Ron Helmer - Track and Field Coach - Indiana University Athletics

Ron Helmer

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
rhelmer@indiana.edu

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
ALL-AMERICANS – 424
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS - 8
NATIONAL ATHLETES OF THE YEAR - 1
NCAA TOP-10 TEAMS - 28
BIG TEN CHAMPIONS - 60
BIG TEN ATHLETES OF THE YEAR - 10
BIG TEN FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR - 4
BIG TEN COACH OF THE YEAR - 4
GREAT LAKES ATHLETES OF THE YEAR - 12
GREAT LAKES COACH OF THE YEAR - 5
BIG EAST CHAMPIONS - 213
BIG EAST TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS - 15

Ron Helmer finished his 16th season as the Indiana Director and Head Coach of Men's and Women's Track and Field and Cross Country in 2023 after being named to the position on May 25, 2007.

The 2022-2023 campaign was his final season coaching Cross Country and Track and Field following over 50 years of experience in the sport.

Cross Country
The first season for the Hoosiers under Helmer produced an NCAA appearance from the men’s side. The team, which included three true freshmen, was led by junior Tim McLeod, placed 28th overall as a team after a fourth place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional.

In 2008, Helmer had two of his pupils earn All- Big Ten honors, in Wendi Robinson and McLeod. Robinson later qualified for the NCAA Championships, where she earned All-America honors in 28th-place.

In 2009 the The Indiana women advanced to the NCAA Championships in cross country for the first time since 2004. The team of Wendi Robinson, Sarah Pease, Chelsea Blanchard, Helene Delone and Caitlin Engel finished 31st.

The 2010 was one of Helmer’s most successful seasons with Indiana. The men's cross country team took seventh at NCAAs and second at Big Tens, with Andrew Poore finishing as an All-American and Bayer placing second at the Big Ten meet.

The 2011 season built off the success of the prior season, securing a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships and a seventh place finish at the NCAA Championships for the men’s team.

In 2012, Kelsey Duerksen qualified as an individual for the NCAA Championships with a 14th place finish at the Great Lakes Regional meet.

The 2013 cross country season was a special one for the Hoosiers as Helmer guided the team to its first Big Ten Championship since 1980. The men went on to finish eighth at the NCAA Championships, their third top-10 finish in the last four seasons. The women also qualified for the NCAA Championships and had their best finish since 2002.

The 2016 season was a resurgent year for the Hoosiers. The men’s team finished third at the Big Ten Championships and were snubbed from a spot in the NCAA Championships. However, Matt Schwartzer and Jason Crist both ran as individuals, the latter taking home All-American honors. Ben Veatch was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Katherine Receveur broke onto the scene, earning All-Big Ten and All-America distinctions with an 11th place finish.

During the 2017 season Katherine Receveur emerged victorious at the Big Ten Championships by capturing gold. She was also named Big Ten Cross Country Athlete of the Year. At NCAA Championships the women’s squad placed 24th while Receveur led the Hoosiers with a 20th place finish for All-American honors. Ben Veatch competed individually at the championships.

2018 provided to be a pivotal year for the cross-country program at Indiana. Both teams earned at-large bids to the NCAA Championships after both placing fifth at the Great Lakes Regional. For the first time in program history both squads earned top-20 finishes at the championships as the women’s placed 17th and the men finished in 18th. Individually, Kyle Mau earned an automatic bid to the championships by placing fourth at regionals. Maggie Allen earned All-America honors for her 36th effort at NCAAs.

In 2019 and for second straight season, both the men's and women's squads earned at-large bids to the NCAA Championships. Ben Veatch earned an auto-individual bid to NCAAs with his fourth place finish at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. The NCAA Championships brought in a 13th place finish for the men, including All-America status for Kyle Mau. The women placed 19th with Bailey Hertenstein racing to All-American accolades. Helmer also helped coached both teams to second on the men's side and fourth on the women's side at Big Ten Championships.

After the 2020 cross country season was moved to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Helmer helped coached the men’s team to second at Big Ten Championships while the women placed fourth. Helmer tallied another six All-Big Ten selections in Jake Gebhardt, Arjun Jha, Matthew Schadler, Sarah Schmitt, Skylar Stidam, and Ben Veatch who all landed on the second team. Both squads earned at-large bid the NCAA Championships for the third-consecutive season. Bailey Hertenstein repeated as an All-American with her 28th place finish. Hertenstein was also the conference runner-up and earned All-Big Ten First Team. The women would finish NCAA’s in 19th place while the men took home 26^th overall.

During the fall of 2021, the men ran to a 4th-place finish at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships while the women finished 5th. The Hoosiers finished third on the men's side in 2022 highlighted by Gabriel Sanchez's outstanding runner-up finish individually.

Track and Field
In his first season at the helm of the Hoosiers, Helmer guided the men's and women's track and field teams to improvements during the indoor and outdoor seasons. The indoor portion of the year was highlighted by a Big Ten individual championship for Audrey Smoot in the 600-meter run.

The indoor season culminated in a trio of Hoosiers representing the women's team at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Helmer's first outdoor season at IU also proved successful as Indiana had two Big Ten individual champions with Jenkins in the triple jump and Kiwan Lawson in the long jump.

