The Hoosiers sent a group of distance runners to compete in the Stanford Relays on Friday, and the group largely saw success. Five IU athletes set new personal bests in their respective events.
IU Coach Ron Helmer said he was most impressed with junior Chanli Mundy. She was competing in the 10,000 meter run for the first time, and she exceeded her own expectations for the race. She finished in 34:14.01, the seventh-fastest time in school history.
Helmer said it was, by far, the best race she had ever run.
Mundy credited her teammates for getting her in the right mindset before the race. She said watching them perform well motivated her to do the same.
“When I finished, I looked at the time, and I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’” Mundy said. “But it felt great doing it.”
Sophomore Katherine Receveur and freshman Haley Harris both set personal bests in the 5,000 meter run. Receveur posted a 16:51.63 time, and Harris completed the race in 17:06.29.
For the men’s side, senior Owen Skeete and redshirt freshman Bryce Millar, competing unattached, also set personal bests in the 5,000 meter.
They finished in second and third respectively in their heat. Skeete ran a 14:11.93, and Millar ran a 14:12.49.
Millar’s time is the fastest by a true freshman at IU since 2009.
Skeete said that every time he has run at Stanford previously, he had also set personal records, so this wasn’t an unexpected result for him.
Helmer was also not surprised that so many athletes set personal bests.
“We were pretty selective about the group that we took,” Helmer said. “We took the people that we thought were ready to perform well. When you have a group that knows they’re ready to perform well, it’s extremely positive for everybody.”
Helmer didn’t want to say that he was content with the place his team is at currently, but he sees promise in the early results this season.
“I’m excited to see more and more individuals start to step up and produce the kind of performances that would indicate they can be contenders for spots in the Big Tens, points in the Big Tens, as well as having run times that typically advance them into the first round of the NCAAs,” Helmer said.
While the distance runners competed at Stanford, the women’s pole vaulters were in Austin, Texas, competing in the Texas Relays. Seniors Sophie Gutermuth and Sydney Clute had a rough start to their season, as they both failed to clear a height.
Helmer said they had a number of excuses for their lackluster performance, but that they still should have been able to at least clear a height.
Helmer said that next week, the Hoosiers will send many more athletes to compete, and that it will look more like a traditional track and field team at the Tiger Track Classic at Auburn.
