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(04/07/14 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team passed three teams during the final day of the Irish Creek Collegiate in Kannapolis, N.C., to finish eighth of 16 teams.The team returned to Indiana with mixed emotions about their performance.IU Coach Mike Mayer was pleased with his team’s continued improvement, but slip-ups throughout the tournament prohibited the team from placing better.“First of all, I think we got better and better every round and I’m really pleased that we’re continuing to develop,” Mayer said. “That being said, we made some mistakes we can’t afford to keep making.”Sophomore Max Kollin said putting was where the team made a lot of mistakes.“As a team we had a lot of three-putts,” Kollin said. “That was the real issue for us out there. I think if we putted well as a team, there’s no reason we couldn’t have won the tournament.”Freshman Will Seger, along with Kollin, paced the Hoosiers. Each finished with total scores of 220 (+7) to tie them for 25th.Seger’s first day rounds of 70 and 74 tied him for 16th individually, but a final day 76 dropped him into a tie for 25th. Kollin’s three rounds were more consistent, as he completed the tournament with a line of 73-73-74. “Max continues to get better and better,” Mayer said. “We challenged him to play within himself and he did a really good job of that.”Senior David Mills struggled in his opening round and was sitting in a tie for 72nd-place shooting a 78. But Mills bounced back to shoot second and third round scores of 72 and 71.. He finished in 29th place with a score of 221 (+8).“I just had a bunch of bad breaks in the first round,” Mills said. “But in the second round, I started to turn things around. It’s always good to finish on a good note, and I feel like we did that.”Mayer said he was impressed with Mills’ ability to bounce back.“It hasn’t been David’s best spring, but we’re working with him,” Mayer said. “He struggled at the open of the tournament, but he was able to right the ship, and that’s what a senior does. He showed he can win the Big Ten Championship, there’s no question of that.” Senior Andrew Fogg and junior Nicholas Grubnich also scored for the Hoosiers. Grubnich tied for 41st with rounds of 73-77-74 for a final score of 224 (+11). Fogg finished in a tie for 65th, but showed flashes of great golf. His second round 72 was tied for the third-best round of the tournament for IU. He finished at 228 (+15) with rounds of 81-72-75.IU was one of the more consistent teams in the tournament, but lacked one dominant golfer to step up and carry the team. The Hoosiers were the only top-10 finisher without an individual golfer in the top 12.The team will get a chance to change that next weekend on their home course. IU will play host to the Hoosier Invitational April 12-13.Mayer said he thinks the team is continuing to develop and will look to build off some momentum after passing teams on the last day of this tournament.“We beat some nice teams today,” Mayer said. “I think we still have a chance to go into the Big Ten Tournament and surprise some teams, and maybe even ourselves.”
(04/04/14 3:53am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team enters the final stretch of its season this Friday and Saturday in Kannapolis, N.C. when the team competes in the Irish Creek Collegiate.With less than a month and only three more events until the Big Ten Championship, IU Coach Mike Mayer said the Hoosiers are coming down the home stretch of their season and focusing on the tournament ahead of them.“It’s one week at a time for them,” Mayer said. “I’ve thought about it though and I think we’re ready for this stretch. There was some intent when I scheduled it this way. We’ll see a tough field this weekend, but I think we’re ready for it.”Mayer said this will be the first time his team has played in this tournament at Irish Creek, so he went with a more experienced lineup than IU’s last match. In the Talis Park Challenge on March 16-17, IU’s top five was made up of three freshmen, a sophomore and a senior.This weekend, senior David Mills, sophomore Max Kollin, freshman Will Seger and juniors Nicholas Grubnich and Andrew Fogg will combine for IU’s team score.Mills said he feels he bounced back from some early-Spring struggles at Talis Park and feels capable of winning the tournament. “Always, the goal is to win,” Mills said. “I just have to do my best and hopefully that’s good enough for a victory.”Mayer said Mills’ performance will be a key to how well the Hoosiers do for this weekend and the rest of the season. The senior leads the team in average, rounds of 75 and below and most other statistical categories, but struggled at times earlier this spring.“We need David Mills,” Mayer said. “I think he has been distracted by this being his senior year. He knows he has to carry the team and he is capable of it, but to do that, he’s gonna have to really narrow his focus.”Seger is another key for the Hoosiers who said he feels confident in his swing at this point in the year.“I just need to hit some greens and I know some putts will go in,” Seger said. “I’m hoping to get a couple good rounds going for the team and try to compete for a title. We haven’t had one this year and for us to play well would give us some good momentum heading down this last part of the year.”While most of IU’s golfers have had great individual tournaments at some point this spring, they haven’t happened at the same time. Mayer said the work the team has put in since its last time out has been a “huge success” and the team is much better now than they were at Talis Park.“This group has a better chance to be on the same page than others,” Mayer said. “What we have to do is take care of our business and not worry about anyone else. If we get all these guys on the same page, we’ll be hard to beat.”
(03/14/14 1:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf top five will include some fresh faces when the team competes March 16-17 in Naples, Fla., for the Talis Park Challenge. Three freshmen, one sophomore and a senior will compete for IU. Ball State will play host. Last time out, the Hoosiers saw season-low scores from freshmen Andrew Havill, Will Seger and Keegan Vea in the Snowman Getaway. That production landed all three in the Hoosiers’ top five, at least for the coming tournament.“It’s going to be one of the youngest lineups I’ve had,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said. “That’s both exciting and a little scary at the same time. “But, that being said, we need production from our senior, our number one player, our former All-Big Ten player, David Mills. If we don’t get production from him, it’s going to be a rough road for us.”Mills said he was disappointed with his tie-for-55th finish in the Snowman Getaway, and he expects to play better this weekend.During the 18-day layoff before this tournament, the team traveled to Alabama to escape the Indiana winter and play rounds in a more golf-friendly climate. Mayer said Mills played as well as he’s ever seen him play.“I mean, you have to really be mentally tough in this game, and it’s important to just remain positive and work on basic stuff that will get you back to where you’re at,” Mills said. “I just have to be in every shot and execute to the best of my ability.”The final member of the IU squad is sophomore Max Kollin. He joins Seger and Mills as the only Hoosiers to compete in the top five for every tournament so far this season.Kollin said the team has focused primarily on putting since the last tournament.“I feel like we didn’t really putt that well in our last tournament, which is why we finished where we did — so if we can get some putts to drop, it’s going to help us win,” Kollin said. “I don’t see why we would go out there and not be hoping to win.”KThe team has some extra motivation this weekend as they will be playing at in-state rival Ball State’s tournament, Kollin said.“There’s a little bit of rivalry with Ball State,” Kollin said. “We know some of the golfers over there so it’s always nice to beat them.”Mayer said he is fine with his golfers getting excited about any rivalries, but he tries to stay out of it.“It’s always nice to know people when you’re going out on the road,” Mayer said. “I think it helps you become a little more comfortable. But at the end of the day, it’s about shooting numbers and it really shouldn’t impact what we do.”
