Home meets continue at weekend Indiana Relays

Beginning at 3 p.m. Friday, the Indiana men’s and women’s track and field squads will take part in the Indiana Relays at Gladstein Fieldhouse.

The two-day affair is the fifth consecutive meet the program has played host to and will feature athletes from Michigan State and Cincinnati, among others.

IU Coach Ron Helmer said the meet will feature the stiffest competition the Hoosiers have seen thus far in the young season.

“We’re focusing on preparing to meet the challenge of some even better competition, I think, this weekend, but doing so with the attitude that we’re just going to go out and compete and try to beat the people who are here,” Helmer said.

The Indiana Relays will provide an opportunity for each of his squads to make some significant strides, Helmer said

“We’ll still set a couple races up, and we’ll get them going a little bit,” Helmer said. “That’ll give us a chance to run some good times and let the emotion of that process take us to where we need to go.”

Helping that process will be junior Andy Bayer, who was named this week’s Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week.

Bayer is the second Hoosier track athlete to receive the honor this season, as sophomore Robbie Nierman received the award following the Indiana Open about two weeks ago.

Another athlete to keep an eye on is junior pole vaulter Kelsie Ahbe, who competed for the first time this season in last weekend’s Gladstein Invitational. She placed second in the pole vault, recording a mark of 3.87 meters.

Ahbe had been out of action for the two weeks preceding the Gladstein Invitational with a leg injury, but she said she is back to being completely healthy.

“One of the positive things about last week’s meet was that my leg felt good,” Ahbe said. “I feel healthy and strong. I’m 100 percent healthy, and I feel great.”

Because Ahbe only has one meet under her belt this season, she isn’t setting any goals heading into the Indiana Relays this weekend.

“I just want to compete,” Ahbe said. “That’s how I always perform best, is just going out there and competing and trying to beat people.”

On the men’s side, senior distance runner Ryan Hindes will be looking to build off his performance from last weekend, when he won his heat during his first collegiate 800 meter dash.

Hindes said the road to improvement is a steady process that takes time to fall
into place.

“It’s one of those week-by-week kinds of things,” Hindes said. “I just want my times to keep coming down each week. Week by week you’re starting to freshen up, even if you don’t realize it.”