11 Hoosiers continue to NCAA Championships

For six Hoosiers, this past weekend felt familiar.

Those six Hoosiers will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the second consecutive year after making it through the NCAA East Prelims in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend.

Seniors Andy Bayer, Derek Drouin, Zach Mayhew and Emma Kimoto and juniors Kyla Buckley and Darius King will all return to the event for the second consecutive year.

Those six will also be joined by graduate student Scott Houston, junior Robby Nierman, sophomore Taja Moore and freshmen Sophie Gutermuth and Josh Roche,
All 11 Hoosiers will travel to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., June 5-8.

The Hoosiers send three high jumpers in Drouin, King and Kimoto. Drouin finished in a four-way tie for first, clearing 2.17 meters. Drouin will be back at the championships, where he will try to claim his fifth NCAA high jump championship. King finished 11th in the event, just making the cut as the top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Championships. He cleared 2.14 meters.

Kimoto finsihed 10th on the women’s side to advance to Eugene.

Moore took second in the discus throw last Thursday. Moore launched the discus 54.16 meters, which was her second personal best of the day. She had thrown it 53.46 meters earlier, which was a new personal best before she added the extra .7 meters to extend it, the second longest throw in IU history.

Bayer officially finished third in the 1,500-meter, in which he is the defending National Champion. However, he paced his heat, finishing second in 3:40.43, which was second overall. The top finisher in the other heat finished seven seconds slower than Bayer, but because he finished first in his heat, he is officially scored in second.

Bayer’s time is the second fastest of his career in a pacer-free race. Graduate student Adam Behnke, who also ran in Bayer’s heat, had the 10th best time, but ended up missing the cut at No. 15 because of finishers from the second heat. On the women’s side, senior Kelsey Duerksen finished 13th in the event, just missing the cut in her final collegiate race.

The men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase advanced both Roche and Nierman to the championships, with Roche finishing eighth and Nierman 11th. IU Coach Ron Helmer said going into the weekend that he thought those two could grab spots in the top 12 and advance.

Houston and Gutermuth will represent the Hoosiers, in the pole vault. Houston finished fifth overall, behind a four-way tie for first, clearing 5.25 meters. Gutermuth finished 10th, clearing 4.10 meters. Freshman Sydney Clute failed to advance in the event, finishing 21st.

Buckley hurled the shot put 16 meters on her first attempt, good enough to finish in eighth.

Mayhew finished ninth to advance in the 10,000-meter.

— Robby Howard