IU athletes compete at NCAAs

The first time a person does something, it is impossible to know what to expect. A skier can conquer a black diamond trail in Michigan, but going to Colorado and attempting the same feat can be much more difficult. \nThree members of the IU track and field team were not in Michigan or Colorado this past weekend, but experienced similar circumstances. Juniors Wendi Robinson and Molly Beckwith and freshman Stephanie Chin represented the Hoosiers in Arkansas at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships last Friday \nand Saturday in Arkansas. \nIt was each athlete’s first time competing on a national stage. Nerves, however, were not an issue for one of IU’s most accomplished distance runners. \n“I was very excited with this being my first national meet,” said Robinson, who went into the meet seeded 10th in the 5,000-meter run. Despite running one of the fastest times in the nation earlier in the year with a time of 16:16.23, Robinson started off in the back of the pack and could not push to the front. She finished 14th, crossing the finish line in 16:39.86, more than a minute behind the first-place finisher. \nRobinson said she didn’t do as well as she would have liked, but it was still a very positive learning experience for her. She noted the difference in pace as one of the areas she can improve upon, and she’ll have an opportunity to do so with two more indoor seasons of eligibility. \nIU coach Ron Helmer said the lack of experience made things difficult for his three athletes. \n“It is hard to know how to respond the first time through,” he said. “There is a whole new set of expectations and stress.” \nOne of Robinson’s fellow juniors and teammates on the trip was Beckwith, who competed Friday in the 800-meter run. Beckwith grabbed the last qualifying spot in the meet after she ran an IU school record of 2:06.67 at the Notre Dame Qualifier Meet last weekend. \nBeckwith ran in the preliminaries of the 800, but failed to make the finals running with what turned out to be a 15th- place finish in 2:12.29. She finished toward the bottom of the leaderboard, but was still satisfied with the meet.\n“It was awesome,” she said. “The competition was very fierce.” \nBeckwith said the race turned out to be a lot more strategical than she thought, something she can learn from and be more comfortable with in future races.\nChin made it to her first national meet as a freshman with the Hoosiers.\n“She is new and is still learning what we are doing,” Helmer said. \nChin, who set the school record in the pole vault earlier this year at 4.14 meters, could not clear the starting height of 3.90 in her three attempts and finished last in the competition.\nAlthough he would have liked to see the group do better, Helmer said he is very encouraged with how rapidly the athletes have improved this season. \n“This is part of the growing process and we are growing,” he said. “It was all very positive.”