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(03/28/08 5:08am)
Some athletes throw spear-like objects, some throw weighted balls attached to long wires and others hurdle a pit of water more than two feet deep.\nWhile one can trace many of these events’ origins back to Britain and Greece in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they are still part of competitive track and field today. They are the javelin, the hammer throw and the steeplechase.\nThe IU men’s and women’s track and field teams will participate in those events and more as they open up their outdoor season this weekend with the Alabama Relays in Tuscaloosa. \nJunior Courtney Freiberger has not competed since she finished eighth last year in the heptathlon at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships due to an Achilles injury. \nFreiberger will compete this season in the javelin, an event using a spear-like staff made of metal or fiberglass in which the athletes compete to see who can throw it the farthest. The Floyd Knobs, Ind., native said the event is one of her favorites.\n“It’s my fun event,” Freiberger said. “Even though I take it seriously, it is still a lot of fun.”\nAnother athlete who gets to launch objects through the air is sophomore Faith Sherrill. One of the events in which she competes is the hammer throw, in which she throws a nine-pound ball attached to a wire measuring almost four feet. Her career best in the hammer is 48.07 meters, set at the Billy Hayes Invite last year.\nAlthough the techniques used in the hammer are similar to the weight throw, Sherrill enjoys the hammer more because of the differences in the event and the shape of the object she throws. \nThe start of outdoor season brings changes to other events as well. Most of these changes are based on the facilities, in that most outdoor tracks are 400 meters, or about a quarter-mile, as opposed to the 200 meters of a normal indoor track. \nInstead of the 60-meter dash indoors, the 100-meter dash is run outdoors. Instead of the 60-meter hurdles, the 110- and 400-meter hurdles are run. In distance events, the 1500-meter run is in the place of the mile, which is 1609 meters, and the 10,000-meter race is also run.\nIU coach Ron Helmer said the changes from the indoor season to the outdoor season present another step for the Hoosiers, not a different progression.\n“It’s going to be one continuous challenge,” he said. “We will keep on working and getting better.” \nThe outdoor season will see some changes in the lineup of athletes, too. While junior Wendi Robinson will redshirt and not compete for the Hoosiers, the team will bring back three strong athletes that did not compete in the indoor season. \nSenior jumper and sprinter Kiwan Lawson will return to try to defend his Big Ten Championship in the long jump. He will be joined by fellow senior Courtney Johnson and graduate student Abbie Stechschulte. \nThe team will travel south this weekend where temperatures are expected to reach the 70s. \n“I hope the warm will help us do better,” Sherrill said. \nFreiberger was also excited about the possibility of warmer weather. \n“I hope I can get a tan,” \nshe said.
(03/19/08 3:57pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While many students exercise heavily leading up to spring break, the motivation level falls off for some when they return to school. For one, though, this was not the case, and she returned wanting to do more than stay in shape to look good on the beach. IU junior Katie Kiper spent her spring break relaxing in Mexico like many of her fellow students. When Kiper returned on Monday, it was back to work as she rejoined her field-hockey teammates on their outdoor field, not knowing what to expect from the coaches in their first practice since before break.“It will probably be hard since they know we haven’t been doing anything,” she said.Although the majority of students don’t play on varsity teams, many still try to exercise regularly, but the statistics don’t lie. According to Christine Geary, IU director of programming and research for recreational sports, January is the peak month for the Student Recreational Sports Center with about 3,900 facility visits per weekday. After spring break, though, the numbers drop.Kiper tries to maintain consistency in her workouts and was ready to get back to practice after the time off last week. After a quick jog and some warming up, the team stepped to one end line of the field, doing “suicides,” where the members run to a certain point on the field, then back again, each time going farther until they reach the other end line. Much to the displeasure of the team, its coach would not tell them how many of these they were going to do.After the first run of suicides, most of the athletes looked a little fatigued. After the second, people were laying on the ground gasping for breaths. Assistant Coach Jeremy Cook shouted encouragement to his team, making them do two more before calling it quits.None of the athletes did quit, however, showing the strong motivation and work ethic they have had ever since their season ended in disappointment. The team lost its first game in the Big Ten Tournament against Iowa on Nov. 1, 2007, with the final score being 8-2.“We lost on Thursday, I think it was, and we were right back out there conditioning on Monday,” Cook said. “I think it set a good tone.”Kiper said she has extra motivation for her final year on the Hoosier field-hockey team with next year’s Final Four in none other than her hometown of Louisville, Ky.In addition to practices in which the team runs, does drills and scrimmages, it also runs on its own and lifts weights as well. On Sundays, it will do what Kiper called “Sunday Sweats,” where the members run together for 30 to 45 minutes.At least twice a week, they hit the weight room for about an hour, doing high-repetition lifting, which makes them sore.“I can feel the soreness when I wake up the next morning,” she said. “Even going up stairs on my way to class hurts.”Despite all the hard work, Kiper says she still enjoys being on the team. “The girls are really fun,” she said. “We get along very well.”Kiper said that when the team is not practicing, running or lifting weights, its members can be found hanging out at someone’s house or participating in “craft time,” where they paint and make crafts with each other.Fellow senior-to-be Dani Castro agreed that the team is close. “We are such a family-oriented team that I don’t feel away from home,” she said.
(03/18/08 3:24am)
The first time a person does something, it is impossible to know what to expect. A skier can conquer a black diamond trail in Michigan, but going to Colorado and attempting the same feat can be much more difficult. \nThree members of the IU track and field team were not in Michigan or Colorado this past weekend, but experienced similar circumstances. Juniors Wendi Robinson and Molly Beckwith and freshman Stephanie Chin represented the Hoosiers in Arkansas at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last Friday \nand Saturday in Arkansas. \nIt was each athlete’s first time competing on a national stage. Nerves, however, were not an issue for one of IU’s most accomplished distance runners. \n“I was very excited with this being my first national meet,” said Robinson, who went into the meet seeded 10th in the 5,000-meter run. Despite running one of the fastest times in the nation earlier in the year with a time of 16:16.23, Robinson started off in the back of the pack and could not push to the front. She finished 14th, crossing the finish line in 16:39.86, more than a minute behind the first-place finisher. \nRobinson said she didn’t do as well as she would have liked, but it was still a very positive learning experience for her. She noted the difference in pace as one of the areas she can improve upon, and she’ll have an opportunity to do so with two more indoor seasons of eligibility. \nIU coach Ron Helmer said the lack of experience made things difficult for his three athletes. \n“It is hard to know how to respond the first time through,” he said. “There is a whole new set of expectations and stress.” \nOne of Robinson’s fellow juniors and teammates on the trip was Beckwith, who competed Friday in the 800-meter run. Beckwith grabbed the last qualifying spot in the meet after she ran an IU school record of 2:06.67 at the Notre Dame Qualifier Meet last weekend. \nBeckwith ran in the preliminaries of the 800, but failed to make the finals running with what turned out to be a 15th- place finish in 2:12.29. She finished toward the bottom of the leaderboard, but was still satisfied with the meet.\n“It was awesome,” she said. “The competition was very fierce.” \nBeckwith said the race turned out to be a lot more strategical than she thought, something she can learn from and be more comfortable with in future races.\nChin made it to her first national meet as a freshman with the Hoosiers.\n“She is new and is still learning what we are doing,” Helmer said. \nChin, who set the school record in the pole vault earlier this year at 4.14 meters, could not clear the starting height of 3.90 in her three attempts and finished last in the competition.\nAlthough he would have liked to see the group do better, Helmer said he is very encouraged with how rapidly the athletes have improved this season. \n“This is part of the growing process and we are growing,” he said. “It was all very positive.”
