IU track and field travels to Nashville for Vanderbilt Invitational – Indiana Daily Student

By Staff 5 years ago

IU track and field travels to Nashville for Vanderbilt Invitational  Indiana Daily Student


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Then-junior, now-graduate student Treyton Harris competes in the long jump in 2018 during the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships. IU track and field will participate in the Vanderbilt Invitational Jan. 17-18. Buy Photos

IU’s track and field team will travel to Tennessee this weekend to compete in the Vanderbilt Invitational. The meet will start at 5 p.m. Friday and will continue until 11 a.m. Saturday.

This is the first time that the Hoosiers will be competing in the Vanderbilt Invitational.

“We haven’t been to that meet before, and so we’re excited to go down there,” Helmer said. “It’s an oversized track, and that usually produces pretty good marks. It’s just a good bunch of kids who are ready to run, and it’ll be fun to go down and see what they’re ready to do.”

IU will enter the invitational with the No. 5 ranked men’s team in the country. Other competing teams include fellow ranked schools No. 22 University of Oklahoma and No. 1 Florida State University, according to the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The women’s team will enter the invitational unranked and will face competition such as No. 22 University of Miami and No. 11 Florida State University, according to USTFCCCA.

“Just because Ole Miss is coming, are they bringing their best people?” IU head coach Ron Helmer said.

The University of Mississippi has notable distance runners junior Maddie King and junior Waleed Sulimancompeting this weekend. 

King set the Ole Miss school record for the women’s mile with a time of 4:46.45 during last year’s indoor season at the Music City Challenge. 

Suliman set the school record for the men’s mile with a time of 3:56.78 at last year’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational and was named a 2nd team All-American during his previous two indoor seasons.

“We think they’re bringing their best distance runners, so that’ll be good for our distance group,” Helmer said. “The better competition that we can face the better it is for us in terms of measuring ourselves against really good people.”

The team is coming off the Indiana vs. Tennessee Duals this past weekend, during which the Hoosiers’ senior Adam Coulon and senior Khayla Dawson led the nation in men’s pole vault and women’s shot put.

Coulon, who placed first during last season’s Big Ten Indoor Championships with a mark of 5.44m, reached a mark of 5.55m — which stands as his personal best. 

Dawson, who placed first during last season’s Big Ten Outdoor Championships with a personal best of 17.65m, threw a distance of 17.07m. 

Both Coulon and Dawson were named Big Ten track and field athletes of the week.

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IU red shirt junior Liam Cronin wrestles Iowa junior Spencer Lee Jan. 10 in Willkinson Hall. IU will compete at Northwestern Jan. 18.

The Hoosiers are coming off a weekend when they were outscored 73-3.

Senior forward De’Ron Davis shoots the ball during the second half of the game Dec. 7 at Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. IU lost to Rutgers 59-50 on Jan. 15.

IU had by far its worst shooting night of the season.

IU men’s basketball coach Archie Miller yells during the first half of the game Dec. 7 at Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. IU lost to Rutgers 59-50 on Jan. 15.

IU made just two field goals from outside the paint.