BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana track and field finished the Big Ten indoor championships with five champions, including three on the meet’s final day. Derek Drouin won the men’s high jump, Emma Kimoto won the women’s high jump and Zach Mayhew took the men’s 5,000, and the three joined day one champions Kyla Buckley (shot put) and Scott Houston (pole vault). The Indiana men finished sixth with 72 points, while the women were 10th with 33 points. Indiana has had five combined champions at the Big Ten indoor meet in three consecutive seasons.
Drouin jumped 2.26m (7-5) for the high jump title, his third indoors and sixth overall in the event. The title is the 30th for IU all-time and the 16th indoors , and the Hoosiers have won five straight indoor crowns in the event. Drouin did not miss a bar in the competition until allcompetitors had finished, and only missed once at 2.34m (7-8) before calling it a day. Before the high jump began, Drouin finished third in the heptathlon,after jumping to a new all-time world best in the heptathlon high jump on the first day. Drouin finished with 5,817 points, crushing the Indiana all-timerecord by 378 points. He now ranks sixth nationally in the heptathlon. Drouin scored 16 team points for the IU cause in the two events.
Kimoto cleared 1.80m (5-10.75) to win the high jump, moving herself to third on the all-time IU list. She wins IU’s third Big Ten title in the high jump and the second indoors, joining Ashley Rhoades, who won in 2010. Kimoto was the only jumper to clear 5-10.75, doing so on her second attempt. She did not have a miss on the three bars she jumped prior to the championships height. Kimoto improved her season best by 2.75 inches, and is tied for 21st nationally with the clearance.
Mayhew won the 5,000 meters with a facility record time of 13:46.04, for his third Big Ten title, adding it to his outdoor 10K crown and cross country titles from the 2012 calendar year. He wins IU’s 10th title at the distance the third indoors. Mayhew’s time ranks 16th in Division I this season, meaning he currently holds the final spot in the NCAA meet. Mayhew scored 17 points in the meet,tying for second in the 3,000m as well.
Andy Bayer took second in the mile in 4:02.04, earning All-Big Ten honors in his second event in two days. Bayer was second in the 3,000 on Friday. Robby Nierman took eighth in the mile in 4:06.00. IU got nine points in the race.
In the men’s 60m, Cornelius Strickland and Nick Stoner were seventh and eighth respectively. Strickland ran 6.83 seconds and Stoner finished in 6.86. The pair scored three IU points in the event.
Strickland was also seventh in the 200 meters, clocking a time of 21.62. The freshman finished the meetwith four points scored.
Arianne Raby scored two points for IU in the women’s mile, clocking a time of 4:48.30 for seventh place. Lance Roller took eighth in the men’s 800 meters in 1:50.81, scoring a point for the team.
The Hoosiers will compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational next weekend at Notre Dame, taking one last chance at NCAA qualifying.. For complete coverage of all things IU track and field, stay tuned to IUHoosiers.com.