Indiana track and field traveled to Geneva, Ohio, this weekend to kick off the postseason at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The men finished fifth, scoring 61.33 points, and the women 10th with 32 points. Wisconsin scored 122 points to edge out Nebraska for the men’s title, while Illinois earned 104 points to finish first for the women.
The Hoosiers claimed two event titles and broke three school records across the weekend.
On Friday, graduate student Nathan Stone cleared 5.43 meters to finish first in the men’s pole vault and earn Indiana 10 points. This is his third indoor conference title, in addition to his two outdoor conference titles, making him the first Hoosier to win five Big Ten pole vault titles.
Tyler Carrel cleared 5.23 meters to place third, while Riley Johnston tied for eighth with a vault of 5.03 meters. The pair of juniors added an additional 6.33 points to the team.
In the women’s pole vault, graduate student Jessica Mercier finished runner-up with a mark of 4.45 meters, breaking the indoor school record for the second time this season and earning the Hoosiers 8 points.
Graduate student Paola Fernandez-Sola finished fifth in the long jump with a leap of 6.11 meters to add 4 points.
In the men’s 5,000-meter run, graduate student Skylar Stidam placed fourth with a time of 14:01.17, tallying 5 points.
Indiana also earned points from both the men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams to close Day 1 of the invitational.
The team of junior Martin Segurola and graduate students Micah Camble, Parker Raymond and Austin Haskett combined to finish fourth in 9:41.61.
For the women, freshman Lily Myers and seniors Morgan Snow, Maddie Russin and Mariah Wehrle placed fifth in 11:19.52.
On Saturday, junior Camden Marshall won his second 800-meter title with a season-best time of 1:47.61, adding 10 points to the men’s total.
Graduate student Kenisha Phillips was runner-up in the 400-meter dash, finishing the race in 51.72 seconds to break her previous indoor school record set earlier this season and score 8 points.
Phillips teamed up with Snow, Russin and freshman Kristina Vinic in the women’s 4x400 meter relay to set a new school record of 3:38.57. The group placed fourth, earning 5 points.
Graduate student Antonio Laidler placed fourth in the 60-meter dash finals in 6.71 seconds. He added an additional fourth place-finish in the 200-meter dash finals, completing the race in 21.05 seconds and scoring a total of 10 points.
In the 3,000-meter run, Stidam and Haskett added nine points, going 4-5 in the race and finishing in 7:58.67 and 8:00.60, respectively.
Freshman Aidan Lord placed sixth in the mile, scoring the first 3 points of his career.
Indiana earned points on the men’s and women’s sides in the high jump. Graduate student Grayson Rolen tied his personal best of 2.12 meters to finish seventh and snag 2 points, while senior Mahogany Jenkins earned 3 points from her sixth-place finish upon clearing 1.74 meters.
The Hoosiers await to hear who will earn bids to head to Boston for the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8. The NCAA will announce who will compete in the national meet following championship weekend. Projected bids for the Hoosiers include Mercier in pole vault, Phillips in the 400 meters, and the men’s DMR.
Follow reporter Edie Schwarb (@edieschwarb) for updates throughout the Indiana track and field season.
