Women’s track and field showed the depth and diversity of its talent this weekend at the annual Gladstein Invitational with the help of some lineup changes from IU Coach Ron Helmer.
Helmer took the opportunity to move his 800-meter runners to the 600-meter and one-mile competitions. He also moved his mile runners to the 3,000-meter competition. However, the Hoosiers didn’t seem fazed by their coach’s decisions.
To start off the first day of the meet, the women put forth a strong showing in the 3,000-meter race. They swept the race, with junior Katherine Receveur coming in first place with a time of 9:18.47. Although not her personal best, Receveur’s time was fast enough to place her at No. 7 in the national rankings.
Following Receveur in second and third place were both fellow junior Maggie Allen and senior Brenna Calder, with times of 9:22.56 and 9:34.52, respectively.
Closing out the race for the Hoosiers was freshman Hannah Stoffel, who finished the race with a personal best of 10:00.74. This time is six seconds faster than her previous PR from the Hoosiers meet with Tennessee on Jan. 6.
On the field side of the meet, the Hoosiers also found room to excel.
In the weight throw, junior Nycia Ford placed first with a distance mark of 19.2 meters. Freshman Princess Brinkley also helped the Hoosiers when she earned third place with a throw of 18.62 meters. Lastly, freshman Maddie Pollard finished in fourth place with a toss of 18.04 meters.
It was a big day for sophomore Khayla Dawson in the shot put event with her winning mark of 16.64 meters. This new personal best puts Dawson in third place in the Big Ten for this event. Freshman Maddie Pollard finished behind Dawson in second place at 15.23 meters.
Two other women who are part of the IU field events lineup also rank in the Big Ten. Junior Aaliyah Armstead, who won the women’s long jump with a distance of 5.99 meters, is now sitting at No. 5 in Big Ten Rankings.
She joins sophomore Jenna Jungles, who is ranked No. 3 in the Big Ten Rankings for her performance at the Hoosier Open earlier in the season.
The Hoosiers will remain at home next week for the Indiana University Relays, which will be held at the Gladstein Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday.
