137 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(05/07/10 1:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The E.C. “Billy” Hayes Track will play host Friday to the annual track and field Billy Hayes Invitational.But, this year, the track will have a far different feel — literally. The invitational will be the first event on the newly resurfaced track. The track was redone as part of the renovations of the Robert C. Haugh Track & Field Complex. It will also be the first time the Hoosier runners will get a chance to compete on the new track, which is made of Polytan. The scientifically advanced substance is designed not only for durability, but for speed and performance as well. The track is one of the first made of Polytan in the western hemisphere. Polytan surfaces currently cover several tracks that have hosted world events, including the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Berlin. IU coach Ron Helmer is excited to see the performances at this weekend’s meet, which will be the Hoosiers’ last before they host the Big Ten Championships on May 14. Helmer said the stage is set for some of the team’s best athletes, like senior Molly Beckwith, to put up big numbers with the renovated facility in place. Last year, several athletes excelled at the Billy Hayes Invitational. Both Beckwith and then-senior Tiffany Howard earned USA Track and Field “A” Qualifying marks, while senior Vera Neuenswander broke the pole vault record for the complex. Sophomore Derek Drouin, then-senior Paul Fearnow, senior Will Glover, freshman Andy Bayer and senior Ashley Rhoades all had regional qualifying performances.“You’re gonna see good pole vaults, good high jumps, and hopefully our sprinters will show the speed of the track,” Helmer said. “It’s a chance for us at the end of finals week to tune up for the Big Tens and at the same time a chance for our better athletes to put big marks on the board.”
(04/28/10 2:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Senior pole vaulter Jeff Coover sets the bar high.Week after week he stares down a clearance mark suspended 18 feet from the ground.To put this height into perspective, if NBA player Yao Ming were to stand on top of an M1 Abrams tank, he would still be three feet short from the mark Coover was able to clear twice this year.However, the standards by which Coover is judged goes far beyond a finely measured height.In addition to being compared to collegiate pole vaulters across the country, Coover is also held to the high standard of over 100 years of IU pole vaulting; an elite group which has created a lineage of nationally recognized athletes.Statistically, pole vaulting has been one of the most successful events in the history of IU track and field, having produced 22 All-Americans (the most of any single event at IU), 22 Big Ten Champions, three NCAA Champions and two Olympians. Head coach Ron Helmer believes that although Coover draws much of his motivation internally but knows that the senior from La Jolla, Calif., has a deep appreciation for the past, too.“During the competition I don’t necessarily think of the tradition that we have,” Coover said. “But, at the same time, getting to wear the IU colors and walk into a meet being one of the best guys in the country is definitely a good feeling – not only for myself, but for furthering what has already been established before me.”Coover is hesitant to put himself in the select company of those who have come before him, but his coach, Dave Volz thinks otherwise.“Jeff has become one of the top vaulters in Indiana history,” Volz said. There have only been a few vaulters who have made the 18-foot mark and he has become the most recent, so he definitely deserves a spot at the top.” Coover is a Big Ten Champion, three time All-American, Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, and last month he was named Big Ten Track Athlete of the week for the sixth time. This feat ties him with Bob Kennedy for the most annual conference honors in IU school history. Despite all of these accomplishments, Coover does not believe he has reached the heights his predecessors did. “It’s in my mind when I walk onto a track at like Big Tens or NCAAs, and I try to represent not only our school, but our tradition. (Dave) Volz, (Mark) Buse and(Jimm) Stack. To be somewhere in that list of Indiana vaulters would be pretty amazing.”Volz has the credentials to place Coover in this elite group, because Volz himself is part of it.As a pole vaulter at IU, Volz won the 1981 NCAA Championship in his freshman year. He went on to finish fifth at the 1992 Summer Olympic games in Barcelona after clearing a height of 18 feet 6.5 inches.Volz said he could see Coover doing similiar things in the future. Helmer said he believes that the tradition of IU pole vaulting has helped propel Coover to all of these accomplishments throughout his collegiate career.“What tradition does, is it sets objective standards, compare ourselves to real people and real performances,” Helmer said. “I think that’s the great value in having the tradition in an event like the pole vault, where very real standards are in place and the evaluation of the next person in line is very fair based on the standards set before them. Jeff has matured and grown into an individual who is now living up to those standards. Jeff has a clear understanding of what greatness is and that to be included in that group is important to him.”Now in his final year of college, Coover says he has no intention of slowing down. He explained that part of the IU pole vaulting tradition is the accomplishments of the great Hoosiers in their post collegiate career, as well as what they did while at IU.“Next for me is to make a 100-percent commitment to this event straight out of college,” he said. “The focus is to do what we’ve been doing on a higher level so I can become an elite pole-vaulter.”Volz, who will continue coaching Coover past college, says that the California native has not reached his full potential.“Jeff is capable of competing on the open circuit,” Volz said. “He’s at 5.50 [meters] now, but he’s capable of doing better than that. Jeff’s a very hard worker and if he stays dedicated to it, he could vault for years.”
