The Hoosiers faced top-notch competition across the board this past weekend at the Power Five Invitational.
Although a majority of athletes came in around or behind third place, the competition the team faced set their performances on par.
One of the best races of the weekend was the distance medley relay, DMR, in which the Hoosier squad came in third place with a time of 11:06.18.
Freshman Natalie Price, juniors Kelsey Harris and Katherine Receveur and senior Brenna Calder raced in the DMR, as well as additional events Saturday.
The group’s performance got them second place in the Big Ten and fourth place in the NCAA. Before the meet, Harris said they hoped to come out strong in their first DMR race, and they did just that.
Calder finished her 1,200-meter leg with a time of 3:24.34, followed by Price’s 400-meter leg at a time of 53.90. Harris finished the next leg, the 800-meter, with a time of 2:07.51, and Receveur polished off the relay with a 4:40.41 time in the 1,600-meter.
As for individual events, the Hoosiers excelled in the 3,000-meter race as well. Freshman Lexa Barrott not only finished first in the event, but also earned a personal best with a time of 9:46.99.
Moreover, freshman Hannah Stoffel earned third place in the event, also earning a personal best with a time of 9:51.02. Stoffel’s time is almost 10 seconds faster than her previous personal best, which was 10:00.74.
On the second day of the meet, the Hoosiers placed highly within the Big Ten rankings for the 800-meter race.
Harris came in fifth place in the event with a time of 2:07.50. Senior Kendell Wiles finished in seventh place with a time of 2:08.49, moving her up six spots in the Big Ten rankings to number five.
Behind her, sophomore Mallory Mulzer crossed the finish line in 2:09.32, earning a personal best and moving up eight spots in the Big Ten rankings to number eight.
Mulzer’s personal best was a difference of a little more than two seconds, with her previous personal best being a time of 2:11.76, earned at the 2017 Hoosier Hills meet.
The Hoosiers have a busy weekend coming up. They will be competing in the Hoosier Hills meet at home as well as sending athletes to the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas and the Iowa State Classic in Iowa to compete this weekend.
