Multiple members of Indiana men’s track and field found success competing in the 126th annual Penn Relays, one of the largest collegiate track meets in the nation, over the weekend.
Things got off to a hot start Thursday when freshman Sean Mockler took second place in the hammer throw. His mark of 68.68 meters not only was a personal best but also broke the Indiana program record.
On Friday, the Hoosiers’ sprint medley relay team put up a historic performance. The quartet of junior Antonio Laidler, graduate student Kenny Benton, redshirt senior Rikkoi Brathwaite and freshman Camden Marshall ran a time of 3:17.39 to take first place in the event and also break the Indiana program record.
Brathwaite, who is no stranger to breaking school records, said he was honored to bring more success to the program.
“It was a great feeling to break another school record and make IU proud,” Brathwaite said. “I was really ecstatic and pumped my hand up in the air, which is something I don’t normally do.”
Success in field events continued when junior Grayson Rolen picked up a third-place finish in the high jump with a personal-best height of 2.09 meters. Sophomore Adam Strouf placed fourth in the shot put with a mark of 17.14 meters.
Later in the competition, graduate student Jyles Ettiene nabbed a fourth-place finish in the high jump championship with a mark of 1.76 meters.
Brathwaite continued his impressive performance on Saturday, the final day of the meet, with a win in the 100-meter dash finals. His time of 10.28 seconds was good for a season-best and his first Penn Relays Championship win.
Despite two gold medals over the weekend, Brathwaite said he was not entirely satisfied.
“We have a lot more work to do, and 10.28 is not where I need to be at,” Brathwaite said. “But it should get me a regional mark, and I’m happy for that.”
To conclude the meet, the 4x400 meter team of senior Shaton Vaughn, junior Micah Camble, Laidler and Benton took fifth with a time of 3:08.86.
Next week, the Hoosiers will conclude their regular season May 6 in Bloomington in the Billy Hayes Invitational.
