After a successful weekend in Louisville, Kentucky, the IU track and field team will stay in its home state for this weekend’s meet. The Hoosiers will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the Rankin/Poehlein Invitational at Purdue. IU Coach Ron Helmer said the meet is primarily about preparing both teams for the rest of the season.
“In indoor season we get really excited about this meet, but in outdoor season it's scored only to satisfy the NCAA rules,” Helmer said. “We’re not interested in scoring this meet and neither is Purdue because it’s a week we both want to rest some people. For us it’s the week before the Penn Relays and the Drake Relays for them.”
Because of more important meets in the near future, not all of the athletes usually seen in the lineup will be participating in this weekend’s meet.
“We don’t want athletes having to compete two or three consecutive weekends before more important meets like the Penn Relays and the Big Ten Championship,” Helmer said. “I’m just focused on doing what’s best for each individual athlete and putting ourselves in a good position for the next three weeks of the season.”
Helmer said track and field differs from many other sports in the sense that success in the sport is not always determined by wins and losses, which is why the team is not too concerned going into this meet.
“The Governor’s Cup is determined by our place in the Big Ten meet, and our ability to advance to the NCAA tournament is done on an individual basis,” Helmer said. “Beating Purdue in a dual meet with half our squad against half their squad really isn’t important to either of us.”
Right now, Helmer is focused on training hard and having the athletes take care of themselves for more important meets.
“We need to get the right amount of work in but the right amount of rest in as well.”
