As the season changes from spring to summer, Indiana track and field started its postseason push with the three-day Big Ten Outdoor Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska from Friday to Sunday.
Overall, the men's team finished 13th with 29 points, and the women’s team finished 16th with 9 points.
On Friday, three Hoosiers qualified for their finals on Sunday.
First, senior John Colquitt finished second in the third heat of the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.64 seconds. His overall placement of fourth qualified him for the final on Sunday, where he finished second with a time of 50.85 seconds.
After a relatively quiet outdoor season, senior Trelee Banks-Rose won the third heat and placed second overall in the men’s 200-meter dash, finishing in 20.25 seconds with a 2.9 m/s wind, which made his run ineligible for records. During the final, the wind picked up to 7.5 m/s of tailwind, where Banks-Rose finished third.
After completing her first lap in eighth place, junior Lily Myers finished fifth in the third heat of the women’s 1,500-meter run. She placed 10th overall with a time of 4:23.32. In the final, Myers also finished 10th with a time of 4:28.78.
With the last event of Friday, senior Claire Overfelt finished ninth in the women’s 10,000-meter run in 34:20.38. She started in eighth, then fell to 23rd by the end of the first lap but worked her way back up to the front by the end.
On Saturday, the Hoosiers started with a top 10 placement by senior Makayla Hunter. She finished ninth in the women’s shot put, throwing 16.48 meters. Hunter also finished 20th in the women’s discus throw with a mark of 48.30 meters.
Senior Alex Smith placed fourth in the men’s long jump. Smith scratched on his first jump, then sat in seventh and eighth on his following attempts. On his final jump, he moved up to fourth with a mark of 5.61 meters.
Indiana continued to have success in the 800-meter run on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Sophomore Veronica Hargrave won the women’s 800-meter run preliminary round with a new meet record of 2:01.21. In the final, Hargrave finished second with a time of 2:03.54, just behind Penn State junior Hayley Kitching, who won in 2:01.77.
On the men’s side, senior Camden Marshall finished second overall in the men’s 800-meter run. He won the fourth heat with a time of 1:45.81. However, Marshall did not finish the final. He dropped out soon after the first lap concluded.
On the last day of competition, senior Tyler Carrel finished fifth in the men’s pole vault, clearing 5.52 meters.
Sophomore Tony Provenzano competed in the men’s 5,000-meter run. After staying in third for most of the race, he fell seven places to 11th in the middle of the eighth lap. Provenzano finished in 14:22.90 for 12th place.
Indiana closed out the meet with a heat win in the men’s 4x400 meter relay. The team of sophomore Daquan Tate, freshman Kalen Sargent, freshman D’Angelo Brown and Colquitt ran a time of 3:10.97. Overall, the team finished ninth.
Indiana track and field is set to continue their postseason schedule at the NCAA East Prelims on May 27-30 in Lexington, Kentucky.