(03/22/10 2:52am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Last season at the NCAA Championships, sophomore Derek Drouin jumped 7 feet and .25 inches to place second in the indoor high jump.This year, Drouin asserted himself as the best collegiate high jumper in the country after clearing 7 feet 5.75 inches.From Drouin’s first jump at the championship meet in Fayetteville, Ark., the Ontario native wasted no time capturing the NCAA title. He missed just one attempt before attempting the winning mark, which he cleared on his first try.“This year, I had bigger expectations for myself,” Drouin said. “We base all of our training around NCAAs, the other meets are training. I knew that I was ready to go because of how well Big Tens went, and I like having the pressure on me.”Drouin is IU’s first NCAA champion since 2005 and the first Hoosier to ever win the high jump crown.His All-American performance contributed to the IU men’s team’s sixth place finish, its highest placement since 2005. Other All-American worthy marks for the Hoosier men came from senior pole vaulter Jeff Coover, juniors De’Sean Turner, Kind Butler and Daniel Stockberger and sophomore Andrew Poore.Freshman Andy Bayer earned two All-American certificates for his efforts in the 3K and distance medley relay. With four laps remaining in the DMR, Bayer had the baton knocked out of his hand, dropping him 15 meters from the lead, but he rallied to lead the team to a seventh-place finish.In the 3K, Bayer placed third with a time of 8:11.19 seconds after leading the field with only one lap left. Bayer said being ahead of some of the fastest collegiate athletes in the country was a surreal experience.“It was weird to have these guys behind me,” he said. “I would have never expected to be right there with those guys a couple years ago.” The IU women’s team received its strongest performances from junior Faith Sherrill and seniors Ashley Rhoades and Molly Beckwith. The team came in 28th place with eight points, the most points scored by an IU women’s team since 2003.Sherrill and Rhoades both finished in seventh place in the weight throw and high jump, respectively. Beckwith improved upon her own IU record in the 800 meter with a time of 2:04.46, good for a fifth-place finish.All three Hoosiers earned All-American certificates for these marks. In total, 10 Hoosiers were awarded 12 All-American certificates at the NCAA Indoor Championships. This is the highest number of Hoosier track and field All-Americans ever in a single season. IU coach Ron Helmer sees this year’s season as positive momentum, which can be built on.“We’re moving in the right direction,” Helmer said. “The ability to improve in a short time means we’ve started to build something that could be really special as it moves forward.”
(03/12/10 2:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>For the 18 Hoosiers who qualified to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships, this will be the culmination of a season. Nine months of competition and preparation have led to 48 hours inside the Randal Tyson Track Center against the best track-and-field athletes in Division I.The Hoosiers bring differing perspectives on the experience of competing in the highest level of collegiate competition to Fayetteville, Ark. For seniors such as Jeff Coover and Molly Beckwith, this will be the last chapter in decorated IU indoor track-and-field careers. But for freshman Faith Sherrill and sophomore Andrew Poore, this will be their first time competing in the NCAA Indoor Championships. “Making it to NCAAs has been, by far, the greatest accomplishment I’ve had,” Poore said. “It was something I always wanted to do as a Hoosier. You can run fast, but if you don’t get to compete for a national title, it really doesn’t mean much.” Sherrill agreed this is a huge accomplishment for her to achieve, but now it’s up to her to finish what she started. “I have to get my mind ready, and I know that I’m capable of going out there and doing great,” Sherrill said. IU coach Ron Helmer acknowledged that each one of his student athletes is different and handles this meet in different ways. However, he would like to see his team retain its composure throughout NCAAs.“They shouldn’t expect everything to be perfect,” Helmer said. “But the team needs to be able to adjust and find resiliency to stick to our game plan.”
