Hoosiers sweep Purdue in dual meet

In the latest chapter of the IU-Purdue rivalry, the Hoosier men and women defeated their in-state foe Saturday in a dual meet at Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse.

The Hoosier men handled their opponent, winning 80-52, but the women found themselves in a much tighter contest. In what proved to be a deciding event, sophomore Brie Roller came from behind to win the 4x400-meter relay on the final leg and put her team in position for a 69-67 victory.

“I knew it was all or nothing, so I was going for all,” Roller said. “I look at it as a team effort, and I just did my part.”

One of the standouts on the men’s side was Brie’s brother, graduate student Lance Roller, who sprinted his way to the second-fastest 600-meter run in IU history with a time of 1:18.25. He topped that performance by anchoring the men’s 4x400-meter relay and, much like his sister, brought the Hoosiers from behind for the victory.

“I knew I was feeling really good, and that, if I went for it, I could do it,” Roller said. “It was really just having confidence in myself and trust in my training. And plus, when you’re going against a rival school, you get that blood going, and you can’t lose.”

Roller came to IU for graduate school after spending his undergraduate years at the University of Virginia. While this was his first IU vs. Purdue experience, he said he could still feel something different about this meet.

“I know this is a big meet for everybody in the IU family, so I wanted to make sure I did my part and that the Hoosiers got out with the win,” Roller said. “When my teammates go to battle, I go to battle.”

Some of those battling teammates for the men included senior Derek Drouin, who won the long jump and took second in the 60-meter hurdles, and sophomore Rorey Hunter, who won the 800-meter run and anchored the winning 4x800-meter relay team.

The women were led by senior Kelsey Duerksen, who won the 800-meter and mile runs, and senior Emma Kimoto, whose performance in the high jump sealed IU’s victory.

Despite the wins by both teams, IU Coach Ron Helmer said he had mixed emotions about the meet.

“We had some great performances, but we also had a whole lot of not-very-good efforts,” Helmer said. “Not only do those kids not help us move forward, they actually hold us back because they give other people an excuse to be kind of mediocre, and we don’t need that.”

Helmer said he already saw a few one-on-one conversations between coaches and athletes where there was some attitude adjusting taking place.

“Some of our athletes don’t understand what it means to be on a team and have their teammates count on them,” Helmer said. “They think they get out there, and it’s about them. But, it’s not about them. It’s about us.”