The Hoosiers travel to Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday to compete in the NCAA East Regional Preliminary meet this weekend. Twenty Hoosiers will have the opportunity to place in the top 12 and earn the right to compete in a national championship.
To qualify for the regional meet, each athlete needed to place in the top 48 in the eastern half of the country in each of their respective events.
“Everything is in place,” IU Coach Ron Helmer said. “Now it’s just all about trusting in their preparation and talent and going out there to compete.”
Ten distance athletes, including seniors Evan Esselink and Rorey Hunter, qualified for regionals. Seven field athletes qualified, and three sprinters joined them.
The women’s team qualified five athletes while the men’s team qualified 15. The men’s 5K features the most Hoosier athletes, as sophomores Jason Crist and Matt Schwartzer and junior Owen Skeete will compete in the event.
“I’m definitely excited to be back here,” Schwartzer said. “I’m in similar shape as last year, so hopefully I have similar results as last year, as far as qualifying for nationals.”
As a freshman, Schwartzer finished seventh in last season’s men’s 5K at the regional meet with a time of 14:11.63, which is good enough to qualify for the national championship, where he placed 17th with an even better time of 14:08.38.
His best 5K this season is 14:03.92, a personal record.
“I didn’t have the best Big Ten race,” Schwartzer said. “I need to improve my strategy because these races start to become more tactical at the end of the season, rather than just trying to run the best time.”
Schwartzer’s time in the Big Ten Championships was significantly slower than his personal record, as he finished 28th with 15:19.25.
However, he is still confident in his physique and preparation heading into the regional meet.
“I’m at a very similar place, physically and mentally, as I was last season coming off of a fourth place finish in Big Tens,” Scwartzer said, “I just have to believe in my training.”
Other athletes, such as sophomore thrower Nakel McClinton, are choosing to focus on mental preparation as the regional meet approaches. McClinton qualified in the hammer throw and the discus throw, and she holds the IU record for the women’s hammer throw.
“I couldn’t really handle the pressure at Big Tens,” McClinton said. “I’ve always been ranked low with nothing to lose, but this time, I knew I was ranked high and had something to lose, and I did lose.”
McClinton finished a disappointing 18th place at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, with a mark of 50.76, just after throwing her personal best and IU record 60.81 two weeks before.
She was ranked 2nd in the conference before her performance.
Now, with a ranking of 13th in the hammer throw and 39th in the discus in the region, McClinton will feel pressure to qualify, especially in the hammer throw.
“I’ve been playing a lot of ‘2048.’” McClinton said. “I’ve also been practicing hammer throw 90 percent of the time, so discus isn’t much of a priority.”
At this point in the season, most athletes have peaked physically and have begun to focus on mental preparation rather than improving in the weight room or on the track, so they can handle the pressure of a high-stakes meet.
“It happens with everybody,” Helmer said. “Some people process anxiety and pressure more than others, and the others start to overthink. If anyone tells you they aren’t nervous, then they’re probably lying to you.”