(03/12/10 2:27am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>From the beginning of her college career, senior Molly Beckwith was making headlines. “Pair of Mollys break IU’s 3-game scoring drought as team earns 1st win of season,” a Sept. 5, 2005, Indiana Daily Student headline read. Today, Beckwith’s accomplishments are still in the news, but for different reasons. Despite beginning as a forward for IU women’s soccer, Beckwith has become one of the most successful walk-on athletes in IU track-and-field history during the past three years. In fact, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association named her the Great Lakes Track Athlete of the Year on Tuesday. Beckwith said her parents have always encouraged her to compete in sports. She played on the Thomas Worthington High School soccer team for four years and ran track her freshman and senior years. As a sprinter, Beckwith set school records in both the 200-meter and 400-meter races and was named to the all-state team her freshman year. But in high school, Beckwith viewed track as a secondary sport to soccer.“I had pre-race nerves before every race in high school. I was throwing up before every single race,” Beckwith said. “That’s the main reason I didn’t like track freshman year, so sophomore year I decided to play soccer. I also ran a little senior year just to stay in shape for soccer.” In her senior year of high school, Beckwith accepted a soccer scholarship from IU and played in 17 of the Hoosiers’ 19 games during her freshman year. Throughout that season, she recorded two goals and two assists, including the game-winning goal in a match against Iowa. Switching cleatsFollowing a promising freshman season, the remainder of Beckwith’s eligibility seemed to be with soccer. But her body would force her to do otherwise. Pain in Beckwith’s left knee forced her to undergo patella surgery, her fourth surgery in four years — two were surgeries on both of her ACLs. The work done on her legs would make Beckwith quit soccer forever. Her body would no longer allow her to make crisp cuts on the soccer field without risking permanent damage. But the life-long athlete wouldn’t allow herself to stay on the sidelines. Beckwith continued competing, but this time as a walk-on with freshman eligibility on the IU track-and-field team. The non-contact sport was a perfect fit, because her long-term health and welfare was the top priority. The transition would not be easy. Graduate student Wendi Robinson has been on the IU track team since Beckwith walked on. She recalled Beckwith first came to practice in her soccer shorts and struggled to keep pace with the other runners. Despite facing the adversity of being one of the most inexperienced members of the team, Beckwith was determined to reach her full potential.“Physically there’s a different kind of fitness for soccer, and I needed a completely different kind of body to be successful at track and field,” Beckwith said. “That part of the transition was the hardest part. But in terms of being competitive and having that drive, it was pretty much the same.” And Beckwith’s inner drive has been a consistent factor in her transformation from walk-on to record holder. “You could see it when she first got here,” Robinson said. “The mentality of ‘I’m going to line up, I’m going to put it all on the line, and you’re going to have to run really fast if you want to beat me.’ She’s just one of those people who comes out here and works hard every day, and that dedication shows in her improvement.” IU coach Ron Helmer took control of the IU track-and-field program in 2007, Beckwith’s second year with the team. He said that he relished the opportunity to coach Beckwith when he saw her limitless potential. “When I inherited this group and I started to work with her, I saw that she enjoyed being challenged,” Helmer said. “It was a really cool opportunity for me, because she was a blank slate. She had no idea of what she was able to do and didn’t put limitations on what she could do. As with all great athletes, she wasn’t going to be satisfied until she accomplished what she set out to do and figure out what she needed to improve upon.” Hitting her stride Her improvement was evident last year. During what she considers her breakout performance, Beckwith ran the 800-meter indoor race faster than any other track athlete in IU school history. Her time of 2:06.67 not only broke the school record but qualified her for the NCAA Championships. She would improve this mark the next season to 2:05.55, which still stands as a school record. Beckwith’s performance in the 800 would snowball into a season that included three medals at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and a school-record time of 1:27.96 in the 600-meter. This season, Beckwith is showing no signs of slowing down. At the Big Ten Indoor Championships, Beckwith recorded a time of 1:27.22 in the 600-meter, a new Big Ten record and the second-fastest time ever by an American runner. She also broke her own school record in the 800-meter race again, with a time of 2:04.50. Her leadership in the women’s distance medley relay team has helped it become the fastest women’s DMR team in IU history en route to qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships. “The fact that she is only three years into high-level track and field and that has resulted in some of these performances tells us three things,” Helmer said. “She’s very talented, she loves what she is doing and she has responded to our approach. I don’t know how good she can be. But I know she’s not done growing yet, and she can get a lot better.” Beckwith said she wants to go to physical therapy school and get her doctorate. In the next two years, though, she wants to keep training for the 2012 Olympic trials.For now, she enters the NCAA Championships an IU record holder, Big Ten record holder, first team All-Big Ten selection, academic All-Big Ten, and Track Athlete of the Year — not bad for the former soccer player.“I never thought I could get this far,” she said. “But I’m a very determined person, I’m driven to succeed in everything I do, and I think I get that from my parents. Because of my injuries, I take nothing for granted. I’ve sat out for so long in sports and watched other people succeed, while I sit on the bench waiting to play. If you don’t run the fastest you can run you’re wasting time, that’s how I look at track now.”
