Junior Chase Pacheco won the heptathlon at the IU Relays this weekend by narrowly defeating former IU track and field star and 2016 Olympic gold medalist Derek Drouin in his return to Gladstein Fieldhouse.
Because he meet was an invitational and not a dual meet with athletes competing as teams, Drouin was able to come back to IU and his old stomping grounds.
Pacheco finished the seven events with 5,201 points. Drouin scored 5,125 points, and junior Andrew Huber finished third with 5,090 points.
The Hoosiers finished the two-day meet with a number of quality performances, including two new school records. IU Coach Ron Helmer said he continues to see more positives with this team all the time.
“All in all I would say I am happy,” Helmer said. “There were a lot of good things, but we still have room for a lot of improvement.”
Among the many good things Helmer is talking about, the most entertaining of them might have occurred in the last event of the meet, the weight throw competition.
Junior Andrew Miller broke an IU record as a swarm of teammates, coaches and competitors surrounded and cheered him on during his record-breaking throw of 21.06 meters. His throw was good enough for 11th best in the NCAA this season.
“It was fun to be over there,” Helmer said. “It was fun to see the team get behind the throwers, who sometimes are isolated off there, and it resulted in a school record with a big-time throw.”
Willie Morrison, a sophomore, finished in third with a distance of 18.90 meters. Junior Daniel Kuhn continued his season of dominance with two more victories, including a school record. Helmer said those kind of performances are the ones that help build this team.
“I think that environment at the end is a good example,” Helmer said. “When one person gets it going, often times within that group several people can get it going too. We’ve seen that from time to time with our 800-meter guys who are following Daniel around all the time.”
Kuhn helped the team of junior Zach Reitzug, sophomore Markevious Roach and freshman Caleb Ojennes secure another win this season in the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:11.57. Kuhn also broke the school record in the 600-meter with a time of 1:15.88. He now has the fifth- and sixth-fastest 600-meter times ever run by a collegiate athlete on a 200-meter track.
Junior Jordan Huntoon followed Kuhn for second in the 600-meter and took first in the 800-meter with a time of 1:50.20. Sophomore Bryce Millar finished second in the mile run with a time of 4:03.
Seniors Jeremy Coughler and Carl Smith finished first and second in the 5,000-meter run. Smith led the way before Coughler made his comeback in the final five laps to finish with a time of 14:21.77.
Sophomore Eric Bethea took home a second-place finish in the triple jump as former Hoosier and 2016 Olympic participant Olu Olamigoke won the event with a jump of 15.98 meters.
Next weekend, the Hoosiers will travel away from Gladstein Fieldhouse for the first time this season as they head to Notre Dame to compete in the Meyo Invitational in South Bend, Indiana.