(03/13/08 11:38pm)
IU junior distance runner Wendi Robinson knew she would probably be\nspending her spring break in Arkansas on Jan. 25. \nIt was then she won the 5000-meter run at the Gladstein Invitational in 16:16.23,\nthe fastest 5000-meter mark in the nation at the time.\nArkansas will play host to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 14-15 at the Randal Tyson Track Center in\nFayetteville. On Monday the NCAA track and field committee revealed the\n568 combined men and women student- athletes that will make up the\nchampionship field.\nJoining Robinson will be teammates junior Molly Beckwith in the 800-meter run and freshmen Stephanie Chin in the pole vault.\nBeckwith had to wait a lot longer than Robinson to know if she would be\nselected. Beckwith ran a career-best and IU school record time of 2:06.67 in the 800-meter run at the Alex Wilson Invitational.\nEven with the record time, Beckwith still didn’t know if it would be enough to get in to the national meet, but when the entries were released, Beckwith slipped in, securing the final spot in the event.\nChin was also not guaranteed a spot going into the meet at Notre Dame last weekend. Chin had vaulted a school-record 4.12 meters at the Meyo Invite earlier in the season, but was still on the bubble to get in.\nThe freshman pole vaulter helped herself out by vaulting two centimeters higher, to raise\nher qualifying mark to 4.14 meters. The NCAA's cutoff mark was 4.13 meters.\nThe men also wrapped up their indoor season last weekend at the Alex\nWilson Invitational in South Bend. Going in, senior jumper Kyle Jenkins\nhad high hopes of improving his mark of 15.76 meters to make it to the\nchampionships, but jumped just 15.49 meters in the triple jump event.\nJenkins season-best was just two centimeters off of the last accepted qualifying entry into the national meet.\nSophomore pole vaulter Vera Neuenswander also had a provisional qualifying mark of 4.05 meters going into the Notre Dame meet, but could not improve upon the performance and was not selected to go to\nArkansas. Neuenswander, who finished 12th last year at NCAA’s and fourth at the conference championships this year was awarded her second Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.\nFor more on the events, check back on idsnews.com for a recap and in next week's Indiana Daily Student for full coverage.
(03/07/08 5:23am)
While some IU students are looking forward to spending their spring breaks on the beaches of Florida or Mexico, IU senior jumper Kyle Jenkins hopes to spend next weekend indoors in Arkansas. \nJenkins will be among a portion of track and field athletes competing in the Alex Wilson Invitational at the Loftus Center on Notre Dame’s campus. This will be his one last chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships held March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark. \nLast weekend, Jenkins competed in the Big Ten Championships, but finished second by 1 centimeter in the triple jump. Despite failing to win, the senior is confident he can jump a career-best of 15.86, the mark he said he will likely need to land him in Arkansas next week. \n“Where I need to jump and how I’ve been jumping, I’ll be there,” he said. \nAnother athlete who will likely need to set a career-best this weekend to qualify for NCAA’s is sophomore pole vaulter Vera Neuenswander. Neuenswander, who competed at the national meet in 2007, recorded a fourth-place finish at last weekend’s Big Ten meet – vaulting a season-best of 4.05 meters.\n“I hope I can jump a big height and get in,” she said. “I’ve been improving in every meet and hopefully this weekend will be the same way.”\nBoth Neuenswander and her freshman teammate Stephanie Chin will go after the automatic qualifying mark of 4.20 meters in the event. \nChin will return to the Loftus Center where she set a career-best and IU school record of 4.12 meters a month ago at the Meyo Invite. \nIn addition, a select group of athletes will also compete – athletes IU coach Ron Helmer said have good marks on the board and ones who will have the opportunity to improve on those performances. \n“I want them to finish indoors on a positive note,” he said. \nAmong the women will be recently crowned Big Ten Champion junior Audrey Smoot, who will compete in the 400-meter dash. Junior Molly Beckwith and sophomores Ashley Rhoades and Faith Sherrill will also travel to South Bend. \nIU junior Wendi Robinson will take the weekend off from competition because she is almost assured a spot in the national meet with her 5000-meter time of 16:16.23, which ranks ninth-best in the country. \nOn the men’s side joining Jenkins will be senior Paul Fearnow, juniors Evan Bardach, Tyler McCreary and Brennon Plotner, sophomores Jared Nuxoll and Chris Sackmann and freshman Andy Weatherford. \nEach year, a set number of athletes are selected to compete in the NCAA Championships – an equal number for men and women. \nGenerally, the selection committee automatically takes the top 14 individual events leaders and the top 10 relay teams. Next, they typically add 15th-best individual performer and the 11th-best relay team. From there, they look at different events and see if an athlete is already in the meet, and if they are, the committee skips them and goes down the list until the maximum number has been reached for the meet. \nThe selection committee will release the entries for the Indoor Championships March 10.