(02/26/10 3:57am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The No. 7 IU track and field team, the highest rank team in the conference, will compete this weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Championships in Minneapolis.The No. 18 women’s team will also compete this weekend at Penn State.Similar to the dual meet against Purdue earlier this year, each school receives a cumulative team score this weekend. The performance of an individual in his or her given event will earn points toward the school’s overall score. IU coach Ron Helmer explained how this format changes the team dynamic. “If one or two people go out there and perform at a high level, one person’s success can lead to the next person’s success, and the team gets on a roll,” Helmer said. “You need people to go out there with a competitive spirit like our leaders, and once you get that snowballing, it can have a great effect on the team as a whole.”Seniors Jeff Coover and Ashley Rhoades are two team leaders whom Helmer will be looking to this weekend. Each understands the effect of his respective events on the team as a whole.“It’s more motivating,” Rhoades said. “Instead of going out there and jumping for a personal best, you’re jumping for the whole team score.”Coover, who won the men’s pole vault last year, said he agrees that “what really matters is the point you score for the team.”
(02/26/10 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Walk into Gladstein Fieldhouse, the home of IU track and field, during a competition and you will see a team.Clad in cream and crimson, its members sit together in the bleachers regardless of whether their respective events have concluded.In unison they cheer on their teammates.“I-U! (clap, clap) I-U! (clap, clap)”Despite competing in a sport where individual achievements are often unaffected by group performance, these Hoosier student athletes are the epitome of a team.This is what IU coach Ron Helmer envisioned when he arrived at IU in the summer of 2007.After 20 years with the Georgetown University track and field program, where he served eight years as director and head coach, Helmer was offered the same position at IU.“I was presented with an opportunity to come here and be challenged to build a program at a place where I knew it could be done, where history indicated that it had been done,” Helmer said.And for IU track and field, the numbers speak for themselves.Coming into this season, IU track and field had recorded 47 Big Ten team titles, four NCAA team championships, 39 NCAA individual champions, four American records and 392 All-Americans — and this is only the beginning of the list of accomplishments.Prior to Helmer’s arrival, the Hoosiers were adding to the tradition of winning under the direction of Randy Heisler and his staff. As director of the team from 2003 through 2006, Heisler saw a number of top athletes pass through Bloomington before his resignation on Dec. 2, 2006. Most notably, the coaching staff recruited and coached Olympian David Neville, who earned gold at the 2008 Olympic games in the 4x400-meter relay.But despite this success, there was a lack of team cohesion, which Helmer was determined to restore.“There was a head men’s track and field coach, a head women’s track and field coach and a whole lot of people in charge of separate segments of the program,” Helmer said. “But there was no unity.” This lack of continuity trickled down to the student athletes of the team.“In individual areas there were individual athletes performing at an outstanding level being coached by outstanding coaches, but it was happening in way too few places,” Helmer explained. “There were a lot of people not being held accountable because the select athletes were taking care of that. The face of the program was a national champion here and there, but the team concept had gone by the wayside.”Senior sprinter Will Glover and senior distance runner Wendi Robinson are part of a small group of Hoosiers who are still competing, having been coached by both Heisler and Helmer.“It’s amazing that everyone on the team is starting to know the names of our distance runners,” Glover said. “Before I couldn’t tell you more than the names of the people that I came into school with.”Robinson echoed Glover’s sentiments.“When I first came here we were a team because we all wore the IU uniform, and ‘Indiana’ is what it said next to our results,” Robinson said. “Now though, we’re more integrated. We are a team.”To make this transition, Helmer changed the culture of the program. He brought an entirely new coaching staff that he knew would be on the same page and have the same goals. He set expectations high and made sure everyone was held to them. The cornerstones of the program he was building were simple:“Clean up your academics, clean up your conduct away from the track, and learn how to work and do so consistently,” Helmer said.Not everyone bought into Helmer’s style of coaching. Because he took over the position during the summer, the recruiting period had already passed, and Helmer was faced with a team accustomed to his predecessor. The changes Helmer laid out did not appeal to everyone, and several members of the team left. “When coach Helmer got here, he basically told us, ‘If you buy into my program, you will be good,’” Glover said. “Once he laid down his laws, everything started to fall into place.”And after a rocky start, Helmer’s foresight is proving to be true.This week, both the men’s and women’s track-and-field teams received their highest rankings ever since the ranking system was introduced in 2008. The men’s team is rated as No. 7 in the country and the women’s as No. 18. This comes after a start to the season that has already included four new school records and improvements in personal records from several Hoosiers.“The change of mindset actually brought more of a team feeling,” Glover said. “We have milers and 3K guys that are out early to watch the sprints and the jumps, and in turn we have the jumpers and the sprinters staying to watch the longer races.”Robinson said she agrees and thinks the new team unity translates onto the track.“I think that when you see your teammates having success and you actually know them, it gets people more and more excited,” she said. “I feel inspired by the other performances I see.”Helmer is now 62 years old and shows no signs of slowing down.“I want to give kids the chance to be as good as they can be by driving and pushing and supporting them,” he said. “I know it sounds cliché, but we’re on a mission and we’re going to be working towards that every day. I’m not going to settle for anything less.”
