Indiana Track & Field: 2019-20 Indoor Season Review

GENEVA, OH - 2020.02.29 - BIG Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships

Indiana Track & Field: 2019-20 Indoor Season Review

4/3/2020 10:00:00 AM | Track and Field

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Although the 2019-20 indoor season was cut short for Indiana Track & Field there was much to be celebrated. Broken school records, five Big Ten Individual champions and a Big Ten team title highlighted an indoor season full of success.

"Prior to the season being cut short, our indoor teams had one of their best seasons in history. It would have been fun to see what this outstanding group could have done in the national championship." Head Coach Ron Helmer said. "We set school records, we had great growth throughout the roster, we stepped up at championship time and we put a team on the track and in the field that showed outstanding strength in all areas. Our coaches did a great job of guiding and preparing their athletes and our athletes did just as good a job of answering the challenge, working at appropriate levels with intensity and commitment across the board. They held one another accountable and all answered the challenge. We return a large group of outstanding athletes and look forward to even better days to come."

For the first time since 2017 the Indiana men took home the team trophy at 2019-20 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships with 120.5 points. Adam Coulon, Jyles Etienne, and the DMR team led the way for the Hoosiers with individual Big Ten titles. Arjun Jha, Kyle Mau, and Ben Veatch picked up points for Indiana in both the 3000m and 5000m. Rikkoi Brathwaite proved his place within the Big Ten with his second place in the 60m. Shaton Vaughn scored in the 400m for the first time in his career to help the Hoosiers toward a team title. Jalen Royal raced in his first 600m final and picked fifth. Adam Wallace and Cooper Williams put up points in the 800m while Teddy Browning, Dustin Horter, and Matthew Schadler tallied points in the mile. Brock Mammoser and Nathan Stone completed the pole vault trio that all placed top-5. Treyton Harris and Jakub Andrzejczak went 7-8 in the long jump while Willie Morrison was awarded the bronze medal in the shot put. Even though the Hoosiers had locked up the championship prior to the 4x400m relay, Dushawn Tunstall, Vaugh, Royal, and Williams raced to a fourth-place finish.

The Indiana women also made a splash at conference championships where they finished in fourth with 74 points. Leah Moran and Bailey Hertenstein were the lone Hoosiers on the women's side to earn conference individual titles. Megan Grabowski scored in the both 60m and 200m while Alyssa Robinson joined her in the 200m. Joely Pinkston captured points for the Hoosiers in the 800m. Grace Walther concluded her indoor career by grabbing a point in the mile. The DMR squad consisting of Walther, Janii Jenkins, Mallory Mulzer, and Jenna Barker made the podium. In the field, Alexis Hill and Princess Brinkley took third and eighth in the weight throw. Khayla Dawson and Maddy Pollard went 3-4 in the shot put. Anna Watson took bronze in the pole vault.

Five Hoosiers walked away from Big Ten Championships as an individual champion. Coulon took gold in the pole vault for the second consecutive season. His winning height of 5.56m (18' 2.75") was the Big Ten all-time record. Matching his personal best of 2.23m (7' 3.75") in the high jump, Etienne won his first career Big Ten individual title. Rounding out the individual championships was the DMR team consisting of Browning, Tunstall, Williams, and Schadler who cruised to victory. Moran was crowned as a Big Ten Champion in the long jump after seeing a distance of 6.26m (20' 6.5"). Moran was crowned as a Big Ten Champion in the long jump after seeing a distance of 6.26m (20' 6.5"). Moran also captured silver in the triple jump. Hertenstein won her first career Big Ten title as she crossed first in the 3000m. She also returned to the oval to place eighth in the 5000m.

After a successful season comes postseason awards for Indiana. Upon leading the Indiana men to a conference championship, Helmer was unanimously selected as the Big Ten Men's Coach of the Year. He was also honored as the USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Men's Coach of the Year. Upon his regional award, Helmer was named as finalist for the USTFCCCA 2019-20 Indoor Track & Field Men's Coach of the Year.

10 different Hoosiers were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week throughout the season. Indiana saw the most student-athletes earn weekly honors among Big Ten programs. Hoosiers earning athlete of the week accolades were Brathwaite, Coulon, Dawson, Etienne, Mau, Moran, Morrison, Pollard, Natalie Price, and Williams.

Four school records fell this season and they all went down in the first meet of the season. At the Hoosier Open Brathwaite, Moran, Price, and Williams all broke program records in their respective events. Brathwaite clocked a time of 6.66 in the 60m to take over all the program leader. Moran broke a 15-year-old record in the triple jump after soaring to a mark of 13.14m (43' 1.5"). The senior would go on to break her own record at the Tyson Invite after seeing a mark of 13.22m (43' 4.5"). Crossing the finish line with a smile on her face, Price inked her name at the top of the record book in the 500m in a time of 1:09.87. Her time was also a meet and Gladstein Fieldhouse record. Williams rounded out the group of Hoosiers by breaking a 32-year-old record in the 1000m that was set by Mark Deady. He won the event with a time of 2:22.16.