(02/24/14 3:29am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team will leave the Indiana winter behind for the Snowman Getaway in Goodyear, Ariz., today and Tuesday. The team will travel south for the mid-week clash against other Midwestern schools looking to escape the cold and compete in more amicable conditions for golf. Warmer weather allowed the team a few more chances to hit outside, but occasional snowstorms serve as a reminder as to why the team travels south for tournaments in February.“We could make a snowman out here,” IU Coach Mike Mayer said . “The weather here in Indiana isn’t helping us, but if you look at numbers from the last couple weekends, the numbers are improving. I’m anticipating being better, but I still don’t think we’ll be at full capacity.”After their sixth-place performance Feb. 15 at the Big Ten Match Play Championship, the Hoosiers will return to stroke play format. Mayer said it will be beneficial for the team to get back into a more traditional tournament scoring system.“The match play was a blast, but the pressure — it is totally different,” Mayer said. “This is college golf as we know it, so it’s good to do it and get back to it. Although I’m glad we haven’t been there yet because truthfully, we haven’t been ready for stroke play. Now, I think we’re at least a little more ready.”Mayer highlighted the benefits of having a smaller team. IU only has eight players on its roster. This means every member of the team can travel for tournaments — five athletes compete officially, and three can compete as individuals.Junior Nicholas Grubnic will likely be competing in IU’s top five at the Snowman Getaway. He said he’s hoping to build off the momentum he started the past two weekends. Grubnich improved his standing in each successive stroke play tournament he has competed in this season, culminating in a tie for 20th at the Pinetree Intercollegiate. “I built up a lot of momentum last weekend,” Grubnich said. “Throughout the Alumni Match, I started hitting it better and better, and toward the end I started playing pretty well so I was able to take that over to Big Ten Match Play.”IU freshman Keegan Vea said the team is ready for the tournament, but reiterated Mayer’s thoughts that the team hasn’t reached its potential.“We’re going out there expecting to win by, hopefully, a lot of shots,” Vea said. “That’s just what we need to do, and that’s the mentality that Coach has been emphasizing. We’re not nearly where we can be, but it’s looking better each and every day.”
(02/17/14 1:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team finished sixth this weekend at the Big Ten Match Play Championship in Bradenton, Fla. The Hoosiers tied Minnesota in the fifth-place match, but the Golden Gophers earned fifth-place honors by winning the tiebreaker with more holes won as a team.IU won their first contest Friday against Wisconsin, 3-2, but fell short during a close matchup with Northwestern. The No. 6-seeded Hoosiers lost 4-1 to the No. 3-seeded Wildcats in a match that IU Coach Mike Mayer said was closer than the scores indicated. Three of the five rounds came down to the final hole.IU freshman Will Seger, who went 3-1 in his matchups, said the Northwestern match said a lot about where the Hoosiers stand at this point in the season.“I think it shows we are close,” Seger said. “We just need to keep getting better and better, and we can beat these kinds of teams. Playing a close match like that against a good team like Northwestern shows we have the ability to beat anyone in the Big Ten.”During Saturday’s morning session, Indiana won its matchup against Ohio State 3-2 to put them into the fifth-place game against No. 5 seed Minnesota. That round finished with a score of 2-2-1 due to IU senior David Mills and Minnesota freshman Jose Mendez halving their matchup. Since Minnesota won more holes as a team, the Golden Gophers finished in fifth place in the tournament. However, when reporting scores to the NCAA, the standings will illustrate a tie for fifth.“It’s a little bit frustrating just because I had the opportunity to win my match on the last hole,” Mills said. “I had the opportunity, but I came up a little short.”This was IU’s first competition of the spring season and their first experience with the match play format of the year. Only Mills had competed in a collegiate match play competition before this weekend.“What’s interesting about match play is that there’s pressure on every hole of every match,” Mayer said. “So it’s nice to put your kids under that kind of pressure this time of year so they can get themselves prepared to be competitive. And I thought, for the most part, our kids handled it really well. The ones who didn’t, I think, learned how to push themselves and understand the game a little better.”Mayer said he hopes to build off this weekend’s finish going forward.“This weekend we were competitive every hole,” Mayer said. “We still need to get better, but now we know what we need to get better at. Overall, I have to be pleased with the continued improvement and development of our team altogether.”
