Indiana University Athletics
Crist Earns Fourth All-Big Ten Honor
11/2/2016 11:40:00 AM | Cross Country
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – On a cold, windy day outside of Minneapolis Jason Crist approached the starting line of his fourth Big Ten Championships meet. A top-14 finish would give Crist four consecutive seasons of All-Big Ten accolades. Two former athletes, Bob Kennedy and Sean Jefferson, earned First-Team honors in all four season and Andy Bayer captured three First-Team honors and a Second-Team selection during his IU career.
Looking back to 2013, Crist was just a freshman in the same meet in West Lafayette. He led Indiana to its first conference championship in over 30 seasons, snapping Wisconsin's 14-year streak of winning. Crist was the top finisher for the Hoosiers with a fifth place finish and earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
Iowa City was the host for the 2014 Big Ten Championships. Crist, once again, rose to the challenge to take ninth place and was IU's top dog for the second straight year. The ninth place effort made Jason a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection. The team took fourth in the team standings.
Last season Rorey Hunter bested his teammate, Crist, as the top runner for the Hoosier attack. Hunter finished fourth, but nipping at his heels was Jason Crist, who landed in sixth place. He added another All-Big Ten First-Team distinction to his already impressive Big Ten Championships resume. For the second year in a row, the Hoosiers were fourth in the team standings.
Fast forward to the start line at the 2016 Championships at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Crist, the calm and steady influence of a young talented men's team, looks to accomplish a feat few have achieved in the storied history of IU cross country.
Jason Crist raced to his best finish in the Championships meet, taking third, and earning his third First-Team All-Big Ten selection. Senior teammate, Matt Schwartzer finished just behind Crist in fourth, also earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors. Crist and Schwartzer are the fourth pair of teammates since 2012 to earn First-Team honors in the same season, and only the fifth occurrence in program history.
Those two, plus Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ben Veatch, led the Indiana men's team to a third place finish with 92 total points. This marks the fifth time since 2010 that the program has finished inside the top three in the conference.
"Jason's consistency at the Big Ten championship has been exceptional," said head coach Ron Helmer. "It is a true tribute to his talent, his preparation and his commitment to his team. It is hard enough to run in the top seven at the championship race and earn First-Team All-Big Ten honors once, but to do it four straight years takes a very special person. I could not be more proud of and happy for Jason and his accomplishments."
Coach Helmer has been remarkably consistent with the men's cross country team. Since 2007, Helmer's first year as IU's coach, the team has averaged a third (3.2) place finish. This 10-year run is the most consistent stretch, since the Big Ten expanded to at least nine teams in 1966, in Hoosier history. Only one other program in the conference has managed to finish higher than the Hoosiers on an annual basis since 2007.
The women's team is trending in an upward direction as well. Sophomore Katherine Receveur finished second in the Big Ten, the highest finish by an Indiana female cross country runner since 1990. Michelle Dekker took the individual championship and led the program to their second straight team title that season. IU brought the third youngest squad to the meet, and the Hoosiers gained valuable championship experience with three freshmen and four sophomores competing.
Looking back to 2013, Crist was just a freshman in the same meet in West Lafayette. He led Indiana to its first conference championship in over 30 seasons, snapping Wisconsin's 14-year streak of winning. Crist was the top finisher for the Hoosiers with a fifth place finish and earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
Iowa City was the host for the 2014 Big Ten Championships. Crist, once again, rose to the challenge to take ninth place and was IU's top dog for the second straight year. The ninth place effort made Jason a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection. The team took fourth in the team standings.
Last season Rorey Hunter bested his teammate, Crist, as the top runner for the Hoosier attack. Hunter finished fourth, but nipping at his heels was Jason Crist, who landed in sixth place. He added another All-Big Ten First-Team distinction to his already impressive Big Ten Championships resume. For the second year in a row, the Hoosiers were fourth in the team standings.
Fast forward to the start line at the 2016 Championships at the Les Bolstad Golf Course. Crist, the calm and steady influence of a young talented men's team, looks to accomplish a feat few have achieved in the storied history of IU cross country.
Jason Crist raced to his best finish in the Championships meet, taking third, and earning his third First-Team All-Big Ten selection. Senior teammate, Matt Schwartzer finished just behind Crist in fourth, also earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors. Crist and Schwartzer are the fourth pair of teammates since 2012 to earn First-Team honors in the same season, and only the fifth occurrence in program history.
Those two, plus Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ben Veatch, led the Indiana men's team to a third place finish with 92 total points. This marks the fifth time since 2010 that the program has finished inside the top three in the conference.
"Jason's consistency at the Big Ten championship has been exceptional," said head coach Ron Helmer. "It is a true tribute to his talent, his preparation and his commitment to his team. It is hard enough to run in the top seven at the championship race and earn First-Team All-Big Ten honors once, but to do it four straight years takes a very special person. I could not be more proud of and happy for Jason and his accomplishments."
Coach Helmer has been remarkably consistent with the men's cross country team. Since 2007, Helmer's first year as IU's coach, the team has averaged a third (3.2) place finish. This 10-year run is the most consistent stretch, since the Big Ten expanded to at least nine teams in 1966, in Hoosier history. Only one other program in the conference has managed to finish higher than the Hoosiers on an annual basis since 2007.
The women's team is trending in an upward direction as well. Sophomore Katherine Receveur finished second in the Big Ten, the highest finish by an Indiana female cross country runner since 1990. Michelle Dekker took the individual championship and led the program to their second straight team title that season. IU brought the third youngest squad to the meet, and the Hoosiers gained valuable championship experience with three freshmen and four sophomores competing.
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