IU team sets school records at Sea Ray Relays

Several Hoosiers set career bests in competition this weekend at the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. In some cases, the records came in fewer than 11 seconds on the track, while others, like junior Kristina Trcka’s, took nearly 39 minutes to accomplish. \nTrcka competed in her first 10,000-meter run for IU since transferring from Earlham College after her freshman year. The distance runner said she tried not to count the miles in the 6.2-mile race, but rather got in a zone and followed other runners. \n“Coach wanted me to stay with the pack, and I did,” she said. \nAfter taking the lead for part of the race, Trcka finished third with a time of 38:45.91, almost two minutes better than her previous record. \nAnother personal best over the weekend was set by junior Will Glover, whose time of 10.49 seconds in the 100-meter dash bettered the regional qualifying mark of 10.5 seconds, but did not count toward the standard because the wind was stronger than what is allowed under NCAA rules.\nIn order to have a time counted in sprints, short hurdle races, long jump and triple jump, the wind can not exceed 4 meters per second. In Glover’s case, it was 4.1 meters per second. \nAlthough Glover was a little disappointed, he said he is looking forward to future races. \n“It does get frustrating, but there are enough races in the season that I can get it,” he said. \nGlover’s teammate senior Marcus Thigpen competed in the 100-meter dash as well. But his career-best of 10.34 seconds did not count toward the regional standard because of the wind. Despite the wind, Thigpen’s time ranks second-best in IU history. IU coach Ron Helmer said he thought the wind aided several of the runners.\nFreshman Stephanie Chin set another record. Chin has already set the indoor and outdoor pole vaulting records this season for IU and improved on her own outdoor mark \nthis weekend.\nChin vaulted 4.25 meters, which bettered her previous outdoor record of 4.15 meters, which she set at the Alabama Relays. \nHelmer said he and many of the other coaches really enjoyed watching her compete and seeing her improve. \n“She just brings it,” he said. \nChin, a Bloomington High School South graduate, bettered the Olympic Trials “B” qualifying standard of 4.20 meters. The “A” standard, which is the automatic qualifier, is 4.47 meters. \nChin wasn’t the only vaulter who excelled at the meet. Junior Jeff Coover jumped more than 5.35 meters, a significant improvement in only his second meet since redshirting during the indoor season. \nCoover, who bettered his previous best by 20 centimeters and established a regional qualifying mark, said that after coming off an injury he was glad to have jumped so high. \n“We were due for a good weekend,” he said. \nSophomore Faith Sherrill led the throwers in Knoxville, surpassing the regional standard in the shot put and improving by nearly 1 meter with a throw of 14.65 meters. \nSherrill’s coach, IU assistant Jermaine Jones, said he expects improvement from the sophomore.\n“I think she will throw it much further,” he said. “Faith is a really good athlete.” \nAlthough the wind and rain hurt some of the athletes’ performances, Helmer thought the team improved and competed well. \n“Pretty much every place we thought we could get a good performance, we did,” he said. \nThe Hoosiers will return home Saturday to host the Indiana Invitational.