(02/15/10 5:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Throughout this season, the IU track and field team has gotten top performances from its top athletes.At the Tyson Invitational this past weekend, things were no different.Junior Faith Sherrill, who broke the IU women’s shot put record earlier this year, continued to rewrite the school’s record books. Her 20-meter toss in the weight throw was the best in IU history and earned her an NCAA automatic qualifying mark.Like Sherrill, senior Jeff Coover continued his dominating season in Arkansas. Coover won the pole vault last year at Tyson and did so again this year, clearing a career-best matching height of 5.50 meters. Clearing this height took Coover 42 attempts the first time, but the La Jolla, Calif. native needed only three tries to do it again.Coover’s victory contributed to the three Hoosiers’ titles earned at the Tyson Invitational to go along with nine NCAA qualifying marks.IU track athletes also made their presence known throughout the two-day competition.The men’s distance medley relay team edged out Baylor by .07 seconds to earn a come-from-behind victory. The team, comprised of junior De’Sean Turner, sophomore Daniel Stockberger, senior Martin Stephen and freshman Andy Bayer, got its strongest performance from its youngest member. The Hoosiers were trailing 3.5 seconds when Bayer received the baton and ran his 1,600 meter leg of the race in 3:58.48 for the win.“Before I got the baton I looked up at the clock and knew we were a few seconds behind where we wanted to be,” Bayer said. “But that didn’t change my race plan. I knew what I had to do.”IU coach Ron Helmer said the importance of the Tyson Invitational extends beyond the numbers.“Time is important and performance is important,” Helmer said. “But, in some cases, it was how they handled themselves at this level of competition and how they executed their race plan.”
(02/12/10 4:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>At the Tyson Invitational, several members of the IU track-and-field team will preview what the NCAA Indoor Championships could be like. Similar to the NCAAs, the Hoosiers will be competing in the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark. And like the NCAAs, the Hoosiers will be going up against some of the top track-and-field athletes in the country. IU coach Ron Helmer said this weekend’s meet can do something special for his student athletes. “At Tyson, everything is just a little bit different,” Helmer said. “I think it’s good for them to be comfortable in that environment, so that when we go to the National Championships, they have that comfort level.” Last season, four Hoosiers won their respective events at the Tyson Invitational. Of those four, senior Jeff Coover, graduate student Wendi Robinson and sophomore Cole Hardacre look to defend their winning marks. This year, though, more IU athletes will try to leave their mark in Arkansas. Hoosier runners are hoping to have strong performances against some of the toughest opponents they have seen this year. Junior sprinter Devin Pipkin said this level of competition will motivate him even further. “Arkansas just has that big-time feel to it,” Pipkin said. “Tyson is almost like a national meet with the caliber of competition there. It’s something you definitely have to bring your ‘A’ game to with schools like LSU and Texas being there.” The remainder of the IU track-and-field team will be in Bloomington for the Hoosier Hills at the Gladstein Fieldhouse. The Hoosier Hills is IU’s final home meet of the indoor season.