(02/14/14 5:32am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU men’s golf team travels to Bradenton, Fla., this weekend to compete in the Big Ten Match Play Championship, the team’s first competition of the spring season.The Hoosiers will square off with Wisconsin in the first round. This is the only match play event on IU’s schedule unless the team makes it to the final eight of the NCAA Championships.IU senior David Mills said the team will have to keep that in mind throughout the tournament and, in some circumstances, change the way it plays.“It’s a different format so there’s a different mindset and we have to prepare for that,” Mills said. “In certain situations, you might want to be a little more aggressive and in others, you might just need to hit a green to win a hole and not have to do anything spectacular.”IU is a relatively inexperienced team when it comes to collegiate match play, as Mills is the only player who has competed in the format as a collegiate. But sophomore Nicholas Grubnich said the team isn’t totally new to this type of tournament.“All the in-state kids were saying earlier that, in high school, our big state match play tournament was a really big deal and a bunch of us played in that,” Grubnich said. “So we’ve had some exposure to match play competition before.”The team has not had much exposure to green grass in the last few months. IU Coach Mike Mayer said the winter offseason was harder than usual this year and this competition will be a good chance for the team to get back into form.This is the first official action IU has seen since October in the Pinetree Intercollegiate. The team traveled to Florida last weekend to play in the Alumni Match, an event Mayer called a “glorified practice.”“It’s been a brutal winter for a sport like golf,” Mayer said. “We have been hitting some balls inside but that doesn’t always prepare one for a tournament. This is a chance to knock some rust off early in the Spring.”Mayer said his team is excited about this weekend and it’s a great chance to not just get back into form, but also show off their skills. The Big Ten Network will be there to film the event and Mayer said that further motivates the team.“The course we are playing is hosting the NCAA Championships in 2015, so it’s a really great golf course,” Mayer said. “The cameras bring another level of excitement, but at this point, we like that excitement. We like to show off.”IU will try to maintain that level of motivation throughout the weekend. The team’s ambitions are high, but Mills said they are achievable. “Our goals are to win the tournament,” Mills said. “I think we can do it. Everyone else in the Big Ten has been in this crappy weather. If we put together a few rounds and beat some guys, you never know.”Follow reporter Casey Krajewski on Twitter @KazKrajewski
(05/03/13 3:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU’s track and field team will get one more tune-up meet before the 2013 outdoor regular season comes to a close. IU will host the 35th annual Billy Hayes Invitational this Friday in the Hoosiers’ home finale.This will be the seniors’ final meet at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex. IU Coach Ron Helmer said it’s important to them to finish strong, but the team is keeping bigger goals in mind. Next Friday the team will travel to Columbus, Ohio for the start of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.“It’s important to them to perform well at home, but we don’t get caught up in that too much,” Helmer said. “I certainly wouldn’t want to see somebody getting a huge one this week and that causes them to fall on their face next week when it matters.”This weekend will also serve as the home finale for a men’s senior class, led by a pair of NCAA Champions, that helped redefine IU track and field. Derek Drouin is one of the most decorated athletes in Indiana University history. He has won an Olympic bronze medal in the high jump, four NCAA high jump championships, seven Big Ten Championships and two National Field Athlete of the Year awards during his time as a Hoosier. Drouin will compete in the 110-meter hurdles and javelin throw on Friday.Andy Bayer helped build the men’s distance program to one of the country’s elite, as he has anchored the distance medley relay team to a second place finish in the NCAA Championships. He won the 1,500-meter NCAA Championship last year. He will run the 800-meter this weekend, a shorter distance than he’s used to, but one that he said is important for his training.With friends and family in town for graduation, these two NCAA Champions will compete for the last time as Hoosiers in Bloomington.Another athlete making her final appearance at home is senior Courtney Woodard. She plans on competing in the heptathlon in the Big Ten Championships on May 10-12, and she’s entered in four different events to prepare — the 100-meter hurdles, the high jump, the javelin throw and the 4x400-meter relay.“I’m actually really sad about it,” Woodard said. “It’s weird because I only have a few meets left and then I’m done with track forever. I’m excited and sad at the same time.”The coaching staff has been resting Woodard recently in order to prepare her for the strong performance she will need at the Big Ten Championships in the heptathlon. However, she is entered in four events for the Billy Hayes Invitational.“I need a big performance at Big Tens to score for nationals, so we’ve just been getting my head right to make sure that I’m going into the meet ready,” Woodard said. “I don’t know why I’m doing so many events all of a sudden, but this will prepare me for the heptathlon, at least.”Helmer said Woodard is among the athletes he expects to finish the season — and her college career — very well. He said she falls into the category of those that need a solid meet this weekend to springboard into championship season.Last weekend, the Hoosiers found success across the board at the historic Penn Relays. Drouin broke a 37-year old facility record in the high jump to capture his third straight Penn Relays watch in the event. Freshman Sophie Gutermuth won the pole vault competition, followed by her freshman teammate Syndey Clute, and the team also achieved eight other top-five finishes. Helmer said the team will need to build on that energy and a successful meet this weekend will serve as a spark into the Big Ten Championships.“I think if we can just continue to go forward like we have the last couple weekends, that would be a success,” he said. “To have a group of people who are sitting right on the verge of taking a big step forward and add more people to that group.“The other thing we’re looking for is some of the people who’ve gotten big marks but been sloppy and inconsistent need to compose themselves and have a solid meet. I don’t know that we’re looking for any huge marks, but certainly steps forward.”
(04/29/13 2:26am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The atmosphere was charged this weekend at Franklin Field as 48,025 track and field fans cheered at the Penn Relays. IU track and field sent several athletes to Philadelphia to participate in the 118-year-old event.The highlight of the weekend for the Hoosiers came Saturday when senior high jumper Derek Drouin cleared 2.33 meters (7-7.75), re-breaking the school outdoor record he broke the week before. That height also broke a 37-year-old facility record and gave Drouin his third Penn Relays high jump championship.“The Penn Relays has a different feeling than any other meet,” Drouin said. “It’s not everyday that you get to jump in front of this many people. “I’m happy with my jump, but I would have at least liked to get that next bar. Overall, I am satisfied.”Drouin also competed with freshmen Zach Bray, Dylan Anderson and Stephen Keller in the Shuttle Hurdles Championship of America Friday. The relay team took third.“It was a group of kids who come to practice every day and put in an honest effort,” Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said. “We ran a world-class high jumper, a too-short high hurdler and two decathletes and each one ran a personal best. It put a smile on everybody’s face to see them do that.”Also on Friday, the Hoosier men competed in the Distance Medley Relay Championship of America, placing fourth with a time of 9:29.02. Senior Andy Bayer anchored the relay with a 1600-meter split of 3:55.6, three seconds faster than any other anchor.The Hoosiers’ DMR Championship of America time was faster than the winning times in every year since 2005. “This was kind of a typical DMR for us, getting so close to winning a big race and coming up short,” Huntoon said. “Great efforts all around, but Andy in particular had the best split of the weekend.”On Saturday, IU came within a second of its first College of America title since 1954 in the 4x1600-meter Relay. Junior Robby Nierman, senior Zach Mayhew, graduate student Adam Behnke and Bayer raced to a time of 16:18.29, second best in school history. Nierman gave IU the lead after the first leg, and Mayhew kept it. Behnke gave up the lead but handed the baton to Bayer within striking distance. Bayer couldn’t close the gap, though, and split the same time as the winning anchor from Oregon.“I was really proud of them, but especially the first three guys,” Huntoon said. “We took a shot and decided to let Andy try to outkick some people at the end and it didn’t work out.”Huntoon also said the 4x100-meter Championship of America was a big morale victory for IU. The team of junior Nick Turner,freshman Cornelius Strickland, graduate student Chris Vaughn and sophomore Nick Stoner was the last team in during qualifications, but took fifth in the championship heat.“This race is always a huge deal so whenever we get there is impressive,” Huntoon said. “Being the only northern school in there is something we’re really proud of. It means a lot to these kids to prove that you don’t have to go south to sprint.”The Hoosiers wrap up the regular season at home May 3, when they compete in the Billy Hayes Invitational at home.Huntoon said overall he was pleased with the effort he saw this weekend, but wished they could have brought home a winning relay trophy.“I don’t know if we’re allergic to the Penn Relays trophies or something,” Huntoon said.“We always come so close. We gave some great efforts though, throughout the weekend.”
