Indiana Track and Field was honored with their first two outdoor Big Ten Athletes of the Week today when the conference named junior Kyla Buckley and senior Derek Drouin as the winners in the field category.
IU Coach Ron Helmer said the two athletes proved that they can perform under pressure.
"We want competitors on our team, who thrive when the spotlight is brightest," said Helmer, "and that is what we saw from Kyla and Derek this weekend. To not only win, but to perform amongst the best in the world this year, that shows us what we already knew, which is that these two thrive on competition."
Buckley competed at the Texas Relays last weekend in the shot put, winning the event by two feet and 7.5 inches over second place. Her throw of 17.28m (56-8.5) is the second best in division one this season and tops in the Big Ten. She also sits at 13th in the world right now. This is her first Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week honor.
Drouin is no stranger to awards and accolades. During the indoor season, he won three Big Ten Field Athlete of the week awards, the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Season and Championships, the Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, and NCAA Field Athlete of the Year.
This most recent honor comes after Drouin jumped 2.30m (7-6.5) at the Texas Relays to win the competition over a field similar to the one in the NCAA Indoor Championships. That height is just a centimeter shy of his lifetime outdoor best and IU's outdoor record.