(02/01/10 3:45am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Two days, nine provisional qualifying marks, two automatic qualifying marks and one record – just another weekend at Gladstein Fieldhouse for the IU track and field team. The Hoosiers continued their successful season Friday and Saturday at the Indiana Relays with strong performances from both runners and field athletes. Freshman distance runner Andy Bayer surpassed expectations, becoming the first IU student-athlete to run the mile in under four minutes inside Gladstein Fieldhouse. With a time of 3:58.972, Bayer earned his first NCAA automatic qualifying mark. “Breaking four minutes in the mile is a big benchmark in running,” Bayer said. “It’s kind of something that you have as a goal for yourself since sixth grade.” Bayer’s teammates, juniors Andrew Poore and De’Sean Turner, also had career days. Turner picked up a provisional qualifying mark in the mile, while Poore broke a Gladstein Fieldhouse record by running the 5,000 meter race in 13:48.88. The time was a personal record for Poore and places him second in the IU record books for the 5K. Senior Molly Beckwith raised the bar for the rest of the country, as she recorded the best time for the mile in Division I this season.In field events, the Hoosiers proved equally as impressive.Senior Jeff Coover cleared 18.05 feet in the pole vault to set a new personal high and achieve an automatic qualifying mark. Clearing the mark makes him the third Hoosier to ever surpass 18 feet. Coover, who said he has attempted the mark over 40 times in the past, erupted with emotion after realizing he achieved a height he had been attempting for years. Also taking off to new heights was junior Ashley Rhoades. In the high jump she beat out the competition with a 5.9-foot jump, a new career best. Senior Kristen Crawford’s 62.2-foot toss in the weight throw gave her a provisional qualifying mark and the fourth-best throw in IU history. The Hoosiers will take this momentum and their national ranking to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational on Friday.
(01/22/10 6:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU track and field team will look to continue its record-setting season when it plays host to the Gladstein Invitational, starting from noon to 8:30 p.m. today and concluding Saturday with events from 10 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.More than 780 athletes, including Beijing Olympians Hyleas Fountain and Mary Wineberg, will converge on Bloomington to compete.“Going up against professional athletes is nerve-racking, but also really exciting,” junior distance runner Andrew Poore said. “I’m going up against guys who get paid to do this on the national level.” The Gladstein Invitational will be the biggest meet for the Hoosiers this season, with representatives from 13 schools and eight club or professional organizations.The team will look to build upon last week’s dual meet win against Purdue, a meet that included sophomore Derek Drouin winning two of the three events he competed in, junior Faith Sherrill improving in women’s shot put, and senior Ashley Rhoades breaking the IU indoor high jump record.“I think we’re really getting there as a team,” freshman Andy Bayersaid. “Together, we’re moving in the right direction.”IU coach Ron Helmer sees this weekend’s two-day invitational as a chance for his student athletes to gauge their talent against some of the nation’s best. “I wouldn’t put us against anyone who I didn’t think we could compete against,” Helmer said. “My attitude is that this invitational will be a great opportunity to see where everyone is against a special group of athletes.”
(01/11/10 4:09am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>On Wednesday, IU track and field coach Ron Helmer asked his team for its best effort. But on Saturday, Helmer got more than mere effort from his team during the season opener in Bloomington. IU won 17 events, with four Hoosiers posting season-high marks in Division I and five achieving NCAA provisional qualifications. Redshirt junior Faith Sherrill threw a 16.70m toss, breaking an 18-year-old school record by 37 centimeters. This throw also broke her personal record of 15.05m set in 2008. “We expect those kind of results out of our best performers,” Helmer said. “And today we got them.” Sophomore Derek Drouin cleared 2.24m in the men’s high jump, one centimeter shy of the IU record and 2.5 inches higher than his personal best from last season. Drouin’s NCAA automatic qualifying mark was also the highest in the country so far this season. In addition to Drouin and Sherrill, seniors Jeff Coover and Molly Beckwith also posted new benchmarks in Division I this season. Coover cleared an NCAA-best 5.36m in the pole vault, while Beckwith led all Indiana Open sprinters in the 800 meter run with a 2:06.78 time. With these performances, the two seniors earned provisional qualifications in their respective events. Helmer saw these individual achievements as progress for the entire team. “I think today the freshmen had jitters and over thought things,” Helmer said. “The good thing is we have individuals with leadership to show the other guys how to go out there and do it. This was a great opener and a great beginning.” The Hoosiers next meet is against in-state rival Purdue on Jan. 16 in Bloomington.
