IU track and field competed in the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships at the SPIRE Institute from Feb. 28-29 in Geneva, Ohio.
The men's team took home its first Big Ten Indoor Championship victory since 2017, including many individual Big Ten champions.
“Everyone went about their business today and supported everyone in everything we did,” senior Adam Coulon said. “We’re one big family, and that makes it so much more fun to compete.”
The men's team won the meet, winning with 120.5 points. The next closest was Iowa, which scored 107 points.
The women's team took fourth place with 74 points. Ohio State emerged victorious with 104 points.
Coulon won pole vault and set a new conference record with a mark of 5.56 meters. He is the previous champion in the event. Junior Brock Mammoser placed second and freshman Nathan Stone placed fifth.
“It was a really fun day," Coulon said. "This is what you dream of when you’re training with your teammates.”
In the 5,000-meter, junior Ben Veatch placed second with a time of 13:50.33 and senior Kyle Mau placed third to score some points for the Hoosiers.
Junior Jyles Etienne became a Big Ten Champion in the high jump with a personal record of 2.23 meters.
In the 800-meter, junior Cooper Williams placed fifth with a time of 1:49.13 and senior Adam Wallace placed seventh.
Sophomore Rikkoi Brathwaite took home silver in the 60-meter with a time of 6.67 seconds. Fellow sophomore Matthew Schadler placed second in the mile with a time of 4:07.35.
The Hoosier distance medley relay team claimed first in the event. The team included senior Dushawn Tunstall, junior Teddy Browning, Williams and Schadler.
Veatch and Mau were on the podium again for their performances in the 3,000-meter, with Veatch taking second in the event with a time of 8:13.65 and Mau placing fourth.
The women's team had multiple standout performances with upperclassmen setting new personal bests and some capturing individual titles.
Sophomore Bailey Hertenstein and senior Leah Moran claimed individual titles in the 3,000-meter and the long jump, respectively.
Hertenstein had a time of 9:23.25 in the 3,000-meter, which also stands as her new personal best.
Moran reached a mark of 6.26 meters in her championship-winning jump, 0.19 meters ahead of the second place finisher.
Moran also took second place in the triple jump with a mark of 12.94 meters.
Senior Megan Grabowski recorded new personal bests in the preliminaries of both the 60-meter and the 200-meter with times of 7.34 and 24.05, respectively.
“I had set the goal for myself at the beginning of the year to reach the finals in both events,” Grabowski said. “It felt really good to accomplish them.”
Grabowski placed fifth in the 60-meter final and seventh in the 200-meter finals.
Senior Khayla Dawson and junior Maddy Pollard placed third and fourth respectively in the shot put.
Dawson had a mark of 17.31 meters, while Pollard had 17.24 meters.
Senior Joely Pinkston took third place in the 800-meter finals with a time of 2:06.47.
“As a team, we really came together," Grabowski said. "We could’ve easily been in the middle of the pack rather than towards the top and I’m really proud of my team for that."
The team will have a two-week break before heading to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where qualifying members will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
