Indiana men’s track and field began its postseason over the weekend in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Hoosiers finished the three-day meet in eighth place out of thirteen teams, but individuals managed to break personal bests and garner podium-worthy times.
On Friday, things got off to a hot start in the hammer throw. Freshman Sean Mockler heaved a bronze-medal winning mark of 68.64 meters, just shy of his personal best 68.68-meter throw at April’s Penn Relays.
Senior Shaton Vaughn got things started on the track in the preliminary round of the 400-meter hurdles. Vaughn matched his personal best time of 51.01 seconds to take fourth in the event and secure a spot in Sunday’s final.
Saturday’s competition was mostly preliminary rounds, but the Hoosiers still saw many exciting finishes. Redshirt senior Rikkoi Brathwaite ran a then-personal best time of 10.25 seconds in the 100-meter dash prelims to qualify for Sunday’s final alongside junior Antonio Laidler, who finished with a time of 10.35 seconds.
Freshman Camden Marshall kept the momentum going in his 800-meter race prelims, where he recorded a personal best time of 1:49.14, which earned him first place and a spot in the final.
To close out the night, senior Jake Gebhardt nabbed the last podium spot in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:06.97.
On Sunday, junior pole vaulter Nathan Stone, a second-team All-American, earned his second Big Ten Outdoor Championship gold medal in as many years, this time by clearing a height of 5.40 meters.
His teammate, freshman Tyler Carrel, cleared a height of 5.35 meters to take fourth place, giving the Hoosiers five points in his Big Ten Championship debut.
In the high jump, both graduate student Jyles Ettiene and junior Grayson Rolen secured podium spots. Ettiene cleared a season-best height of 2.14 meters, finishing in fourth place, and Rolen set his personal best with a clearance of 2.14, finishing fifth.
The Hoosiers’ 4x100 meter relay team was the only group to grab a spot on the podium. The quartet of Brathwaite, Laidler, graduate student Kenny Benton and senior JaiQuan Earls finished with a time of 39.95 seconds, which resulted in a bronze medal.
Benton continued in the 400-meter finals, where he ran an eighth-place time of 48.02 seconds. Benton’s finish landed him the last podium spot for the event.
The 100-meter dash finals featured two Hoosier competitors, Brathwaite and Laidler, scoring points for the team. Brathwaite ran a new personal best time of 10.10 seconds to grab a silver medal, and Laidler took sixth with a time of 10.23 seconds.
To close out the meet, Vaughn gave the Hoosiers four points in the 400-meter hurdle finals, as he finished fifth with a time of 52.18 seconds.
The team will have time to rest during this week as they await the entry list for the NCAA East Preliminaries. The Hoosiers will be hosting the prelims on May 25-28 at the Billy Hayes Track.
