For the IU women’s team, sophomore distance runner Corinne Cominator won the mile for the second consecutive meet, and she set a new indoor personal record with her time of 4:52.38. She credited her teammates for helping her get back into a rhythm after break, for training hard with her and for helping her get through the race.
Other notable performances for the Hoosier women came from junior weight thrower Nakel McClinton, senior pole vaulter Sydney Clute and sophomore high jumper Rachel Mather. McClinton set a new school record with her 20.60 meter weight throw. Clute won the pole vault with a 4.07 meter jump, which, although not a personal record for Clute, is the sixth best mark in school history. Topping the previous record by .25 meters, Mather won the high jump with a 1.71 meter jump.
“(McClinton) has been really consistent the past couple years,” Cominator said. “She works really hard in the weight room — throwers do like three hours of weight lifting on Sundays — so we expected a big one from her.”
For the Hoosiers’ men’s team, sophomore middle distance runner Daniel Kuhn won the 800 meter dash in 1:49.63, which is the top time in the nation this year and the sixth best time in school history. He praised his team of distance runners for getting the job done and helping the Hoosiers to victory.
“Last year I kind of fell into that freshman trap of not really doing my work over break and just relaxing with my family,” Kuhn said. “I finally trusted the coaching staff and did the work over break that I was supposed to and came in feeling pretty good, and I was able to put together a really solid opening race.”
In addition to Kuhn’s performance, sophomore high jumper Paul Galas and freshman shot putter Willie Morrison had strong showings. Galas, who missed the Hoosier Open in December with a minor injury, set a new personal record by winning the high jump with a 2.12 meter jump. Morrison had a 17.60 meter mark en route to winning the |shot put.
“In the distance events and the field events we were definitely strong,” Cominator said. “We could improve. The effort was definitely there in the sprinting events, but I think they just need a little more time. They’re a pretty young group, and they haven’t been with (assistant) Coach Beathea that long. But I think with more experience, we’ll see the results in that area.”
Next weekend, the Hoosiers will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to face rival Purdue in another dual meet.
