IU track and field prepares for tournament

IU Track and Field Associate Head Coach Jeff Huntoon said his team needed Friday night.

In the last regular season meet for the Hoosiers—a final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships – IU delivered 10 different victories in the Billy Hayes Invitational Friday at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex.

The women wrapped up the day with victories in pole vault, high jump, 800-meter, 1500-meter invitational, 3000-meter, 200-meter and the 4x400-meter relay.

The men’s team found first place finishes in the high jump, 400-meter and the 4x100-meter relay.

The team opted to rest several athletes in preparation for the Big Ten
Outdoor Championships, which run this Friday to Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Senior Derek Drouin did not compete in his best event, the high jump, and fellow senior Andy Bayer did not compete in the 1500-meter dash, in which he is the defending national champion.

Junior Darius King won the high jump, leaping over the bar at 2.18 meters. It is the 16th best jump in Division I competition this year, and the fourth-best in the Big Ten.

“A testament to someone trying to just stick in there and hang in,” Huntoon said of King in an IUHoosiers.com video after the meet. “He’s got to keep coming, but I’m glad we had a night like this. It doesn’t hurt going into Big Tens.”

Freshman Sydney Clute won the pole vault competition. She finished second in the event at the Penn Relays to fellow freshman Sophie Gutermuth. Gutermuth finished fourth in the event Friday.

Clute’s vault of 4.07 meters is fourth highest all-time in IU history, and the second best vault this season in the Big Ten. Only four other IU women have ever cleared 13 feet in the competition.

Huntoon, who serves as the coach for sprints, jumps and multi-events, said he enjoyed seeing his athletes put up strong times at the end of the season.

“It’s a group who has stood with us, I can tell you that much,” Huntoon said in an IUHoosiers.com video. “I had a group of kids who, within four minutes, set six personal bests and that’s in the 100 (meter) alone. It is testament to them.

“The kids who stick with it and believe in what’s going on and just don’t even bat an eye end up having great things happen to them. It was good to have that happen. It was also great to see some kids who had been a little wayward over the past month or so really start to find themselves as well. It was a good day.”

In the 100-meter race that Huntoon was referencing, freshman Cornelius Strickland finished second with a time of 10.35 seconds. That time is the fourth-fastest in IU history, and the second fastest in the Big Ten this year. Junior Nick Turner finished fourth in the event with a time of 10.50, the fourth fastest time in the Big Ten this year.

Huntoon started the day less pleased, as the men’s 4x100-meter relay team missed a baton handoff. Despite that mistake, the team still put up a season-best time of 40.46 to win the event in the fifth best time in the Big Ten this season.

“More importantly, we’ve got kids who are starting to get their legs back,” Huntoon said. “We’re excited about that and excited about next weekend.”

Other winners included senior Emma Kimoto, who won the high jump; senior Jordan Gray, who won the 800-meter; senior Kelsey Duerksen, who won the 1500-meter invitational; La Toya Williams, who won the 200-meter; junior Lyndsey Wall, who won the 3000-meter and senior Chris Vaughn, who won the 400-meter.

Drouin competed in the 110-meter hurdles and the javelin throw, finishing third and second, respectively. His time of 13.87 in the hurdles is 13th fastest in the NCAA East Region this year. Freshman Zach Bray finished sixth in the event, setting a personal record in a race Huntoon said he enjoyed watching.

“You’ve got kids who just keep coming,” he said. “It gets hard. Just stay positive about it and you never know what might happen. You get a Friday night in Bloomington and this is what can happen.”