with her top mark of 20.96m. She finished in third in the weight throw at Big Tens.
“Part of me feels like I have no pressure because I can’t do worse — I’m seeded 15th,” McClinton said. “But the goal right now is just to PR and get top eight. So I’ve been switching my focus to working even harder in practice because I’ll probably have to PR just to make finals.”
This is McClinton’s first time going to NCAAs, and she said she feels it’s about more than just the meet for her. She said just getting to this point has been a major goal of hers and she’s making sure to enjoy the experience and take it all in. McClinton said although by pure numbers, although she’s already the best thrower in school history by the numbers, she still feels she has a lot of room to improve. McClinton said she hopes to add accolades such as All-American and Big Ten Champion to the lofty statistics.
Clute went to NCAAs for her sophomore outdoor season, but this will be her first appearance at the Indoor Championships. Clute won the Big Ten championship in pole vault and set a new school record with a 4.35m vault. That performance moved her into the 10th seed for NCAAs.
She said knowing what to expect at NCAAs has altered her mindset heading into this weekend.
“The first trip to nationals was more about the experience, learning how to compete at that high level and just gaining an understanding of what a championship is like,” Clute said. “This weekend, since I’ve been to one, my mindset is kind of more attacking. I want to go and compete and finish in the top five.”
This is Anderson’s second consecutive year competing in heptathlon at the Indoor Championships. He has only competed in full heptathlons twice this year, as they aren’t run at many meets. He finished second at Big Tens with 5,663 points, a career best and third in school history. He’s seeded 16th for NCAAs.
Anderson said he’s excited for the chance to prove himself in front of some of the country’s top athletes. He said his goal for the weekend is to finish in the top eight.
IU Coach Ron Helmer said if they compete well, the three athletes have a chance to make finals in their events and even score. He said their confidence levels are in good places heading into NCAAs and they’ve had the right mentalities in their preparations.
“Everybody wants to get to nationals,” Helmer said. “That’s a really bad goal. Big trap — high school kids that just want to go to states. You do us no good if you’re just going to states. ‘I just want to get on the bus to Big Tens,’ you do us no good. The goal should always be to engage the process of preparation in a way that, once you’re good enough to have those opportunities, you do really well once you get there.”
