Immediate high clearance

Many freshman athletes spend their first year in college adjusting to university life.

However, some elite freshmen make an immediate impact and achieve results higher than expected.

This “immediate impact” has been the script of the season so far for freshman Derek Drouin, who has had several accolades this season in the high jump.

IU coach Ron Helmer said Drouin is a grand contender overall.

“He is the real deal,” Helmer said. “He has great competitive instincts and a whole lot of talent and is just a great kid.”

Drouin hails from the town of Corunna in Ontario, Canada. He lived in Canada all of his life until coming to IU.

Drouin said the resemblance between the United States and Canada made it an easy trip across the border when he decided to become a Hoosier.

“I didn’t experience any sort of culture shock because the two countries are similar,” he said.

Since donning the cream and crimson, Drouin has had a first season many athletes can only dream about.

He qualified for the national championship in high jump this first year as a Hoosier. He followed that up by finishing second in both the Big Ten Championship and the national championship during the indoor season.

Drouin said he was shocked to have so much success on the big stage.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “Making nationals at all made me ecstatic and then I couldn’t even have dreamed of getting second.”

Assistant Jeff Huntoon, who recruited Drouin, said family connections lured Drouin here.

“I knew his sister when she competed at Syracuse,” Huntoon said. “We got some information on Derek and things worked out well for all of us.”

Looking to the future, Drouin said he thinks a high jump national championship might be in his grasp.

“I have set my personal goals pretty high, and I think I can win it all,” he said.