IU track and field returned to Bloomington on Friday for the joint Big Ten Indiana Invitational No. 4 and Billy Hayes Invitational at the Robert C. Haugh Track Complex.
Both also followed the conference’s non-scoring regular season format, a rule in place exclusively this season as teams prepare for postseason competition.
The distance runners ran under the lights Friday night, and several Hoosiers took advantage of the opportunity to compete in ideal conditions. Redshirt senior Kyle Mau won the 5,000 meter, his first such race this season, in a time of 13:48.01. Junior Arjun Jha came in behind Mau, finishing fourth with a personal record time of 14:15.42.
The Hoosiers carried Friday’s momentum into the second day of competition Saturday, headlined by Khayla Dawson. The senior threw down a mark of 18.91 meters in the shot put, good for both a personal and facility record. Dawson also broke the Big Ten record with the mark, and has moved into sixth all time in NCAA shot put history.
Senior Leah Moran continued her season dominance, winning the triple and long jumps with personal bests in both. Moran won the long jump with a distance of 6.41 meters and the triple jump with a mark of 13.24 meters. She has participated in 12 events this season, capturing 11 wins and one runner-up finish.
The Hoosiers swept the pole vault Saturday, with junior Anna Watson clearing a personal best 4.31 meters to claim victory on the women's side and sophomore Nathan Stone joining the 18-foot club with a height of 5.50 meters to win the men’s competition.
The personal records continued on the track, where 2021 Big Ten Indoor Track Athlete of the Year Rikkoi Brathwaite recorded a personal-best time of 10.27 seconds to advance to the final. The junior won the event with a time of 10.28 seconds.
Senior Kelly Mindak recorded a personal best time of 2:05.06 in the 800 meter to get the victory, while sophomore Alyssa Robinson improved in the 200 meter with a time of 23.09 seconds to secure the win.
The many triumphs from the weekend will give the Hoosiers confidence as the team heads into the championship part of its season. The Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships will begin May 14 in Champaign, Illinois.
With two weeks until the conference championships, the IU men are ranked as the seventh best Big Ten team by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association, while the women are ranked third.
