Even though both IU cross-country teams are currently nationally ranked and are coming off solid performances in Boston last week, this weekend’s Sam Bell Invitational at the IU Championship Cross Country Course in Bloomington on Saturday at 10 a.m. won’t be all about the runners.
The Invitational will also be a chance to pay homage to the man the event is named for, former IU track and field Coach Sam Bell.
Bell died at the age of 88 in June 2016 and IU Athletics decided to implement this Invitational in Bell's honor. He had a nearly 30-year, hall-of-fame coaching career at IU, including 22 Big Ten Conference championships, 10 Olympians and a coaching spot on the 1976 United States Olympic team.
“He had a lot of success and did a lot to build and promote this program,” Coach Ron Helmer said. “We named this meet after him because we wanted to recognize what he did and honor him.”
Helmer’s teams will be up against plenty of top-notch competition in the inaugural Bell race as No. 4 Michigan will be competing in the women’s race while No. 28 Columbia will be running on the men’s side. Nebraska, Miami (Ohio), Bradley, Tennessee Tech and Guelph, one of the top college teams in Canada, will also participate.
The Hoosiers will get to see where they stack up against similarly ranked teams as the women’s team has risen to No. 14 in the country while the men’s squad remains ranked at No. 27.
The Hoosiers will be going all out for the race as Helmer plans on running his best runners despite it being just a week since IU's last meet. With their top runners on the course and high-level competition visiting Bloomington, it could prove to be a big weekend for IU while it honors a legendary coach in Bell.
“We’re lining up all our top runners,” Helmer said. “With Michigan and some really good individuals from other schools in the field, it should be a great test. Both races should be really good meets.”