(03/04/08 5:13am)
A No. 16 seed has never beaten a No. 1 seed during March Madness. A runner seeded last going into the finals of a 600-meter run also had never beaten a No. 1 seed, especially when the No. 1 runner happens to be a former NCAA champion and five-time All-American.\nThree days ago, that changed. \nThat accomplishment belongs to IU junior sprinter Audrey Smoot, who won the 600-meter run at the women’s indoor Big Ten Championships in Minnesota during the weekend. \nWhile a ninth-place finish somewhat disappointed the Hoosiers, Smoot was excited to score points for the first time in a Big Ten meet.\n“It has not even set in yet,” she said. “It all happened really fast, but it’s great.” \nAlthough Smoot won the race, the circumstances surrounding the finish were unexpected. \nThe 600-meter trials were on Saturday, with the top five heat winners and the next four fastest times advancing to the finals the following day. Smoot won her heat in a time of 1:33.95, but was seeded last going into the final. Heather Dorniden, a Minnesota sophomore and former NCAA champion in the 800-meter run had the No. 1 seed with a time of 1:29.65 in the trials.\nSmoot won the first heat of the finals with a time of 1:31.59, good for a career-best and second all-time for IU in the event. She then stood by her parents to watch the second heat, thinking she could at least finish fifth overall. \nOn the last lap of the race with Dorniden leading, the Golden Gopher tripped and fell. After laying on the track for roughly three seconds, she picked herself up and made up a 20-meter deficit, winning her heat with a time of 1:31.72. \nSmoot, shocked at what happened in the race, looked up at the scoreboard and knew what Dorniden’s time meant. \n“Mom, I won,” she said, turning to her parents. “Mom, I think I won.” \nThe home crowd, however, did not know Smoot had won and erupted in applause thinking their runner had won. Dorniden was mobbed by cameras and reporters and thought she had indeed won the race. Even at the award stand she stood in the winner’s spot, \ncreating an awkward moment for Smoot who had to tell her she had gotten second in the race.\nIU assistant coach Rebecca Walter, while surprised at what had happened, was still very proud of what Smoot accomplished. \n“She went in there with the right attitude and displayed all the hard work she has done,” Walter said. \nSmoot wasn’t the only athlete to score points for the women’s team, as fellow juniors Molly Beckwith and Wendi Robinson finished fifth in their races — Beckwith in the 600-meter run and Robinson in the 5000-meter run. \nThe men’s team competed in a separate meet for the Big Ten Championship in Wisconsin and finished ninth. \nIU senior Kyle Jenkins finished second in the long jump with a mark of 15.66 meters, jumping just .20 meter short of his career best.\nFreshman De’Sean Turner ran to a third-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:53.35, while fellow freshman Andy Weatherford finished eighth in the mile run in 4:11.97. \nAlthough IU coach Ron Helmer said a lack of depth hurt both teams, he was still pleased with of some of what he saw this weekend. \n“For the most part I was really encouraged by the efforts and attitudes of a large number of people,” he said.
(02/29/08 5:28am)
If you were to step into the Gladstein Fieldhouse on a Monday afternoon, you would see a team practicing like it has all season, working toward goals it had set out to accomplish long before the year began. \nOn the outside, it might seem like the Hoosiers are going about business as usual, but with the Big Ten Championships this weekend, the Hoosiers’ excitement and confidence levels are through the roof. \nThe conference tournament is something senior sprinter and hurdler Ryan Smith has been eagerly looking forward to all season.\n“I think everyone is really excited about Big Tens,” he said. “I think the team is going to do really well.” \nThe men’s and women’s track and field teams will have separate meets, both taking place on Saturday and Sunday. The women will compete in Minnesota and the men in Wisconsin. \nSmith, a 2006 All-American, has been set back by a groin injury he suffered in practice and has not competed in over a month. Despite the injury, Smith does not come off as frustrated, but rather full of emotion and excitement for the chance to return to a sport he loves. \n“I’m so ready to get back out there,” said Smith with a smile on his face.\nSmith will compete in the 600-meter run, an event he set the school record in at last year’s Big Ten Championship meet. \nOne of Smith’s best friends and teammates who will also toe the line with him in the 600 is junior Martin Stephen, whose time in the event is only .48 seconds off of Smith’s school record. \n“We are going to go out there as teammates and will run as fast as we can,” Stephen said. \nStephen hopes that himself, Smith, and junior Todd Leone can all place in the top five at the meet. \n“We are really strong and ready to go,” he said. \nWhile the men’s team has a lot of experience in Big Ten meets, having had conference champions last year, including Smith and seniors Kyle Jenkins and Kiwan Lawson, the women’s team lacks that experience. The women do not have a lot of depth and only have about 18 athletes competing this weekend. \nOne of those athletes is freshman Lindsey Hartman, who will run in the 600-meter race and as a member of the 4X400-meter relay. Although Hartman has never competed in a Big Ten Championship meet, she still has confidence and enthusiasm about traveling to Minnesota this weekend. \n“I’m really excited,” she said. “I’ve always dreamed of competing in a Big Ten meet.”\nAnother athlete who thrives in Big Ten competition is sophomore jumper Jackie Coleman. \nColeman, a Mideast regional qualifier last year during the outdoor season, had her best triple jump last year at the indoor Big Ten Championships and her best long jump at the outdoor championships.\n“I really get excited for big competition in big-time meets,” she said. “It takes me to a whole new level.” \nDespite the lack of experience on the women’s team, Coleman is still optimistic and thinks this meet will be a great opportunity for the young Hoosiers.\n“We have the ability to grow as a team,” she said. “I think we have a lot of potential.”\nIU coach Ron Helmer would not comment on where exactly he thought his teams could place in their respective meets, instead he provided one simple mission for his team.\n“The overriding goal is to place as high as we can as a team,” he said. “I hope we can compete hard and put ourselves in a position to have good things happen.”
(02/21/08 6:13am)
The IU track and field team does not have a meet this weekend, but that will not stop Hoosier athletes, coaches and alumni from lacing up their spikes and competing against some of the best in the nation.\nThese athletes will travel to Boston this weekend to compete in the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships.\nThey will have a special opportunity, one that many of the Hoosiers are eagerly anticipating.\n“This is like a dream come true,” IU senior Kiwan Lawson said. \nLawson, a Big Ten indoor champion last year in the long jump, will be part of the IU group going to the meet. \nLawson said he is very excited to be able to jump against an elite group of athletes.\n“It makes you humble to be there,” he said. “There will be some high flyers and hopefully I’ll be one of them.” \nOne of those high flyers will be IU alumnus Aarik Wilson, a 2005 NCAA indoor champion in both the long jump and triple jump, and a combined six-time All-American in indoor and outdoor track and field.\nDespite the impressive resume for Wilson, Lawson comes into the championships with a slight edge, literally. Lawon’s qualifying mark in the long jump bettered his former teammate and mentor by one centimeter. And he’s making sure Wilson doesn’t forget it.\n“I’ll get in his head a little bit,” said Lawson, with a smile on his face. “He’s a talented athlete.” \nLawson will be accompanied on the trip by one of his childhood friends, IU senior Courtney Johnson. The two have known each other since sixth grade and have always supported one another.\nJohnson, who will compete in the 60-meter hurdles, said she committed to IU first and didn’t even know Lawson was coming until the summer before their freshman year.\n“We have each other,” she said. “He is a great motivator and keeps my head in it.” \nLawson won’t be the only unattached athlete from IU competing in the long jump. Lorian Price, who graduated from IU last year but still trains with the team, qualified last weekend when she won the event at the Hoosier Hills Invitational with a jump of 6.11 meters. \nPrice has been trying all season to break the qualifying mark of 6.07 meters, and it finally came together for her last Friday. \n“It was a big burden off my shoulders,” she said. \nAs happy as she was to have qualified for the championships, Price said this is only a step in the road and is looking to do well in Boston to have a chance to compete in the Olympic trials and maybe even the Beijing Olympics this summer. \nAnother athlete with dreams of competing in Beijing is IU graduate student Abbie Stechschulte. \nStechschulte was on a plane from an All-American finish in the heptathalon when her coach at West Virginia, Jeff Huntoon, surprised her. He told her he was leaving the Mountaineers to take a coaching position at IU.\nHuntoon told his standout athlete that there was a spot for her on the Hoosier roster if she wanted it. Stechschulte said it was an easy choice based on her relationship with her coach and she quickly fell in love with IU.\n“I was extremely optimistic coming in,” she said. “The whole team was really nice and welcoming.” \nStechschulte will compete March 8-9 in North Carolina at the USA Indoor Combined Events Championships. \nHuntoon, now an IU assistant coach, was eager to come to Bloomington and help Hoosier athletes achieve their goals and dreams. \n“I’m excited I could keep them going in the right direction,” he said. \nHuntoon will travel to Boston with two other IU coaches who will also be competing in the meet themselves. \nIU student assistant coach Stacey Clausing qualified for the 400-meter dash with her 53.8 second victory two weeks ago at the Meyo Invitational.\nAlso qualifying at the same meet was IU assistant coach Rebecca Walter. Walter will race in the 3000-meter run after qualifying with a time of 9:19. The Michigan graduate said she enjoys both competing and coaching. \n“It helps to both coach and run at the same time,” she said. “We have a great group of kids that keep me on my toes.”
