IU senior transfer wins heptathlon in Texas Relays

It didn’t take long for senior Abbie Stechschulte to make her mark on IU.\nStechschulte, who suited up for the Hoosiers for the first time in competition, was the collegiate heptathlon champion in the 81st running of the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays this past weekend.\n“I was excited to finally actually compete,” she said. \nThe heptathlon, which takes place during a two-day span, is a series of seven events in which points are totaled and awarded based on performance in individual events. The competition includes the 100-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin and 800-meter run.\nStechschulte collected a career-best of 5,661 points, the second-best total in IU women’s track and field history. Second place is quite the accomplishment for Stechschulte, considering the name above hers in the record book is that of Dedee Nathan, an Olympian who competed in Sydney in 2000 and holds the IU record with \n5,855 points. \nStechschulte spent most of her undergraduate career at West Virginia under Jeff Huntoon, who is now the associate head coach for the Hoosiers. With one \nseason of outdoor eligibility left, Stechschulte made the decision to transfer with her coach to IU.\nHuntoon said that his athlete has been very patient with the process and still has a lot of room for improvement. \n“She is still training for the opportunity of the next step,” he said. \nThe Columbus Grove, Ohio, native will most likely compete in the heptathlon next at the Big Ten Championships and NCAA Outdoor Championships before hopefully competing in the Olympic Trials in late June. \nTwo other Hoosiers joined Stechschulte on the trip to Texas. One of them was senior sprinter and hurdler Courtney Johnson, who ran in the 100-meter hurdles on Saturday, finishing eighth in 13.79 seconds.\nSenior Kyle Jenkins, who competes in the triple jump, also made the trip to Texas. Jenkins posted a regional qualifying mark of 15.01 meters to finish ninth. \nIn addition to the action in Texas, the Hoosiers also sent three athletes west to compete in the Stanford Invite in Palo Alto, Calif. Freshman Ben Hubers led the way for the group, finishing 13th in the 5,000-meter run in 14:09.83. His previous best was 14:51, a record he set in high school. \nHubers added another regional qualifying mark in the 5,000 to go along with his 1,500-meter qualifying time of 3:45.71 at the Alabama \nRelays.\nAlso running the 5,000-meter, in a different heat were senior Brennon Plotner and freshman Cole Hardacre. Plotner ran a personal best of 14:22.47, while Hardacre crossed the finish line in 14:41.75. \nIU coach Ron Helmer said he thought his athletes took some steps forward.\n“I’m looking forward to good weather and the coming weeks of competition,” he said in a statement. \nThe Hoosiers will send several athletes to the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn., this weekend, before returning home on April 19 to host the Indiana Invitational. The invitational is the first of two home meets for the Hoosiers during the outdoor season.