(04/26/13 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU senior distance runner Andy Bayer started running because it was the only sport available to sixth graders. Not until his senior year of high school did he start taking running seriously.Even then, IU Assistant Distance Coach Rebecca Walter said Bayer wasn’t too special.“On paper, he was just like a couple dozen other Indiana high school runners,” Walter said. “When I met him, I asked ‘how good do you think you’ll be this year, and how good do you expect yourself to be in college?’ And without missing a beat he said he was going to win the state meet and he alluded to being an All-Big Ten and national qualifier in college.”Bayer accomplished all those things and more while wearing an IU uniform. He committed to the school in February, just a few weeks after taking a visit to the campus.He and his classmate Zach Mayhew were immediately thrown into the mix of talented young runners IU Coach Ron Helmer and Walter had recruited to build up the distance program, mostly from the class above them. “I always felt that class, along with Zach and I, always kind of went at each other,” Bayer said. “We had a friendly rivalry that amped up practices and meets that made us improve to where we’re at now.”And improve he did. In his second year on campus, technically still a freshman due to redshirting, he took third in the 3000-meter run and anchored the distance medley relay to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.Coming close to winning was a recurring theme for Bayer in the early part of his collegiate career. His third year, as a redshirt sophomore, he again took third in the 3000-meter run and second in the DMR at the indoor championships.IU’s DMR team took second again in his junior year at the indoor championships, but Bayer finally found his championship title in the outdoor season.Bayer and BYU’s Miles Batty dove across the finish line in the 1500-meter finals at the NCAA Championships, and the scoreboard showed Bayer had won by .01 seconds. “Right after it happened I was just wondering if I’d won, because it was so close I wasn’t even sure,” Bayer said. “Then it came up, and my name was first, and I just ran around all over the place. It was a surreal moment that’s still hard for me to put into words.”IU’s distance program finally had a champion. Helmer had coached NCAA champions before, but Bayer’s win proved IU’s distance program finally carried national contenders.Bayer moved on to his final year of collegiate eligibility this season. After suffering a stress fracture in his foot at the end of cross-country season, he wasn’t fully fit for indoor championships. Despite that, he still clocked the fastest anchor leg of any competitor en route to a fourth-place DMR finish.“I’m starting to feel better in races and workouts each week,” Bayer said of his current condition. “I’m looking forward to getting into some championship-type races and seeing what I can do at Big Tens and nationals again because I feel like I’m getting back to the point where I can do big things.”Bayer said he wants to defend his 1500-meter title, but whether he does or not, he still takes pride in the program he helped create.“It’s cool to look back and see what we accomplished and see what the expectations were then and how much we’ve raised them now,” Bayer said. “It’s just cool to see how much more interest our program is getting.”A lot of that interest has come from Bayer’s own success. He’s now become a leader on a team with national goals and aspirations.“He’s definitely more of a lead-by-example guy,” Walter said. “He’s so good-natured that people just relate to him. He’s just Andy in terms that his times are fast and he’s accomplished so much, but at the same time, that helps younger guys on the team believe they can do the types of things that he’s done.”
(04/25/13 2:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Many members of the IU track and field team will experience an environment unlike any they have ever encountered when the team travels to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays this weekend.The Penn Relays are unique to collegiate track and field in that attendance levels can reach up to 50,000 fans. Several Hoosiers will be making their first trip to this meet and haven’t ever competed in front of that many people.“It’s an awesome atmosphere,” Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said. “It’s a setting unlike anything else in the world quite honestly.”This will be the 119th running of the Penn Relays, where the relay race is said to have been invented. It is the longest uninterrupted annual track meet in the world. There are hundreds of individual event heats, but the relays are what made this meet famous, and the “Championship of America” relay finals are the preeminent prize in collegiate track outside of a national title.“Any relay that’s going has an opportunity to try to qualify for a Championship of America heat or has already qualified,” Huntoon said. “We wanted to make sure people know Indiana is there and get our name called a lot.”Two returning Hoosiers took titles at last year’s event, seniors Derek Drouin and Zach Mayhew, but only Drouin will get a chance to defend his. Mayhew won last year’s 5,000-meter title, but will be running exclusively in relays this year.“I was really looking forward to (defending it) at the beginning of the year, but I think the relays are a whole new opportunity,” Mayhew said. “The closer we get, the more excited I get about the relays because that’s what the whole meet is about.”Mayhew, normally a distance runner, isn’t a regular relay contributor, but will run the 1,200-meter leg in the distance medley relay. He has never run a 1,200 event in competition, but he said he’s still confident to put a good leg together.“I really need to make sure my legs are fresh this weekend,” Mayhew said. “I need to have that extra explosiveness in shorter races.”Drouin will attempt to defend his high jump title, but also will run in an event unique to the Penn Relays – the shuttle hurdles.The men’s hurdlers will run 110 meters down the track until they cross the line, queuing the next runner to do the same thing in the opposite direction. There are four legs in the race.“If you asked Derek Drouin what he’s more excited about, the high jump or the shuttle hurdle relay, I guarantee he’d say the shuttle hurdles,” Huntoon said. “Individuals get brought up on the award stand, but to have a team go up there is even more important.”Huntoon said it’s important to the team that it goes to the Penn Relays and represents itself well on that big stage, but the team is still taking quite a few athletes with it.“If we didn’t think we could go there and be of a certain quality, we wouldn’t be going,” Huntoon said. “It’s about going and making sure we’re getting our name called in the right way.”