(02/18/08 5:36am)
Coming into competition this weekend, sophomore Ashley Rhoades had the chance to jump the NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 1.78 meters in the high jump event. Rhoades, a high jumper on the IU track and field team, got her chance at the Hoosier Hills Invitational Friday in Bloomington.\nThough she did not clear the height, she still came away victorious in the event.\nRhoades, who has worked hard all season since coming back from an ankle surgery in July, had not jumped higher than 1.63 meters going into competition on Friday.\nThe high jump started off well for Rhoades, who cleared heights of 1.65 and 1.70 on her first two attempts. \nShe then had the choice of jumping for a career best of 1.74 meters or going for the provisional mark of 1.78 meters. It was an easy choice \nfor Rhoades.\nAfter resting and talking to her coach, Rhoades stepped up eagerly to clear the bar.\n“I was really relaxed,” she said. “I warmed up well and was confident and focused.”\nShe knocked over the bar on her first two attempts. Trying to focus despite the distraction of the starting gun for the 200-meter dash, she ran toward the bar for her third and final jump, gave her best effort, but could not clear the height.\nAlthough she did not make the height, she did win the competition and was excited with her jumps. \n“I was really happy with it being a season best,” she said. “I got a chance to see the height and have an attempt at it.”\nRhoades’s roommate and fellow teammate, sophomore Kayla Smith, said she was happy to see her friend do as well as she did. \n“It was really awesome watching her jump,” Smith said. “She looked really good out there.” \nRhoades was not the only event winner on Friday for the Hoosiers. Junior Audrey Smoot won the 600-meter run. Smoot then anchored IU’s 4x400-meter relay team to victory.\nOn the men’s side, sophomore Tyler McCreary won the 800-meter run in a career-best time of 1:52.91. Freshman Andy Weatherford paced McCreary through the first 400 meters of the race.\nWeatherford had run a good race in the mile earlier in the day, finishing in second place with a time of 4:09.11, which was more than five seconds better than his previous best. Weatherford battled Daniel Mungo, who competed unattached, all the way through and finished only .28 seconds behind the winner. \nSophomore Paul Haas also had a big day on Friday with two career bests in the weight throw and shot put. Haas’s toss in the weight throw was 17.85 meters, fifth best in IU history. \nIU also had runners competing in the Tyson Invitational Friday and Saturday in Fayetteville, Ark.\nIn the men’s 400-meter dash, juniors John Gunnell and Martin Stephen both recorded career bests. \nFor the women, sophomore Vera Neuenswander improved on her season best, vaulting 3.96 meters. Junior Molly Beckwith also competed well, finishing third in the 800-meter run.\nAlthough he had wanted to see some better marks, IU coach Ron Helmer said he still enjoyed watching his team work. \n“We competed hard, which resulted in some good performances,” he said.
(02/15/08 5:07am)
One Hoosier athlete will wake up Friday in her own bed in Bloomington. Another will wake up nearly 600 miles away in Fayetteville, Ark. Both, however, will have the same goal: to compete to the best of their abilities.\n“I want to leave knowing I did the best I could,” IU senior Kyle Jenkins said. \nJenkins, a 2007 All-American and Big Ten Indoor champion in the triple jump, is among 20 athletes on the IU track and field team who left Thursday to travel to Arkansas to compete in the Tyson Invitational this weekend. The remaining Hoosiers will stay home to compete in the Hoosier Hills Invitational Friday at the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse.\nThe bigger of the two meets, the Tyson Invitational, will host 88 teams, including 15 men’s and women’s teams ranked in the top 25 by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. On the men’s side, three of the top five teams in the nation will be represented. On the women’s side, four of the top five teams will compete. \nBack in Bloomington, IU senior sprinter Kyndal Carr will look to improve on her times this weekend, competing in both the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes.\n“I have goals in my head,” she said. “I want to get times set for myself.” \nEven though the Hoosier Hills Invitational will be much smaller, with about 350 entries expected, IU coach Ron Helmer believes his athletes will remain focused.\n“I think some kids will run really well here,” he said. \nHelmer thinks the atmosphere at the Tyson Invitational will allow for his athletes to have the chance to race in an intense environment. “It will be an incredible opportunity,” he said. “We will see how they handle it.”\nIn addition to the large number of athletes that will be present, race organizers hope to break the attendance record at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, according to the event Web site. \nSpectators will have the opportunity to watch some of the best collegiate runners, as well as professional runners. In fact, some competitors could potentially be a part of the U.S. track and field team that will compete in the Beijing Olympics this summer.\nIU alumnus Stephen Haas, who runs professionally for New Balance, will compete Friday alongside a talented field in the 5,000-meter run.\nThe 5,000, along with several other events on Friday, will be taped and aired on ESPN Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. \nEvents at the Gladstein Fieldhouse will begin today at 3 p.m. with the 60-meter hurdles. \nAlthough this season has sometimes been a struggle for Helmer, he said he feels like the Hoosiers are getting better and is excited to see what happens next. \n“We are on the verge of getting it to all come together,” he said.
