Indiana track and field competed at the Crimson Tide Invitational on Friday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, hosted by the University of Alabama. The meet marks a middle point between a successful Battle on the Bayou on April 3-4 and a busy, three-meet weekend following this competition.
Nine Hoosiers finished top five in their field events in Alabama, and four Hoosiers won their events.
The Hoosiers started Friday in the field with a fourth overall placement in the women’s hammer throw by junior Bridget Beyer. After fouling her first throw, she went on to throw 56.02 meters on her fifth attempt.
On the men’s side, sophomore Nikolaos Sidirenios earned the Hoosiers their first podium placement, scoring third overall with a final throw of 60.93 meters. Freshman Michael Neuenroth followed in fifth, throwing 58.38 meters.
The men’s long jump saw the first event win for the team, with senior Alex Smith taking first place off a jump of 7.42 meters. Sophomore Vince Davero finished fifth, jumping 7.06 meters.
Senior Kelly Moran contributed another win for the Hoosiers, coming in first in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 12.61 meters.
Freshman Kailen Kramer tied for first in the women’s pole vault with a mark of 4.13 meters.
Senior Tyler Carrel won the men’s pole vault competition with a dominant 5.60-meter vault. After starting 0.65 meters ahead of the starting height, Carrel easily cleared from 5.15 to 5.60 meters, failing no more than once on heights before failing to surpass 5.65 meters.
In the women’s shot put, senior Makayla Hunter finished in second place with a throw of 17.32 meters, followed by freshman Emma Gardner in ninth with a throw of 13.07 meters.
On the track, the women’s 4x100-meter relay team composed of junior Kristina Vincic, sophomore Kiera Davis, sophomore Lyric Steele and sophomore Aliyah Johnson finished with a time of 45.29 seconds, earning second place.
In the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, freshman Alayna Todnem gave the Hoosiers another first-place finish for the meet, earning a time of 11 minutes, 08.26 seconds.
Sophomore Caden Click placed second overall in the men’s 2,000-meter steeplechase, running a time of 6:00.60.
Indiana had four athletes place in the top 10 for the men’s and women’s 200-meter dash. For the women, Davis and freshman Ava Olomajeye finished in third and seventh with respective times of 23.55 and 23.75 seconds. For the men, senior Trelee Banks-Rose and freshman Kalen Sargent finished in fifth and 10th, running 20.66 and 21.03, respectively.
The women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Olomajeye, junior Katelyn Henselmeier, junior Ryann Parrish and Vincic ran a time of 3:42.39, earning the team fourth place.
The men’s 4x400 team of freshman Antonio Smith, sophomore Tyler Tarter, freshman James Burnett and freshman D’Angelo Brown placed fifth overall with a finishing time of 3:12.43.
Indiana will next have a three-meet weekend, sending athletes to the Gibson Invitational and Wake Forest Invitational on April 16-17 in Terre Haute and Wiston-Salem, North Carolina, respectively. Some Hoosiers will also compete at the Tom Jones Memorial on April 17-18 in Gainesville, Florida.
