Indiana track and field continued their indoor season with their first meet of 2024 on Jan. 12 and 13 at the Commodore Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt University. The Hoosiers competed against 19 other teams in Nashville, Tennessee.
Between the two days, Indiana tallied 25 personal bests and three individual event winners. In their first time in action since they hosted the Indiana Early Bird Meet on Dec. 8, the Hoosiers had 57 athletes competing across 18 events.
Graduate student Kenisha Phillips broke her second school record this season, placing first in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 52.37 seconds.
The Hoosiers won two more events with graduate student Nathan Stone taking the men's pole vault, clearing a height of 5.13 meters, while senior Maddie Russin placed first in the women’s 600-meter dash with a time of 1:32.13.
Indiana had a strong showing in the field events on Friday to kick off the two-day invitational. Sophomore Alex Smith led the Hoosiers in long jump, placing fourth for the men with a distance of 2.29 meters. Graduate students Paola Fernandez-Sola and Serena Bolden placed fifth and sixth respectively in the women’s long jump, each jumping 5.97 meters.
In addition to Stone, the Hoosiers had three men place in the top-10 for pole vault, all clearing at least 4.68 meters. Junior Tyler Carrel finished fifth, senior Tyler Sierks tied for seventh and junior Riley Johnston placed ninth.
On Saturday, Indiana rounded out its performance in the finals of the running events. In the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore John Colquitt finished second in 8.17 seconds and freshman Garrett Messer seventh in 8.44 seconds — a new personal best. Bolden also placed seventh for the women with a time of 7.63 seconds.
In the 60-meter dash, graduate student Antonio Laidler placed second in 6.72 seconds and Bolden seventh in 7.63 seconds.
Indiana had multiple men place in the 400-meter dash with graduate student Micah Camble placing fifth in 48.89 seconds and sophomore Novo Onovwerosuoke finishing ninth in 49.75 seconds.
In the 800-meter run, four Hoosiers placed in the men’s race. Sophomore Nico Colchico finished second in 1:49.96 — a new personal best — followed by graduate student Parker Raymond in 1:50.60, earning him third. Junior Jaylen Castillo also ran a personal best time of 1:53.82 to finish sixth, just ahead of senior Keelan Grant who placed seventh in 1:54.53. Russin placed fourth for the women in 2:11.32.
In the 3000-meter run, freshman Brayden Henkle finished in 8:19.94 and sophomore Garrett Hicks in 8:24.31 to both earn personal bests and finish second and fifth place, respectively.
The Hoosiers are next in action Jan. 19 to host the two-day Indiana Invitational where they’ll welcome regional competition.
Follow reporter Edie Schwarb (@edieschwarb) for updates throughout the Indiana track and field season.