(02/12/08 4:45am)
Last year, IU sophomore Vera Neuenswander was the top freshman pole vaulter in the nation during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, also setting school records. One of those records fell this weekend, and it made her happy. \nNeuenswander’s teammate, freshman Stephanie Chin, broke the record. On Saturday, Chin vaulted 4.12 meters at the Meyo Invite in South Bend. \nChin was happy after clearing the bar measuring more than 13 and a half feet, good for second in the event.\n“I was really excited and shocked that I made it over,” she said. “I feel like all of the training is starting to pay off.” \nChin’s mark bettered the NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 3.95 meters. She was, however, not the only IU athlete to reach that height. Her teammate, Neuenswander, finished fourth in the event with a vault of 3.95 meters. \nChin and Neuenswander work together in practice, something the freshman thinks has really helped her this season. \n“Vera has been a huge support for me,” Chin said. “We are both helping to make each other better.” \nNeuenswander agreed and said the two are learning a great deal from each other.\n“Stephanie is a great teammate,” she said. “We work really well together.” \nIU assistant coach Jake Wiseman, who works with the pole vaulters, said he has kept an eye on the two this season.\n“They push each other everyday,” he said. “As coaches we can’t coach what they do for each other.” \nIn addition to IU’s pole vaulting success last weekend, the Hoosiers also set school records in other events.\nThe distance medley relay team of juniors Caity Lauer, Audrey Smoot, Molly Beckwith and Wendi Robinson bettered the previous school record by nearly four seconds Friday. The relay team finished in fourth place with a time of 11:21.18, which also provisionally qualifies them for the NCAA Indoor Championships.\nThe four juniors came back Saturday and all set career bests in their individual open events.\nIU coach Ron Helmer was happy with his team’s efforts following the relay.\n“I think they were determined to run well, and they did run well,” he said. \nOn the men’s side, seven athletes set career bests. \nSenior Marcus Thigpen finished seventh in the 200-meter dash in a time of 21.94 seconds. His time is just seven-tenths of a second off the NCAA provisional mark of 21.23. \nSenior thrower Paul Fearnow also set a career best. Fearnow finished fifth in the weight throw with a heave of 18.67 meters. He said he attributes much of his and his teammates’ successes to their work ethic. \n“The team has put their heads down and got to work,” he said. \nThe Hoosiers will compete in two tournaments this weekend, splitting up the team. IU will send 20 of its top athletes to Fayetteville, Ark. to compete in the Tyson Invitational. The remaining athletes will compete at home in the Hoosier Hills Invitational Friday.
(02/08/08 6:22am)
While the Hoosiers will leave Bloomington for the first time this season to compete, one IU athlete will be going home. \nThe Hoosiers will travel to South Bend, somewhere very familiar to IU junior Caitlin Lauer. That is because Lauer grew up in the town, about two blocks from the campus of Notre Dame, where competition will take place Friday and Saturday in the Meyo Invite. \nEven with family and friends coming to the competition, Lauer said she is not nervous. \n“It makes me excited,” she said.\nLauer said she is looking forward to her family getting the opportunity to see her progression from high school to college. \nLauer will lead off in the the distance medley relay Friday night in an effort to help her relay team qualify for the NCAA meet and set a new IU school record. She will run 1200 meters before handing it off to teammates who will run 400, 800 and 1600 meters, respectively.\nThe junior will be joined by Audrey Smoot, Molly Beckwith and Wendi Robinson. The group will look to run under 11:32 to provisionally qualify for the NCAA championships. The relay team could also break the school record of 11:25.16, set last year by a team that included Lauer and Beckwith. \nLauer is not the only IU athlete that will have family present to support her this weekend. IU sophomore high jumper Ashley Rhoades is from nearby Columbia City, Ind., and is expecting almost a dozen family and friends to come cheer her on.\n“I’m excited,” she said. “None of my extended family has seen me jump.” \nThe Invite will take place at the Loftus Center on Notre Dame’s campus, a facility that varies significantly from the Gladstein Fieldhouse. IU’s home track is a raised, or banked, track measuring 200 meters. The track in South Bend is a flat surface and is longer, at 320 meters. Most outdoor tracks measure 400 meters. \nIU coach Ron Helmer thinks the track at Notre Dame will allow for fast times. Helmer said it will be like running outdoors. Another difference due to the track size is additional events, which are common in the Big East conference. There will be a 300-meter dash, 500-meter run and 1,000-meter run.\nHelmer also thinks the change in environment and traveling away from home will be positive for his team. \nThe main reason for his theory is that the team will be able to focus solely on competing and not on distractions that come up at home. IU senior sprinter Jacob Moylan said he is also looking forward to getting away from IU’s campus. \n“It’s nice to experience something a little different,” he said. \nMoylan said he thinks he and his teammates will be in a better mindset in South Bend. He said the team sometimes can get complacent from having the same daily routine, and that they will be able to focus better having only one reason to be there, to compete.\nLauer is excited to return to the campus where she almost became a student. Before making her final college decision, Lauer had narrowed her decision down to IU and Notre Dame. Three years later, Lauer said she is happy to be a Hoosier.\n“I came down to Bloomington and fell in love with everything here,” she said.
(02/06/08 5:54am)
She runs 65 miles a week. \nShe can run a mile in less than five minutes. Her 3,000-meter time is top-10 all-time at IU. Her 5,000-meter time is the fastest in the nation this year. All of these long distance achievements come from a person who started her career as a sprinter.\nIt’s a good thing she changed her mind.\nShe is IU junior Wendi Robinson, a member of both the cross country and track and field teams. Robinson grew up in Danville, Ind., a town about 20 miles west of Indianapolis.\nWhen it came time for Robinson to decide what college to attend, the 2005 high school state champion in the mile narrowed it down to IU and Butler University. She said she wanted to be close to home, and both schools had academic and athletic programs that appealed to her.\nDuring Robinson’s recruitment, Jessica Gall, a runner on IU’s track team at the time, eagerly asked her coach to let Robinson stay with her. Gall had previously seen Robinson in high school.\n“You could tell this girl was going to be good,” said Gall, a three-time All-American and 2005 graduate. \nGall said the night Robinson visited, the two didn’t get much sleep. Instead they stayed up all night talking about running, high school, college life and other random topics.\nAnother person who influenced Robinson’s career as a Hoosier is Rebecca Walter, a former Big Ten cross country champion and six-time All-Big Ten honoree in two sports at Michigan.\nWalter, who works with the distance runners, is now an assistant coach at IU and speaks very highly of Robinson.\n“She is very coachable, self-motivated and has high aspirations,” she said.\nIn addition to being her coach, Walter is also a training partner for Robinson. The two do many workouts together, pushing and motivating one another.\n“She has been a great motivator to get me back into fitness,” Walter said.\nIU coach Ron Helmer believes Walter has benefitted Robinson greatly, noting the two have grown tremendously from the experience. \n“Rebecca came along at the right time,” Helmer said. “They work really well together.”\nBefore coming to IU, Helmer did a lot of research, including examining results from previous seasons and looking at players’ grade reports. That research, combined with his experiences on campus, led him to the conclusion that Robinson is a special runner. \nHelmer said Robinson fits the profile of other talented runners he’s seen. He also said that if things play out right for Robinson, she could potentially be very competitive on the national level.\nHelmer should know. He coached 213 Big East champions, 120 All-Americans and four national champions during his career at Georgetown.\nTo be an elite runner, an athlete must go through rigorous physical training, something most people don’t have the motivation or desire to do. For example, Robinson runs an average of 65 miles a week.\n“It’s just how I am,” she said. “When I do something, I have a goal in mind, and I work hard and consistently to improve.” \nRobinson said she also likes the benefits from the exercise.\n“It’s better than sitting around and watching TV,” she said.\nBut everything hasn’t always come easy for the junior runner.\nIn her junior year of high school, Robinson finished 16th in the semi-state cross country race, only to have the top 15 advance to the state competition. Instead of dwelling on the past, she trained hard over the next year, and won the semi-state the following season.\nIn addition to her own performance, Robinson has also had a positive impact on her teammates.\n“It makes you better running with someone that good,” said IU sophomore Sarah Pease, a fellow distance runner and one of Robinson’s friends.\nRobinson’s success is well-documented as a Hoosier. The future will tell if this accomplished distance runner can add to her long list of achievements.\n“The sky is the limit for Wendi,” Gall said.
