3 Hoosiers spring to Big Ten titles

Jumping was the Hoosiers forte at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend.

Three members of the IU track and field team scored individual Big Ten Championships in the long jump and high jump.

In the high jump, sophomore Derek Drouin and senior Ashley Rhoades both proved to be the Big Ten’s best at the event.

Rhoades, whose winning jump was at 1.78 meters, said it took her a while to comprehend the accomplishment.  

“I am very excited,” Rhoades said. “It didn’t sink in at first, but now I am really excited.”

Drouin, who won the high jump with a clearance of 2.19 meters, said he was ecstatic to be a champion because he wasn’t anticipating it.

“I am happy and shocked at the same time,” Drouin said.

Also scoring a Big Ten title was graduate Kiwan Lawson of the men’s team in the long jump with a leap of 7.64 meters.

As a team, the women finished 5th with a score of 74.25 while the men finished 10th with a score of 58.

IU coach Ron Helmer said he thought the meet went as expected for the Hoosiers.

“On the women’s side, we performed well and our goal was to score 70 points,” Helmer said. “On the men’s side, I didn’t expect us to do much better even though we were disappointed with 10th place.”    

The Minnesota Golden Gophers won the Big Ten title for the men with a score of 130.

For the women, the Penn State Nittany Lions came out victorious with a score of 139.

The Hoosiers continue postseason competition on May 29 and 30 when they head to Louisville, Ky., for the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships.