Hoosiers finish strong at NCAA nationals during spring break

As some IU students were heading home or to the beach for spring break, three IU track and field athletes were kicking off their spring breaks with a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA indoor championships. \nJumpers, junior Kyle Jenkins and senior Kiwan Lawson competed for the men, while freshman pole vaulter Vera Neuenswander competed on the women’s side.\nJenkins finished sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 15.77 meters, just shy of his indoor personal best of 15.86 meters. Sixth place was good enough to earn Jenkins All-American honors.\nThe trip was Jenkins’ first time competing in the indoor championships, but he earned All-American honors at last year’s outdoor championships, finishing fourth with a jump of 16.19 meters.\nLawson leapt his way into 10th place in the long jump with a distance of 7.49 meters. This was Lawson’s second trip to nationals. He placed 15th last year while battling an injury. \n“Kyle made All-American in his first trip to indoors, and Kiwan did better than he did last year,” men’s interim head coach Wayne Pate said. “Both had a few fouls that could have been really strong jumps.”\nJenkins fouled on two of his six jumps, while Lawson fouled on two of his three jumps.\nNeuenswander finished 12th in the pole vault, good enough to make her the highest placing freshman in the field. She cleared 4 meters, short of her personal best, 4.11 meters, set at the Big Ten championships.\n“I was just focusing on doing my best and I am happy with where I finished,” Neuenswander said. “But I definitely have more to work for and look forward to with outdoors coming up.”\nThe indoor championships marked the end of the indoor season, and the beginning of outdoors. The indoor season was a strong one for the both the men and women. \nThe men finished fifth in the Big Ten. The women moved up from ninth place in last year’s competition to finish eighth, while more than doubling the amount of points they earned.\nThe outdoor season will introduce new events to competitions, while changing around the events that are in both indoor and outdoor. Pate and Neuenswander said weather can make a big difference at the events. \n“Wind becomes a large factor – whether head on, from the side or behind, it can really affect a jumper’s approach,” Pate said. “The wind can really play havoc with steps in the approach.”\nThe first meet for both the men and women is March 30 as the teams travel to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.