IU has 35 freshmen on the roster, and throughout the season they’ve been improving. Although some still have a ways to go, IU Coach Ron Helmer said, many freshmen have made adjustments necessary to perform well at the collegiate level.
Helmer said thrower Willie Morrison is performing the best of the freshmen.
Morrison has won the shot put at multiple meets this season, and he is fourth in the school record book in that event. He has also fared well in the weight throw.
“For a true freshman shot putter, I suspect he’s as good as has come along in this country for a while, certainly one of the better ones that has come along in this country for a while,” Helmer said. “He’s extremely composed, very confident and really does a nice job in pressure situations.”
Morrison said a key to his success thus far has been putting in extra reps in practice. He’s also not the only freshman thrower and often competes with David Schall in practice. Helmer said if Morrison weren’t performing so well, they would think Schall is having a very good season.
“One of my long-term goals is basically to make a national team for the USA,” Morrison said. “And then just to keep throwing until my body can’t take it anymore.”
Helmer also said he thought freshman jumper Treyton Harris has worked hard this season and has shown a lot of potential. Freshman sprinter Markevious Roach has flashed signs of being good as well, Helmer said, but he needs to handle the collegiate-level workload better.
Harris and Roach have the best marks in the long jump and the 400-meter dash this season, respectively. Roach has also competed in the 4x400 meter relay.
On the women’s team, freshman distance runners Haley and Kelsey Harris have shown improvement this season.
Helmer praised their work ethic, maturity and coachability. Three weeks ago, Helmer also admired how comfortable they are being both twins and teammates.
Freshman sprinters Riley Egbula and Taylor Williams have both run in the 4x400 relay and in individual races, and they’ve improved in both as the season has progressed. The two formed a bond over their improvement and similarity as runners.
“We used to make jokes like ‘Hey, do you want to run this time today?’ and she’ll say ‘Yeah,’ and I’ll be like ‘OK, we can just hold hands running across the line,’” Williams said.
Helmer said they’ve both shown potential this year, and once they get a bit older, he thinks they’ll be quite good. Williams has looked up to sophomore Kendell Wiles — she credited Wiles for helping her run the 600-meter, something she hadn’t done before this year. Williams also said she has her sights set on eventually becoming a Big Ten champion.
Overall, Helmer said he was pleased with the adjustments and progress the freshmen have made this season. He said IU had recruited aggressively to find athletes who were accustomed to winning, and the freshmen are on their way to becoming important pieces of the team.
“I think it’s an ongoing process,” Helmer said. “They’ll all be challenged as we go forward because, as we get into the championship part of the season, things will ratchet up even that much more. So we’ll see how they handle that. But I think there are several of them that are prepared to do that pretty well.”