(04/24/13 3:51am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU junior Kyla Buckley launched a shot put throw of 17.28-meters (56-feet-8.5-inches) to win the Texas Relays on March 29, she gained more than just a commemorative watch. IU Coach Ron Helmer said Buckley’s confidence has been growing the past few months and it has led to improvement in her performance.“She’s still not as confident as I wish she was, but the success that she’s had is building her confidence,” Helmer said. “That’s a big part of what she’s working on right now.”But Helmer said Buckley’s confidence level started off low. Going all the way back to high school, Buckley has experienced her fair share of runner-up finishes on big stages. She wound up second in three consecutive IHSAA State meets in the shot put. Then, when it came time to make her college decision, IU wound up second on Buckley’s list. She would be a Miami Hurricane. In her freshman year at Miami, she once again took second, this time in the 2011 ACC Championship meet.It wouldn’t be long until she transferred back home to become a Hoosier.“At Miami I was throwing good, but not the best I could,” Buckley said. “I came to Indiana where I could trust my coach and I felt he could get the best out of me.”IU Throws Coach Jermaine Jones has built a dynasty of women’s shot put. He’s coached four different women to the top of the Big Ten Championship podium in four consecutive years, a feat Helmer said has never been done before. He’s worked closely with Buckley ever since she arrived at IU.“I spent the first full year not so much coaching her, but more of breaking her bad habits,” Jones said.“She’s just now starting to get it. It helps that she’s gotten significantly stronger, but technically, she’s a much better athlete.”That combination of technique and brute strength helped Buckley become the fourth athlete Jones coached to a Big Ten shot put title this February. Her throw of 16.90-meters (55-feet-5.5-inches) won her the big meet title she’s pursued since high school.“It felt really, really, really good,” Buckley said. “That was an expectation and a goal that I had for myself and fulfilling that meant I could move on to my next goal of scoring at NCAAs.”But the Big Ten Indoor title was just the start of a streak of great performances by Buckley. Her next meet was the Texas Relays competition where she threw her 17.28-meter bomb. That throw got the whole field going, as seven of the nine competitors also threw their best mark of the competition in their throws immediately after Buckley’s. Buckley’s performance there earned her Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week honors.The next weekend was the Pepsi Florida Relays, another big stage for the women’s shot put. Buckley won yet again, this time against a field containing two former Olympians, Chia Ying-Lin and Mariam Kevkhishvili.Since Helmer said her confidence plays a huge part in each victory, and each victory leads to an increase in confidence, there’s no telling how much farther Buckley could throw, according to Jones.Jones and Helmer both said the only certain thing is that there will be greater distances.“She can throw farther,” Helmer said. “She’s had practice throws that go quite a bit farther than her personal record right now.”Jones said he’s excited to see her development continue.“I don’t want to put a ceiling on what she’s capable of,” Jones said. “As long as we keep getting better technically, the distances will keep coming.”
(04/22/13 4:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU played host to the Polytan Invitational this weekend, the first home meet of the outdoor season. IU Coach Ron Helmer said he was very pleased with how this meet went and was proud of how his team performed.“This morning I was thinking that we should have traveled somewhere else this weekend because we didn’t have a lot of competition coming here and the weather was going to be bad,” Helmer said. “But the kids rose to the occasion and accepted the challenge of making it happen themselves.”Highlighting the meet were high jumps by seniors Emma Kimoto and Derek Drouin as well as a 1,500-meter run by fellow senior Andy Bayer. Kimoto said earlier in the week that her goal was to finally clear 1.83 meters (6 feet) at this meet. She accomplished just that. That height easily won her the competition and also vaulted her to sole possession of the Big Ten lead. “I was expecting it to look a lot higher, but since I was jumping at a high bar last week, it helped me to mentally prepare for 1.83 this weekend,” Kimoto said. “And I just really wanted it.”Kimoto now ranks eighth in Division I this season.The men’s high jump was just as eventful as Drouin added a centimeter to his outdoor world lead to make it 2.31 meters (7 feet 7 inches). That bar is higher than the one Drouin won the NCAA Outdoor Championship with in his sophomore season.Kimoto and Drouin won their competition by a combined 16 inches.“They both respond well to competition, and they kind of just put that out of their mind and executed jumps and they were outstanding,” Helmer said. “They’re getting on a roll at the right time.” On the track, Bayer showed why he is a defending NCAA 1,500-meter champion as he pulled away in that event to win by more than four seconds. His time of 3:41.52 ranks fifth in Division I and is just .20 off the Big Ten lead. This was his first 1,500-meter run of the outdoor season.This was also Bayer’s first individual win since a competition in Mexico last summer when he won a 5,000-meter race by 15 seconds.“He’s doing exactly than what we expected to,” Helmer said. “He actually was faster than what we expected in his first couple splits. He’s rounding into shape in just the right time.”The next step for the Hoosiers is next weekend’s Penn Relays. The four-day meet will draw about 50,000 athletes from all over the world in what is called the Championships of America.“We’re just going to relax and enjoy competing until then,” Helmer said. “The Penn Relays isn’t about how fast you run. It’s about who you beat.”
(04/19/13 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU track and field team’s first home meet of the season will take place Saturday when the Hoosiers compete against several schools for the Polytan Invitational at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex.IU Coach Ron Helmer said he hopes the meet isn’t spoiled by poor weather, which has cut practices short all week, though he also said that’s allowing his athletes to rest more.“We just need some good weather,” Helmer said. “That’s going to determine how much we get out of this meet. We’re starting to sharpen up, and some good weather will help us build some confidence and get into championship form.”One athlete who is getting into that top form is IU senior Emma Kimoto. Last weekend at the Border Battle in Louisville, Ky., Kimoto matched her career-best height of 1.81 meters (5-11.25) in the women’s high jump. That mark is also tied for best in the Big Ten this season, and with Big Ten Championships less than a month away, Kimoto will attempt to pair her 2013 Big Ten Indoor Championship with an outdoor one, as well.But, Kimoto said she’s trying to stay focused on one meet at a time, and she has her goals for this one.“I’m really hoping to jump six feet,” Kimoto said. “That would be a really big milestone for me. We’ve been working on some technical stuff, and I’m really excited to see how it pans out because I think it will help me improve a lot.”Helmer has held back many of his star athletes from performing in their primary events so far this outdoor season, but he’s going to let at least one of them run loose this Saturday. IU senior Andy Bayer will run his first 1500-meter of his final outdoor season as a Hoosier.Bayer is the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the event, and the Polytan Invitational will be his first performance en route to defending that title.The Hoosiers only have three more meets before the Championship season begins and Helmer warned that if they aren’t careful, the season could end very quickly. “It’s a short season,” Helmer said. “The outdoor season goes by so fast, and if you miss a weekend or two because of bad weather, your opportunities to put times on the board are very limited. It just makes every race that much more important.”The meet comes at about the halfway point of the outdoor season for the Hoosiers, and Helmer took the opportunity to evaluate his team’s progression so far.“We talked about the fact that we’re really good top to bottom,” Helmer said. “The older kids are fine, as usual, but how competitive we are at the end depends on how fast the younger kids progress. That group just needs to keep coming.“I like where we are and we should have a chance to cover a lot of events and cover them well.”
