After a successful opening day that included six event wins, Indiana track and field kept up its momentum with a strong performance on day two. By the end of the day, the team went home with a staggering nine event wins and a clean sweep of the 4x400 relays.
Senior sprinter Antonio Laidler was a huge contributor to this success. Not only was he a part of the winning relay team, but he was victorious in the 60-meter final on Friday and 200-meter on Saturday, posting 6.76 and 21.56 second times respectively.
The men’s 200-meter was all Hoosiers, with junior Trelee Banks-Rose also winning his heat with a 21.65 second time.
Graduate student Serena Bolden also took home two wins in the triple and long jump. Her 12.21m/40-0.75in the triple jump was good for ninth best in program history.
It was a strong team performance in the women’s 800 meters. The trio of graduate student Jenna Barker, junior Maddie Russin, and graduate student Maddie Dalton made up three out of the top four placements, and all three posted personal best times. Barker spoke about the chemistry between the three teammates.
“We push each other physically, but they know everything about me from a mental standpoint as well,” Barker said after the meet. “They know when I’m feeling nervous or when I’m confident.”
In the men’s 800-meter, sophomore Jaylen Castillo burst onto the scene with a personal best of 1:54.82, earning his first win in his collegiate career.
“I was dealing with a lot of injuries freshman year, but this year I’ve been healthy, so it felt good to finally get a win,” Castillo said.
Castillo’s first win did not come in comfortable fashion, as he narrowly edged out his second-place competitor by just 0.01 seconds.
“When it comes down to those final 60 meters, it’s just about who wants it more, and I was able to grind it out.” Castillo said.
Castillo was not the only Hoosier to get his first win on Saturday. Grad student Dustin Horter climbed to the top of the leaderboard in an 800-meter heat with a personal best of 1:51.88. Horter said it wasn’t his ideal performance, but he was able to stay level-headed through adversity.
“When you’re challenged every day by that caliber of athletes, you get used to it and learn how to keep your composure until the moment comes to strike,” Horter said.
Another star of the show was senior Parker Raymond in the men’s 600-meter. Raymond said he was extremely pleased with his performance and like Barker, attributed most of the credit to his teammates.
“As a whole, we’re all getting better each day, and we’re looking good for Big Tens,” Raymond said.
Raymond said that everyone on the team puts together top-level workouts every day, and that’s the main reason for the team’s overall success.
With 15 event wins on the weekend and plenty of personal records, it seems that the Hoosiers’ track and field teams are hitting their stride at the perfect time. Even though track may be scored on individual performance, the team’s ability to support and push one another to the next level is what gives them a leg up on the competition.
The team will return for the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships on Feb. 24-25 in Geneva, Ohio.
