IU defeats Purdue on the road

The IU men’s and women’s track and field squad defeated in-state rival Purdue in West Lafayette on Saturday, claiming the first official team win of the season.

The women’s team, led by shot putter Faith Sherrill, won by a final score of 89-47. Sherrill followed up on her Big Ten record-breaking performance from last week by shattering the Lambert Fieldhouse record with a throw of 17.92 meters (58 feet 9.5 inches).

The men’s team also ran the Boilermakers off the track, winning by a final score of 77-59.

Sprinter Kind Butler reached an IU milestone by tying the school’s 60-meter dash record with a time of 6.72 seconds.

“I didn’t expect to win,” Butler said. “Three of the fastest top-10 runners were running against me. I surprised myself.”

Although Butler didn’t expect to win, he kept his sights on 60-meter Big Ten Champion Shane Crawford, who also ran in the race.

“I felt I needed to take down the monster,” Butler said of Crawford. “I felt invisible, and now I got that accomplished, I can look to getting better and get a little faster to break the IU record.”

Although Butler played underdog to Purdue’s Crawford, Coach Ron Helmer said he believed that his sprinter could upset the Boilermaker.

“I saw a great athlete be a great athlete,” Coach Helmer said. “I was really excited for him because he came here from the summer and put in work off and on the track.”

The IU coach said that this victory against Purdue represented only a part of his squad’s entire season.

“Fred Glass thanked me for beating Purdue,” Coach Helmer said. “As exciting as it sounds because it’s Purdue, it doesn’t define our team.”

Coach Helmer explained that he wants more out of his team at the next meet.
“I want more production and effort from the whole team, not just individuals,” Coach Helmer said. “We need more consistency out of everyone, and I want to see it, don’t matter who we face.”

IU will host the Gladstein Invitational this Friday and Saturday.