(04/15/13 2:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU track and field teamed up with Notre Dame on Saturday at the 2013 Border Battle. Both the men and women lost by small margins, with the women falling 101-99 and the men losing 103-97.The Hoosiers and Fighting Irish made up team “Hoosierland” while Kentucky and the host-school Louisville accounted the “Commonwealth,” their opponents.This was IU’s first scored meet of the outdoor season and, though they lost, IU Coach Ron Helmer said winning this meet wasn’t the most important thing they were trying to accomplish.“While it’s always nice to come out with a win, that wasn’t our first priority,” Helmer said. “Our priority was to compete hard and get some good work and experience in.”IU scored six wins on the day for Hoosierland, three in each competition.Senior Caitlin Engel won the women’s steeplechase in 10:27.27, a time which ranks second in the Big Ten this year.Sophomore Molly Winters won the women’s 5000-meter by more than 10 seconds, finishing with a time of 17:08.28.The final women’s victory came from freshman Sydney Clute in the pole vault. She cleared 3.88 meters (12-8.75).Helmer said he was also impressed with sophomore Taja Moore and senior Emma Kimoto on the women’s team. Moore took third in the discus with a throw of 52.82 meters (173-4). That distance is the second-best ever thrown for IU and the third best in the Big Ten this year.Kimoto competed in the high jump and tied her personal best with a clearance of 1.81 meters (5-11.25), a centimeter higher than her winning clearance at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.Despite the women falling short of winning, Helmer still called the women a particular success.“There were a lot of people I was impressed with, particularly on the women’s side,” Helmer said. “They all understand that winning was not the only thing we were looking to accomplish.”The men’s team also took home three wins in the 100-meter dash, the 4x100-meter relay and the pole vault.Freshman Cornelius Strickland continued his successful season by tying for the win in the 100-meter dash. He also contributed on the 4x100-meter relay along with junior Nick Turner, senior Chris Vaughn and sophomore Nick Stoner.“Cornelius had a great meet and we were even impressed with his 200-meter time,” Helmer said. “That was his season-best and he’s having a breakout year.”The other win came from sophomore Steven Turpin in the pole vault. He cleared 5.00 meters (16-4.75) in the victory.This is the second time the Commonwealth has won both the men’s and women’s competitions. After Commonwealth victories in the inaugural Border Battle in 2010, Hoosierland owned the next two years’ competitions. The men’s and women’s winning teams have never been split.Next weekend IU will compete in its first home meet of the outdoor season with the Polytan Invitational. The Hoosiers are now less than a month away from the Big Ten Outdoor Championships and Helmer warned that his team has to be careful about how they proceed.“We’re still pretty early in what can be a short outdoor season if we’re not careful,” Helmer said. “Hopefully next week, we can get another chance to improve.”
(04/12/13 3:13am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When IU laces up its track shoes this Saturday in Louisville, Ky., the team will be competing for the whole state of Indiana. In the annual Border Battle, IU and Notre Dame will match up against Kentucky and Louisville as “Hoosierland” and “The Commonwealth.” Hoosierland will look to make it three consecutive years of victory in both the men’s and women’s competitions.“It’s been a really good meet for us in the past,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said. “We use it to get work done and see who runs multiple events really well. If we get some decent weather we’ll have some really good performances.”After the Commonwealth won the inaugural Border Battle in 2010, Hoosierland has won the last two meets. Last year the IU men won 113-84 while the women squeaked out a 101.5-100.5 victory.One athlete who has been around since the beginning of this meet is IU senior Chris Vaughn. He expects to run the 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relays along with either the 200-meter or 400-meter run. Last week at the Pepsi Florida Relays, Vaughn’s 4x400-meter relay raced to the second fastest time in the Big Ten this year and he said they can do even better this week. He also said this will be the first really good shot they’ve had at a 4x100-meter relay.“I think we’re going to be fine,” Vaughn said. “Notre Dame has some pretty good guys, and on a competitive level I think it’s going to be great. I think we’re going to go out and get it.”Another IU athlete competing in Louisville is junior shotput thrower Kyla Buckley. She’ll look to continue her recent hot streak against very good competition, particularly the Louisville throwers. She faced off with them in the indoor season at the Gladstein Invitational. Louisville’s Khadija Abdullah took the win with her teammate Amashi-Ali Kendall placing second. Buckley wound up third with a throw of 16.02 meters, a mark she’s been beating lately.The outdoor season just started a few weeks ago, but already Big Ten Outdoor Championships are just a month away. Vaughn said while these meets are fun and it’s always nice to win against their neighboring state, he and the rest of the team are focused more on the big picture.“Nobody likes to lose, but we have to remember this is just a stepping stone for us,” Vaughn said. “That being said, it’s still important for us to do well here so that we can perform better in the big picture.”