(02/04/08 6:12am)
On most Friday nights at 11:49 p.m., the Gladstein Fieldhouse is dark and deserted. But this weekend, the fieldhouse lights shined bright and screams could be heard throughout. \nUnder the lights, IU’s track and field teams opened day one of two of the Indiana Relays. The Hoosiers were not alone – they were joined by more than 40 teams and 700 athletes. \nNearly five hours earlier, the Fieldhouse shook as Team Indiana Elite runner Jordan Fife attempted the unthinkable – breaking the four-minute mile. Fife, who is coached by former IU assistant coach Robert Chapman, ran a 4:02 at last weekend’s Gladstein Invitational. \nThe Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse Friday night felt almost like Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., at the time of distance legend Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine, who tragically had his life cut short by an automobile accident at the age of 24, held 14 American Track and Field records at the time of his passing. The crowd at Hayward Field famously chanted “Pre! Pre! Pre!”\nFriday the crowd chanted “Go Jordan, go,” encouraging him to do something thought to be impossible 55 years ago. Although Fife missed the mark by .14 seconds, he pushed his body hard and competed with intensity, something many athletes came together to do this weekend. \nOne of those athletes, IU junior sprinter John Gunnell, pushed to an eighth-place finish in the 400-meter dash preliminaries on Friday to qualify for the finals the following day. Going into the finals with confidence, Gunnell got off to a bad start and finished in last place. \n“Another runner beat me to the break,” Gunnell said. “I was really upset after the race.” \nAfter having some time to clear his head and cool off, Gunnell came back ready for the 4x400-meter relay. He still didn’t feel very well, but something inside him went off when he saw his team slipping and loosing ground on the leaders.\n“I put my own feelings aside and tried to get us back into it,” he said. \nGunnell did just that as he handed off to IU sophomore sprinter Dan Palmer with a slight lead. Palmer continued the race, but could not widen the lead in the field. Palmer handed it off to the team’s last runner, IU senior sprinter Ryan Smith. Smith ran the whole way with the competition breathing down his neck, crossing the finish line first with a season-best time of 3:15.02. In the following heat, however, Missouri bested the Hoosiers by 2.19 seconds.\nJunior Caitlin Lauer achieved another season and career best on the day. Lauer was helped in the mile by not one, but two of her coaches – \nIU assistant coaches Monica Hargrove and Rebecca Walter. \n“To be able to run with them was really fun,” Lauer said. “That got me going.” \nEven though Walter crossed the finish line first in 4:49.50, Lauer bettered her previous time by nearly 12 seconds, finishing second with a time of 4:50.33. \nThe track team had several winners on the day including IU junior Evan Bardach. Bardach won the 800-meter run in a career-best time of 1:53.33. He said it’s been a good season so far, especially after coming off a stress fracture that limited him last year.\n“It was nice to go out and get a victory,” Bardach said. “It was a real confidence booster.” \nIU’s throwers also had an impressive weekend, collecting four career bests: sophomores Faith Sherrill and Patrick Dalton, junior Tiffany Howard and senior Paul Fearnow.\nIU coach Ron Helmer was pleased with the way his team competed. \n“I thought we had some really nice efforts this weekend,” he said. \nThe Hoosiers return to action next weekend when they travel to South Bend for the Mayo Invite.
(01/28/08 5:36am)
The average person would be hard-pressed to find a connection between Kansas, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Michigan and Indiana. \nBut within the IU track team, such a connection exists.\nThe states represent the birthplaces of six IU coaches, and the coaching staff ranges in age from 23 to 60. Despite the evident differences on the staff, the coaches have been able to function as a cohesive unit. More importantly, they have been able to pass on that teamwork to their athletes.\nWith 10 IU men’s and women’s track and field athletes winning events and 38 setting career-bests in this weekend’s Gladstein Invitational, it would seem they are succeeding in their mission. \n“I couldn’t be happier with where we are at,” IU coach Ron Helmer said.\nThe invitational, which was an open meet, began on Friday and commenced on Saturday, with the first day of competition highlighted by the women’s 5000-meter run. \nThe race featured the student-teacher tandem of IU junior Wendy Robinson and IU assistant coach Rebecca Walter. Robinson ran with Walter, a former Big Ten cross country champion and six-time All-Big Ten honoree at Michigan. \nWalter ran in front of Robinson pacing her for a little over 4,000 meters. Walter than stepped off the track and let her student continue. Robinson continued right into the record books, recording a winning time of 16:16.23. The time was 1:18 faster than the second-place runner and good for third all-time at IU. Robinson also shattered the NCAA provisional qualifying time of 16:42 and was within eight seconds of the automatic standard. She is the first runner in the nation to post a qualifying mark in the event.\nIU had two other runners set career bests in the same race in addition to Robinson. IU sophomore Sarah Pease finished third with a career best of 17:39.03. Pease was followed by fellow teammate junior Kristina Trcka, who finished seventh with a career best of 18:17.69. \nRobinson, Pease and Trcka were not the only IU distance runners that had success in the meet. IU senior Lauren Keefe, who ran unattached, bested her previous mile time by 18 seconds, finishing third in 4:59.80. Keefe was followed by senior Maura Ratcliff who ran almost six seconds better than her previous time, finishing sixth in 5:01.85. Ratcliff attributed a lot of her and her teammate’s success this year to the coaching staff, despite their high expectations.\n“(Helmer) expects a lot of us because he knows we can do it,” she said. \nIU junior Martin Stephen admitted at first he did not like all the new coaches, but he has been more than happy with the way things have worked out.\n“These are the best coaches I’ve had since I’ve been in college,” he said. \nRatcliff also noted that the positive team atmosphere has helped out a lot, too. \n“Everyone is excited for the success of their teammates,” she said. “We are more aware of what people are doing, other than the people we work with every day.” \nOne of those teammates is multi-sport athlete senior Marcus Thigpen, the running back on the IU football team, who won the 60-meter dash despite only having practiced for a couple of weeks. \nThigpen, who compared running in football to running in track and field, said the difference is the temperature. He said it gets so hot running in football with all the pads weighing him down, but out on the track it almost feels like he’s naked. \nThigpen, along with teammate junior Molly Beckwith and many athletes on the team, are very happy with their new coaching staff.\n“Every workout the coaches are pushing us to our limit,” Beckwith said. “Our quality of work is much better.”