(11/05/09 2:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The table at the front of the Indiana Memorial Union Market Wednesday afternoon read, “Fred Glass 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.”, but there was no podium.There were no elaborate displays, cameras, gated-off areas or IU Athletics Department staff at Glass’ side. Instead, Glass’ visit to the IMU, sponsored by the Union Board, was a chance for him to go directly to the students. Weaving his way from table to table with a pen and paper, Glass introduced himself to several groups of students eating at the Market, eager to learn what was on their minds.Students, such as junior Dan Bernstein, asked a question that was more frequent than any other during the two-hour session: “What do you think about a student section for basketball?” To each student who asked, Glass responded with three ideas that he said the Athletics Department is thinking about. First, a hybrid general admissions system that would include some sections of Assembly Hall as first-come, first-serve basis seating. Second, implementing a point system within the Crimson Club that would give priority seating to those loyal student fans who would arrive to games both early and often. And lastly, trying to make basketball games as enjoyable for students with balcony seats as those with seats closer to the court.“I think we can make the balcony cool like the Bleacher Bums at Wrigley Field,” Glass explained. “All I can say is stay tuned – we’re going to be rolling out some great things.” In addition to basketball seating, Glass devoted much of his time talking about IU football. Glass, who is in his second year as IU Athletics Director, made sure to ask each student if they had been to, or plan to go to an IU football game this season. Glass explained to students that told him they don’t go to football games why they should attend. “Going to basketball and football games are part of the college experience,” Glass said. “This Saturday, Wisconsin is coming to town and we’re going to have great weather.”Glass also took an interest in each student individually. He asked students about topics such as their hometown, class standing, major and what high school they attended. Regardless of their interest or opinion of IU Athletics, students who spoke to Glass seemed appreciative that he took the time to do so. “I think it’s awesome he’s getting out of the office and having a direct outreach to students,” graduate student Ali Diercks said. Freshman Mitch Gamrath agreed. “I liked hearing that he’s concerned; it’s just good to know that his department cares,” he said. Whenever Glass heard a suggestion or idea that he liked, he would write down the student’s name and their thoughts as they spoke to him. “Having him here definitely reassured me that the Athletics Department takes in student advice,” sophomore Patrick Johndro said. At the conclusion of the Glass’ office hours, both Glass and students with whom he spoke were glad the event took place. “I was pleased with how engaged students were,” Glass said. “I was especially impressed with their enthusiasm toward all IU athletics, not just football and basketball, but the Olympic sports, too.”Glass was optimistic about having a similar event. “I’d like to do this at least once a semester,” he said. “If I saw a bunch of blank faces when I came into the Union today, I wouldn’t do it as often, but that certainly has not been the case.” Like Glass, senior Nick Keswani enjoyed the time that Glass took to get to know IU students. After speaking with Glass, Keswani turned to his friends sitting at his table and said, “I just got to hang out with Fred Glass. How sick is that?”
(11/04/09 3:36am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU Athletics Director Fred Glass will answer questions from students Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Indiana Memorial Union Market. Glass, who became athletics director last January, will speak informally with IU students by going table to table and listening to the thoughts or suggestions students share with him. “When I took this job, I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose touch with the student body,” Glass said. Since arriving to IU, Glass has taken several steps to ensure that he does not break this promise. Last year, he met with students in a similar setting at the Gresham Food Court and once again at the IMU. Glass has also taken time to stand in the student section during IU football games this season. He recalled a meeting with student advisers last year, where they advised him “to go to the students instead of having them come to him.” Glass said that he would like to continue holding times when students can talk to him every semester. He said that the amount of times he speaks with students out of his office is not regimented, and definitely has the potential to become more frequent. Speaking with Glass at the IMU Market is free and open to the public.