(04/08/13 2:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>IU track and field traveled to Gainesville, Fla., this weekend to participate in the Pepsi Florida Relays. The Hoosiers came back with two wins in a very strong field of competitors.This weekend didn’t match last weekend at the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational in terms of first place finishes, but Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said the effort was equal to last weekend’s.“There were a lot more post-collegiate athletes competing in this field,” Huntoon said. “So while we didn’t have as many top finishes, it was still a successful weekend for us.”Much of the success from Gainesville came from the IU women’s throwers.IU sophomore Taja Moore took home Friday’s only victory for the Hoosiers after coming out on top in the women’s discus. Her throw of 51.83-meters (170-feet-0-inches) won the competition by almost eight feet and ranks sixth in IU history.Moore also took on the hammer throw and finished 10th in that event.“I felt really good going into the discus, and I have a good coaching staff behind me, so everything went well in the discus,” Moore said. “In the hammer throw, I hoped to do a little better, but I’ll get more chances at it and hopefully I’ll improve.“I go into both with a lot of confidence and try to perform to the best of my abilities.”Friday also featured a pair of IU athletes throwing the javelin into the IU record books. Senior Derek Drouin’s throw of 57.65-meters (189-feet-2-inches) ranks sixth all-time for the Hoosiers. Freshman Matt Birk ranks eighth in IU history with his 56.6-meter (185-foot-8-inch) throw.“We’re definitely going to need to find ways to score extra points come championship season,” Huntoon said. “The javelin and both sets of hurdles are places we think we could sneak in and grab a few points.”On the meet’s final day of competition, Saturday, IU junior Kyla Buckley took home the other Hoosier victory. Her throw of 16.84-meters (55-feet-3-inches) in the women’s shot put was enough to edge out a field that included two former Olympians.Buckley’s Florida Relays success comes just a week after winning the Texas Relays title as well. Buckley has been on a hot streak since winning the Big Ten Indoor Championship in February, Huntoon said.“She’s got a different edge to her now that she didn’t have last year,” Huntoon said. “She’s really putting things together and is actually disappointed if she doesn’t win regardless of who’s in the field.”The IU women’s team also found success in the relays. The distance medley relay of junior Lyndsey Wall, junior Elise Hunter, senior Ashley Seymour and sophomore Molly Winters crossed the line in 12:01.95 for second place in the event. Senior Jordan Gray, freshman Brianna Johnson, sophomore Brie Roller and Seymour also competed in the 4x800-meter relay, finishing fourth.Next week, the Hoosiers travel to Louisville, Ky., for the annual Border Battle. Indiana will pair up with Notre Dame and go up against Kentucky and Louisville in a scored meet.Huntoon said that they’re looking forward to the Border Battle, but the past couple weekends have the coaching staff really excited about the outdoor season in a bigger scope.“We’re very excited about this team,” Huntoon said. “It’s a different look and feel to teams we’ve had in the past, but this is a group that can get it done. We expect to make a run late in the year.”
(04/05/13 4:12am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>This weekend the IU track and field teams will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for the Pepsi Florida Relays. The three-day meet started Thursday and goes through Saturday, though no Hoosiers compete until Friday’s events.Coming off an impressive weekend at the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational, the Hoosiers will look to continue their momentum in the early part of the outdoor season.“It’s going to be like all the rest of them, where our good kids will be really good and our developing kids are still going to be developing,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said. “It’s a chance for some of our young kids to get some experience and continue to grow.”One of those young athletes is freshman sprinter Cornelius Strickland, who had an indoor season that culminated in scoring four points for the Hoosiers at the Big Ten Championship meet.Strickland will be running four events, the 100-meter, 200-meter, 4x100-meter relay and 4x200-meter relay sprints, but he said he’s most looking forward to the 200-meter races.“I feel like that’s more my event,” Strickland said. “I have long legs so I feel like once I get off the curve, I can open my legs and stand tall.”With competition in Florida expected to be strong with additional teams from all across the country such as Texas, Southern California and Baylor bringing their best athletes, Strickland said he’s looking forward to the challenge.“Lining up against people who I know are faster than me can bring the best out of me,” Strickland said. “It helps me be more competitive.”Helmer said Strickland is one of the athletes he’s very excited about seeing outside in good weather. Last time he competed, the Alabama Relays, inclement weather cut the meet short.“The door is wide open for development, and that means we have to challenge him like we are this week with four good races,” Helmer said. “At the same time, we have to remember that he’s only a freshman. It’s a balancing act for us.”Helmer also said seniors Chris Vaughn and Derek Drouin and junior Kyla Buckley are athletes to keep an eye on this weekend. Vaughn will race in the 400-meter for the first time this year. He had no indoor eligibility remaining this past season and only ran relays at the Alabama Relays. After impressive marks last week, Drouin will high jump and Buckley will compete in the shot put. At the Alabama Relays, Drouin became the outdoor high jump world leader, and Buckley threw this season’s second-best mark in Division I. Both were named Big Ten Field Athletes of the Week.“Down in Texas we had some exciting performances, and in the Stanford meet virtually everybody was running right at their personal record,” Helmer said. “So you just follow that up with more consistent performances, and when you do that, every once in a while you have an incredible performance that keeps everybody excited.”
(03/31/13 7:45pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>When it’s hard to pick a standout performance from the weekend, it’s either been a bad weekend or a great weekend for IU’s men’s and women’s track and field teams.This time it was a good one. With the Hoosiers participating in the Texas Relays and Stanford Invitational, all the team’s top athletes were in action this weekend.Senior Derek Drouin was one of those strong performers at the Texas Relays, winning the men’s high jump by clearing 2.30 meters (7 feet 6.5 inches). That is the best outdoor jump in the world this year and just a centimeter short of his lifetime outdoor best.The field Drouin competed against was similar to the one he took on in the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships. There were six of the same athletes in this field, including the top three.“You don’t put kids on a plane like that unless you think they’re ready to give a great effort,” IU Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said. “On all accounts we were really pleased with the effort and ecstatic with the results.”Huntoon spent the weekend in Texas with the multi and field athletes who went to compete.On Wednesday and Thursday, senior Courtney Woodard competed in the women’s heptathlon while a pair of freshmen in Dylan Anderson and Stephen Keller took on their first collegiate decathlon.Woodard took 11th in the event and her score of 5160 was just 27 points shy of her lifetime best. Her performance was highlighted by a personal record shot put of 12.77-meters (41 feet 10.75 inches), the best of any heptathlon participant on Wednesday. Anderson and Keller finished 17th and 18th, respectively, in the decathlon.“As freshmen when you can get into a scene like this, it’s a big stage,” Huntoon said. “Those two will be national qualifiers in a couple years and they’ll learn to start thinking bigger.”On Friday, the Hoosiers picked up their first two of three victories over the weekend. Junior Kyla Buckley launched a huge throw in the shot put of 17.28-meters (56 feet 8.5 inches). That throw put her atop the Big Ten this season, as well as second on the Division I list.“We’ve started to see a calm come over Kyla when she competes,” Huntoon said. “She’s slowed down and that’s a really good thing.”Freshman Sarah Maxson was responsible for the team’s other win of the night, as she topped the “B” section of the high jump by clearing 1.75-meters (5 feet 8.75 inches) on her first attempt.Meanwhile, that same night in Palo Alto, Calif., 11 IU distance runners competed in the historic Stanford Invitational 5000-meter run. Seniors Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew finished third and eighth, respectively, in the “A” section. Bayer’s time of 13:34.84 was just 1.7 seconds off his lifetime best and was the fifth-fastest in IU history.Sophomore Samantha Ginther and senior Kelsey Duerksen took on the “B” section of the women’s race and finished back-to-back in 11th and 12th, respectively. Before the meet, IU Assistant Distance Coach Rebecca Walter said that running under 16:30 was their goal and both accomplished that with times of 16:15.34 and 16:18.24.“Samantha is someone who’s been on the verge of breaking out, but needed a couple races to gain confidence,” Huntoon said. “Now she’s shown she’s ready to compete against the best in the country.”Wrapping up the weekend for the Hoosiers, senior Emma Kimoto finished seventh in the “A” flight of the women’s high jump on Saturday and tied Maxson’s jump by clearing the 1.75-meter height. This puts them in a tie for the Big Ten lead on the season.The Hoosiers’ next competition will be April 4-6 in Gainesville, Fla., as the Hoosiers join the field at the Pepsi Florida Relays. For now, the Hoosiers will just enjoy a successful weekend and try to keep the momentum going, Huntoon said.“We were hoping for the best when the weekend started out,” Huntoon said. “We got that and were very pleased. Now it’s a matter of translating that into good performances in the future.”