(01/25/08 5:30am)
In college sports, most athletes specialize in a sport or an event within a sport. For IU sophomore Matt Schmitz, this is not the case. \nSchmitz, a member of the IU men’s track team does not compete in one, two or even three events. He competes in seven, and said this can sometimes be difficult.\n“Once one event is over you have to move on to the next event,” he said.\nSchmitz is what the team calls a “multi” athlete, and he will compete in the heptathlon, a series of seven events, at the Gladstein Invitational this weekend. The meet, hosted by the Hoosiers, will start at noon Friday and run through Saturday afternoon.\nThe track team has been training intensely over the course of the season so far, and many athletes have already set career bests in their respective events. \nThe throwers had an impressive meet last weekend at the Big Ten-SEC Challenge, in which the shot put and weight throw combined saw five IU men’s and women’s athletes setting career bests. IU sophomore Paul Haas set a career best in the shot put with a toss of 51-1/2 feet. Haas said that even though he might be tired from the intense training, he goes out and competes hard in every meet. \n“No matter how tired you are it’s a day of competition and you must get up for it,” he said. “Every time counts.” \nIU junior Caitlin Lauer said she thinks this is the toughest month of training for the team. Despite the demanding training regimen so far, she competed in three events last weekend – two of which were back-to-back. \n“It’s a mental challenge, you hurt but you still have to do it,” she said. “The pain is temporary; you just have to get through it.”\nIU coach Ron Helmer believes that the early meets in the season are all about the athletes understanding how to race and getting comfortable in the environment of pressure competition and increased intensity.\n“The majority of our athletes at this point are excited and building confidence in their ability to perform,” he said. \nAccording to IU sophomore Tim McLeod, this represents a change in the mindset over years past. He said the team is competing at a high-level, is getting points and is running faster times to get better seeds for the bigger meets later in the season. \nHelmer discussed other important issues he said were related to the success of his team. He talked about how his athletes have built a sense of team atmosphere and have grown throughout the year. \nThe growth of his team he said was one of his most basic goals this year. This trait extends both on and off the track, is about life as a whole and includes academics as well as athletics. \n“Doing your best is constant,” he said. “Our athletes are learning how to take care of themselves.” \nThis season is going to be a learning process he said. \nThat learning process will continue with the Gladstein Invitational today. \nMcLeod put it simply when describing the strategy for the Hoosiers going into the meet this weekend. \n“We are going to go out, be competitive, and try to beat people,” he said.
(01/22/08 4:55am)
It might have been freezing cold outside the fieldhouse, but inside it was red hot.\nThe IU men’s and women’s track teams played host to the inaugural Big Ten-SEC challenge on Saturday. IU represented the Big Ten along with Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State. Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt ran for the SEC.\nAlthough the SEC won the challenge with a final score of 187-156, IU competed well in the meet, with 13 Hoosier athletes setting career bests in the meet.\nWhen IU junior distance runner Wendi Robinson stepped onto the track for the 3,000-meter run, she had no intention of letting anyone else lead the race. Robinson widened the gap as the race progressed on her way to a career best time of 9:28.01. That time not only bettered her previous mark by 35 seconds, but also was almost six seconds under the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. And it was 1.1 seconds short of the fifth-fastest time in the IU record book. \nAll smiles after the race, Robinson gave many hugs and high-fives to her family and friends.\n“It really helped having fans cheering me on,” she said. “Hearing the people as you pass gives you great positive support.”\nFirst-year assistant coach Rebecca Walter, who works with the distance runners, was very pleased with Robinson’s performance, but more so with the way she handled herself.\n“I’m really impressed by her positive attitude,” she said. “We don’t have to motivate her – it’s already there.”\nIn addition to the victories of McCreary and Robinson, the men’s 4-by-800-meter relay team won with a time of 7:43.69. Senior Kyle Jenkins also swept the jumping events with wins in the long jump and triple jump.\nAlthough he didn’t win his event, IU sophomore Chris Sackmann bettered his career best set last week with a time of 8.06 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Sackmann’s time puts him third all-time in the IU record books. \nHoosiers who set career bests on the women’s side were freshman Lindsey Hartman, sophomores Faith Sherrill and Sarah Pease, juniors Caitlin Lauer, Audrey Smoot and Robinson, and seniors Molly Beckwith and Maura Ratcliff. \nOn the men’s side, freshman De’Sean Turner, sophomores Patrick Dalton and Paul Haas, and juniors Kyle Lechlitner and Tim McLeod also set personal records. \nIn addition to the personal records, the intense competition \nallowed IU junior Tyler McCreary to come within .32 seconds of his career best, en route to a victory in the mile. McCreary won the race with a time of 4:10.71. \n“I focused on racing and competing,” he said. “I put myself in position and knew I could do it.” \nTennessee runner Axel Mostrag took the early lead in a half-mile split of 2:02. This didn’t faze McCreary, who said he didn’t “freak out,” and ran a controlled and patient race. Mostrag finished in 10th place with a time of 4:19.12.\nSeveral IU athletes rebounded this week from less than superb performances last week. Among them was senior sprinter Doug Dayhoff. Dayhoff finished seventh last week in the 600-meter run, but came back this week to finish fifth against a much more competitive field in the 400-meter run. IU sophomore pole vaulter and school record holder Vera Neuenswander bettered her fourth-place finish last week when she vaulted 3.77 meters. On Saturday, Neuenswander finished third with a vault of 3.92 meters. \nIU coach Ron Helmer was pleased with the way his team competed, despite the added pressure and intensity of such talented athletes present. \n“People stepped up and competed very well in a number of places,” he said.