(05/10/09 11:33pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Troy Haas is an IU student.Haas, a sophomore who lives in Eigenmann Hall, plans to earn degrees in English and theatre and enjoys playing intramural softball. But Haas does not always fit into the college student mold, given that he is 44 years old.It might seem odd that a man of his age would want to go back to school as a full-time student, but Haas sees it differently.“When you’re older and you say, ‘I wish I could do that,’ well, I’m doing it,” Haas said.Married and a father of a teenage daughter and a son entering college next semester, Haas knew that pursuing a degree would not be easy. He said he carefully balances his time so he can still be a loving and devoted father while succeeding in school. Following classes on Friday afternoons, Haas would return to his Evansville home to see his family after staying in Bloomington from Monday through Thursday during the spring semester. With his busy schedule, though, Haas said he believes his college experience is just as difficult as that of any typical college student.“Everyone has things to deal with at home,” he said. “I’m just dealing with it from a different perspective.”Even though he comes to IU with pressure to fulfill his role as a father, husband and student, Haas said he is used to taking on an array of responsibilities. After a semester at Vincennes University, Haas left school and took on several jobs, including working for a funeral home and hospital. However, a bad knee from Haas’ semi-pro hockey career forced him to take a job as a truck driver in 1991. But in 2001, when Haas’ back problems forced him to put his life on hold, he decided he had to do something.“I’m too young to just sit around,” he said.So after discussing the decision with his wife, Haas enrolled at the University of Southern Indiana for his freshman year in 2007. But Haas said he knew he really wanted to be an IU student. For his sophomore year, he applied and was accepted as a part of the 2011 graduating class.He said those close to him back home were a little puzzled at his choice to go back to school.“There was a lot of ‘What do you mean you’re going to college?’” he said. “But I have a great support system, and my closest friends supported me.”Despite his support in Evansville, Haas was not as quickly accepted when he arrived in Bloomington. Given his age and appearance, Haas has been mistaken for a professor in the beginning of his semester classes, an ethnographer and an undercover resident assistant in Eigenmann. “Oh yeah, I get a lot of weird looks,” he said. “At the beginning of the year I wanted a shirt to say I was a student.”Haas is already planning for the future. Next year, he actually will be an RA in Eigenmann, and he said he wants to continue his education into graduate school to pursue a master’s degree.For now though, Haas is enjoying his college years. “Yeah, I’m in my 40s, but I have all this experience to rely on,” he said. “I think I appreciate more things in college because of this different perspective. Some students waste away their years here, but I truly appreciate the time I have.”
(02/11/09 5:55am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With Little 500 drawing closer, the sights and sounds of competitive cycling are creeping back into Hoosiers’ heads. But for the IU Cycling Club, the spirit of competitive cycling lasts throughout the entire school year. This student-run association is one of several club sports organizations at IU. Sophomore Bill Kenny, a prospective cycling club member, said he wants to be part of the tradition of Little 500, and joining the IU Cycling Club was an ideal opportunity to get to know other cyclists. The club provides members with an opportunity to race competitively against several other universities’ club teams within the MidWest Collegiate Cycling Conference. The IU Cycling Club’s first meet of spring 2009 is Feb. 28 at Murray State.Although the club competes every year, it is by no means exclusive to experienced riders. Kenny and junior David Deka have never ridden competitively. They’re trying to get a Little 500 team together, they said, and hope by joining the IU Cycling Club, they can train and become competitive. Membership is open to any interested rider and the club does not cut anyone. There are different skill levels within the club for men and women ranging from entry-level to skilled riders. It is no coincidence IU has one of the top 15 collegiate cycling programs. Senior Isaac Neff, the club’s president, said he believes there is definitely a bike culture at IU. “Bloomington is a great place to ride, and I think that Little 500 is such a huge part of it,” Neff said.The club offers rides that are open to the public.Neff said a lot of the time he sees people riding around town who aren’t expert cyclists, but they love to ride anyway. “Bloomington is a cycling mecca,” Decker said.
(10/10/08 2:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are three things guaranteed in life: taxes, death and blaming your team’s loss on a bad call by the official.IU offers as many as 20 intramural sports with about 60 referees making sure all of them run smoothly. With all of these players and officials participating in vigorous competition, there is always the inevitability of disagreement between the two sides. Junior Jillian Formanski is in her third year as an intramural official.“There is always conflict and some very intense players,” she said.Some players claim they do have a right to get occasionally upset at the officials. Mark Miller and Bill Fitzgerald, both freshman intramural volleyball players, agree that the officiating could be better. Fitzgerald said he remembered two or three particularly “bad calls.”However, during intramural sports season at IU, the relationship between players and officials is consistently positive, as cooler heads usually prevail over Johnny McEnroe-esque outbreaks, freshman Jessica Curtis said. Curtis recently started refereeing intramural volleyball games at the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.“Some people can be rude but respectful,” she said. “They will argue a call but know that I have the final word.”Intramural games across the campus reflect this theme of participants playing with intensity but knowing the lines which cannot be crossed when it comes to arguing with an official. Players have a mutual understanding with each other and the officials, and they are there to compete, not argue.Despite having to endure discontent from players all season, students continue to don the whistle and zebra stripes year after year. Senior Kristin Lokken is a head official for intramural sports and started as an official in her freshman year. She said that if an official stays on staff for multiple years, they can be promoted to head official, a supervisor who oversees six regular referees on a given shift, and also a job that has its own perks. “It is one of the best paid jobs on campus,” she said. “We take anyone, put them through several training sessions and then assign them to a position.”Curtis said she sees other benefits of becoming a referee.“It helps you gain confidence and build character,” she said.But Curtis said there is one huge benefit to her job:“I get to be around the sport I love,” she said.