Indiana track and field had three athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship meet March 13-14 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This meet concluded the Hoosiers' indoor season.
Sophomore Veronica Hargrave and senior Camden Marshall qualified for their respective 800-meter runs, while senior Trelee Banks qualified in the 200-meter dash.
In her season opener on Jan. 16 at the Indiana Invitational, Hargrave won her 600-meter race and continued to have success in the 800 and 600-meter distances throughout the season. Hargrave won three 600-meter races and placed competitively in her 800-meter races, taking the Indiana indoor school record earlier in the season, beating the previous record of 1:27.22 from 2010. She also had her biggest win of the season at the Big Ten Indoor Championship meet on Feb. 28, winning the 600-meter run with a personal best of 1:27.12 seconds.
Going into Friday, Hargrave was seeded seventh in her heat and ranked 16th in the NCAA for the 800 with a seed time of 2:01.64 seconds. She finished her race in fifth with a finishing time of 2:03.52, giving her an overall 12th place finish out of 16 athletes. The athletes for the finals were decided from the top three finishers in every heat plus the next two fastest times. Hargrave did not meet this standard and failed to qualify.
After not competing in any meets last track season, Marshall returned as a competitive and elite runner for the Hoosiers, racing in events ranging from the 4x400 relay up to the mile. His best performance of the indoor season was at the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana, on Feb. 21. In this 800-meter run, Marshall finished first with a season best time of 1:45.99 seconds.
However, he would not be as fortunate at the NCAAs, as he finished 10th overall with a time of 1:47.43. This was nearly identical to his performance at the Big Ten Indoor Championship meet Feb. 28 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Using the same qualification standards as in the women’s 800, Marshall missed the mark to qualify by two spots.
Banks also had a very dominant indoor season. The Indiana senior had success in the 60-meter dash, making the finals in five of his races and securing the third best time in program history at the Big Ten Indoor Championship meet with a time of 6.64 seconds. However, his strength lies in the 200-meter dash. While consistently winning and finishing top three in his 200-meter races, Banks closed out his Big Ten Indoor Championship performance with a school record and personal best of 20.37 seconds.
The 200-meter dash qualification standards are different from the 800. The eight fastest athletes in the qualification rounds run in the finals. Banks was the eighth athlete to qualify for the finals with a time of 20.66 seconds.
Banks finished his heat in second place with a time of 20.74 seconds and finished fifth overall in a historically fast 200-meter final, won by USC senior Grant Kaalund with a new collegiate record of 19.94 seconds.
Now, Indiana track and field looks forward to the outdoor season and will have two weeks of training to prepare for the Raleigh Relays, which will be held March 26-28 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