(01/21/08 9:48pm)
It may have been freezing cold outside the fieldhouse, but inside it was red hot.\nThe IU men’s and women’s track teams played host to the inaugural Big Ten-SEC challenge on Saturday. IU represented the Big Ten along with Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State. Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas and Vanderbilt ran for the SEC.\nAlthough the SEC won the challenge with a final score of 187 to 156, IU competed well in the meet.\nThe intense competition allowed IU junior Tyler McCreary to come within .32 seconds off his career best, en route to a victory in the mile. McCreary won the race with a time of 4:10.71. \n“I focused on racing and competing,” he said. “I put myself in position and knew I could do it.” \nTennessee runner Axel Mostrag took the early lead in a half-mile split of 2:02, and had a significant lead through much of the early stages of the race. This didn’t faze McCreary, who said he didn’t “freak out,” and ran a controlled and patient race. Mostrag finished in tenth place with a time of 4:19.12.\nWhen IU junior distance runner Wendi Robinson stepped onto the track over two hours later in the 3000-meter run, she had no intention of letting anyone else lead the race. Robinson widened the gap as the race progressed on her way to a career best of 9:28.01. That time not only bettered her previous mark by thirty five seconds, but also was almost six seconds under the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. It was also 1.1 seconds short of the fifth-fastest time in the IU record book. \nAll smiles after the race, Robinson gave many hugs and high fives to her family and friends.\n“It really helped having fans cheering me on,” she said. “Hearing the people as you pass gives you great positive support.”\nFirst-year assistant coach Rebecca Walter, who works with the distance runners, was very pleased with Robinson’s performance, but more so with the way she handled herself.\n“I’m really impressed by her positive attitude,” she said. “We don’t have to motivate her, it’s already there.”\nIn addition to the victories of McCreary and Robinson, the men’s 4x800-meter relay won with a time of 7:43.69. Senior Kyle Jenkins also swept the jumping events with wins in the long jump and triple jump.\nAlthough he didn’t win his event, IU sophomore Chris Sackmann bettered his career best set last week with a time of 8.06 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Sackmann’s time puts him in the IU record books with a mark of third all-time in the event. \nHoosiers who set career bests on the women’s side were freshman Lindsey Hartman, sophomores Faith Sherrill and Sarah Pease, juniors Caitlin Lauer, Audrey Smoot and Robinson, and seniors Molly Beckwith and Maura Ratcliff. \nOn the men’s side freshman De’Sean Turner, sophomores Patrick Dalton, Paul Haas and Sackmann, and juniors Kyle Lechlitner and Tim McLeod also set personal records. \nSeveral IU athletes rebounded this week from less than superb performances last week. Among them was senior sprinter Doug Dayhoff. Dayhoff finished seventh last week in the 600-meter run, but came back this week to finish fifth against a much more competitive field in the 400-meter run. IU sophomore pole vaulter and school record holder Vera Neuenswander bettered her fourth place finish last week when she vaulted 3.77 meters. On Saturday, Neuenswander finished third with a vault of 3.92 meters. \nIU coach Ron Helmer was pleased with the way his team competed, despite the added pressure and intensity of such talented athletes present. \n“People stepped up and competed very well in a number of places,” he said.
(01/18/08 6:01am)
The Big Ten will battle the SEC tomorrow. It won’t take place on a basketball court or a football field, but rather on a track.\nThe Hoosiers’ track and field teams will host athletes from teams including Vanderbilt, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State in the first Big Ten-SEC challenge.\nThe Hoosiers are coming off a meet last Saturday where they had several athletes set career bests. Senior Kyle Jenkins, a 2007 All-American, set an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the triple jump. Provisional qualifying marks are used to gain at-large entry into the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, where Jenkins hopes he can compete with the best in the nation. \nA focused athlete, Jenkins said he thought his performance was OK, but wanted to do better. \n“It’s somewhere to start,” he said. \nJenkins said he is looking forward to the meet this week, especially because of the top-caliber competition that will be present. \nSophomore high jumper Jared Nuxoll, fresh off of a career day last Saturday, said he thinks the competition will help prepare the team for big meets in the future.\n“We have some of the best in the nation that will be here,” he said. “It will be a good preview for Big Ten’s and NCAA’s.”\nIU coach Ron Helmer, while excited about the meet, was quick to not overemphasize its importance this early in the season. \n“This is just another step,” he said. “It is a chance for our athletes to get comfortable competing.” \nKentucky thrower Rashaud Scott was named the SEC male field athlete of the week after his victories in the weight throw and shot put at the Kentucky Invitational last week, according to the SEC league office. \nScott won the weight throw with a toss of 64-10 3/4, setting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. IU senior thrower Paul Fearnow placed second in the event at the Indiana Open with a toss of 57-5 4/25. \nEven with these early meets seemingly not as important as the big meets to come, some Hoosiers still have anxiety about how they will perform. Junior sprinter Audrey Smoot is excited, but nervous about the meet. \n“It makes you nervous about how you will stack up,” she said.
(01/14/08 5:30am)
Most times when a runner competing in her first meet of the season comes close to her personal record, she is satisfied. Most times when a runner laps another runner on her way to victory, she is satisfied that much more. \nThe Indiana Open on Saturday was not one of those times, and IU junior Wendi Robinson was not satisfied.\n“I’m happy, but not satisfied,” said Robinson, who finished first in the mile and lapped the field. “I would have liked to have run faster.”\nRobinson was one of several Hoosiers who won events at the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse in Bloomington to start the men’s and women’s track and field indoor season.\nIU coach Ron Helmer also said he was not satisfied with the meet, but had an overall positive impression.\n“I like the way we competed,” Helmer said. “We were a little flat, but we are still working and training very hard.”\nThe men had four individual winners in the meet. Sophomore Jared Nuxoll won the high jump with a personal record jump of 2.10 meters. Joining him were senior Kyle Jenkins in the triple jump, senior Kiwan Lawson competing unattached in the long jump and sophomore Chris Sackman in the 60-meter hurdles. \nSackman set a personal record with a time of 8.10 seconds. He was impressed by the fact that he ran faster in this meet than he did at the Indoor Big Ten Championships last season.\n“It was pretty amazing for this time of year,” he said.\nHe also pointed out that the adjustments this year with the new coaching staff have been hard, but he said the team is working hard and getting better, bigger and stronger.\nThe IU men’s team had eight additional athletes or relays that placed in the top three in their respective events. They were freshman Cole Hardacre and junior Darryl Stevenson in the mile, junior Will Glover in the 60-meter dash, junior Martin Stephen in the 600-meter run, senior Keith Heerdegen and freshman Devin Pipkin in the 200-meter dash, the Hoosiers 4x400-meter relay and sophomore Patrick Dalton in the shot put. \nOn the women’s side, the team was even more successful with the women having more individual and team wins than the men. \nThe women had five individuals finish second to none in the meet. In addition to Robinson’s victory in the mile, junior Caitlin Lauer in the 600-meter run, seniors Lauren Keefe and Stacey Clausing both running unattached in the 800-meter run and 200-meter dash, respectively, and senior Molly Beckwith in the 400-meter dash all won their events. Beckwith set a personal record in the 400-meter dash and also anchored the women’s 4x400-meter relay team to a first-place finish.\nBeckwith said she was glad she set a personal record, even though she admitted there wasn’t a lot of competition at the meet. She said she is eagerly anticipating the Big Ten-SEC Challenge meet on Saturday where there will be plenty of talented athletes. \n“The faster they go, the faster I go,” she said.\nBeckwith was joined on the winning 4x400-meter relay team by freshman Lindsey Hartman, junior Britney Freiberger and Lauer. The Hoosiers had four other women finish in the top three in their races. These athletes were freshman Stephanie Chin in the pole vault, sophomore Sarah Pease in the mile, junior Audrey Smoot in the 600-meter run and senior Maura Ratcliff in the 3000-meter run.\nHelmer said he was happy with the meet but ready to get to work in preparation for what is to come. \n“We have lots of work to do, but we have the direction we want to go,” he said.