(03/29/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While part of the team is competing at the Texas Relays, another 11 IU men’s and women’s track and field athletes have headed to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational.And they have only one event on their mind — the 5,000-meter run.All 11 athletes being sent to the West Coast are entered in that event and only that event. The Stanford Invitational is consistently one of the fastest 5,000-meter runs of the year and teams from all across the country participate.Assistant Distance Coach Rebecca Walter said a big reason for the fast times is the reliably good racing weather around this time of year.“Stanford is historically the nicest weather in the country in March,” Walter said. “It will be 60 degrees and, more importantly, no wind.”Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon described a similar scene earlier this week.“They’re going to run right at twilight, and there will be a mist in the air with temperatures around 50 to 60 degrees,” Huntoon said. “The runners love it.”IU seniors Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew are slated to run in the fastest heat of the 5,000-meter. Walter hinted at those two being primed and ready for a big race.Bayer ran 13:33 in this event last year and could become only the second IU collegiate runner to break 13:30 in this race, the other being Hoosier legend Bob Kennedy.“Andy hasn’t had a personal record in over a year, so it will be fun to see what he can do,” Walter said. “Everyone going out there is PR capable so we’re looking for some good results.”Right around this time last year, Mayhew began hitting his stride as an athlete. He finished second in his heat at the Stanford Relays last year despite falling down on the first lap. Since then, Mayhew’s improvement has been unprecedented, and he’s become one of the most reliable runners on the team.The second heat will also see two IU runners competing. Graduate student Adam Behnke and sophomore Nolan Fife will look to start their own burst of improvement.On the women’s side, senior Kelsey Duerksen and sophomore Samantha Ginther will also compete in the second heat.Duerksen was in the middle of a great indoor season, twice winning Big Ten Track Athlete of the week honors before injuries slowed her down by the end of the season.Ginther, on the other hand, picked up a lot of the slack when Duerksen was recovering. She finished ninth in the 3,000-meter and 14th in the 5,000-meter at the Big Ten Championship meet.“We’re sending some experienced runners, but this is the first time out there for a bunch of them too,” Walter said. “So for the girls to get under 16:20 would put them in another tier of talent. For some of the younger guys, getting close to 14:10 is a big deal.” All these athletes are looking to start off their outdoor season on the right foot. “It’s not often that we go out and have a time-based race,” Walter said. “A lot of times it’s more about the competition. It’s not common that we just purely chase a time. And that’s fun for these guys.”
(03/28/13 7:55pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>While part of the team is competing at the Texas Relays, another 11 IU men’s and women’s track and field athletes have headed to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Relays.And they’ve got only one event on their mind — the 5000-meter run.All 11 athletes being sent to the West Coast are entered in that event and only that event. Stanford Relays is consistently one of the fastest 5000-meter runs of the year and teams from all across the country participate.Assistant Distance Coach Rebecca Walter said a big reason for the fast times is the reliably good racing weather around this time of year.“Stanford is historically the nicest weather in the country in March,” Walter said. “It will be 60 degrees and, more importantly, no wind.”Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon described a similar scene earlier this week.“They’re going to run right at twilight, and there will be a mist in the air with temperatures around 50 to 60 degrees,” Huntoon said. “The runners love it.”IU seniors Andy Bayer and Zach Mayhew are slated to run in the fastest heat of the 5000-meter. Walter hinted at those two being primed and ready for a big race.Bayer ran 13:33 in this event last year and could become only the second IU collegiate runner to break 13:30 in this race, the other being Hoosier legend Bob Kennedy.“Andy hasn’t had a personal record in over a year, so it will be fun to see what he can do,” Walter said. “Everyone going out there is PR capable so we’re looking for some good results.”Right around this time last year, Mayhew began hitting his stride as an athlete. He finished second in his heat at the Stanford Relays last year despite falling down on the first lap. Since then, Mayhew’s improvement has been unprecedented, and he’s become one of the most reliable runners on the team.The second heat will also see two IU runners competing. Graduate student Adam Behnke and sophomore Nolan Fife will look to start their own burst of improvement.On the women’s side, senior Kelsey Duerksen and sophomore Samantha Ginther will also compete in the second heat.Duerksen was in the middle of a great indoor season, twice winning Big Ten Track Athlete of the week honors before injuries slowed her down by the end of the season.Ginther, on the other hand, picked up a lot of the slack when Duerksen was recovering. She finished ninth in the 3000-meter and 14th in the 5000-meter at the Big Ten Championship meet.“We’re sending some experienced runners, but this is the first time out there for a bunch of them too,” Walter said. “So for the girls to get under 16:20 would put them in another tier of talent. For some of the younger guys, getting close to 14:10 is a big deal.” All these athletes are looking to start off their outdoor season on the right foot. “It’s not often that we go out and have a time-based race,” Walter said. “A lot of times it’s more about the competition. It’s not common that we just purely chase a time. And that’s fun for these guys.”