The success from the Big Ten Championships led to seven student-athletes from Indiana competing in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The Hoosiers produced two All-Americans in Lawson and Coover.

Indiana track and field showed itself as a program on the rise in 2008-09, registering eight All-Americans across all three seasons. During the indoor season, Helmer saw Big Ten title wins from Tiffany Howard (shot put) and Jeff Coover (pole vault). Coover was named Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year and went on to earn All-America honors for a fourth-place finish in the pole vault.

Derek Drouin went on to finish as the NCAA runner-up in the high jump, Vera Neuenswander (sixth in the pole vault) and the team's distance medley relay (seventh) foursome each claimed All-America honors. The outdoor slate saw the Hoosiers claim three more All-America certificates and three more Big Ten titles. Drouin (high jump), Lawson (long jump) and Rhoades (high jump) all won Big Ten crowns. Drouin was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and went on to claim Great Lakes Region Athlete of the Year.

Twenty-three Hoosiers made the trip to the Mideast Regional and seven advanced to the NCAA Championships. Neuenswander and Drouin each won the regional. At the NCAA Championships, Tiffany Howard (shot put), Pease (steeplechase) and Neuenswander (pole vault) claimed All-America honors. Neuenswander finished second in the pole vault and went on to garner ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America honors.

Helmer's third year at Indiana, the 2009-10 season, proved to be record-setting. With 13 indoor All-Americans, Helmer's squads produced more All-America certificates than any other indoor season in IU history. The men’s team finished sixth overall at NCAA Indoors, marking the best performance by an IU team since the 2005 meet. The Hoosier women posted a 16th-place finish at the NCAA outdoor meet, while the men took 20th. Indiana finished the year with 18 All-Americans, nine Big Ten champions and three Big Ten Athlete of the Year Awards.

The biggest highlight of the year for Indiana in 2010 was Derek Drouin. The sophomore won NCAA titles during the indoor and outdoor seasons in the high jump as well as being named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year for both seasons. Drouin went on to win the Canadian National Championship as well.

On the women's side, Molly Beckwith posted a second-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m. Beckwith followed her NCAA performance with a tour of Europe, where she finished an 800m race in 1:59.83, a performance that merited a professional contract with Saucony.

Bayer had a remarkable indoor campaign, breaking four minutes in the mile and eight minutes in the 3,000m, and then taking third at NCAAs in the 3,000m. He was joined by Andrew Poore as an All-American in the 3,000m. De'Sean Turner added All-America honors in the steeplechase during the outdoor season.

Junior Faith Sherrill was the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year after smashing three IU records in the throws, two Big Ten titles and earning three All-America certificates. Sarah Pease made a name for herself in the steeplechase, taking fourth at both the NCAA Championships and the USA Championships. Ashley Rhoades earned All-America honors at the NCAA indoor meet in the high jump.

The fourth year of the Helmer era, the 2010-11 season, was a historic one for the Hoosiers program. The season included two top-10 NCAA finishes, two Big Ten runner-up finishes, 26 All-Americans, one NCAA Individual Championship and four Big Ten records.

Helmer was awarded USTFCCCA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year honors for the Indoor season. At the season's conclusion, five Hoosiers were honored with the distinguished Academic All-America award. Andy Bayer became the first male track athlete in school history to be honored and was joined by Chelsea Blanchard, Vera Neuenswander, Sarah Pease and Faith Sherrill.

Indoors, the IU men were again runners-up behind Big Ten Champions Kind Butler (60m), Derek Drouin (High Jump) and Andrew Poore (5,000m). Faith Sherrill won the Big Ten shot put crown for the women. At NCAAs, the Hoosiers finished sixth with Drouin winning his third NCAA high jump crown with a Big Ten and Canadian national record clearance of 2.33m (7-7.75) en route to USTFCCCA Field Athlete of the Year honors.

Andy Bayer highlighted nine other All-Americans for IU at the meet. Bayer took third in the 3,000m and led the Hoosiers to second in the DMR, clocking the fastest anchor leg ever recorded, splitting 3:53. Sherrill broke the all-time Big Ten record by 2 feet and 6.5 inches in the shot put with her first throw of the season, 18.00m (59-0.75). Bayer, Drouin and Sherrill each garnered Big Ten and Great Lakes Athlete of the Year honors for the indoor season.

Outdoors, the women took third at Big Tens and 23rd at NCAAs and the men took fourth at Big Tens and 20th at NCAAs. Ben Hubers (1,500m), Neuenswander (pole vault), Pease (steeplechase), Sherrill (shot put) and De'Sean Turner (steeplechase) claimed Big Ten titles and 12 Hoosiers earned All-America honors. Neuenswander tied the Big Ten record in the pole vault to win at Big Tens, clearing 4.36m (14-3.5) to put the exclamation point on a 1-2 finish with teammate Kelsie Ahbe. Neuenswander and Ahbe went on to All-American finishes at NCAAs. Pease won her first Big Ten crown in the steeple, joining Turner in leading what was dubbed the "sweeplechase", as IU had three of the top four finishers in both the men's and women's races at Big Tens. At NCAAs, Poore led the way, taking third in the steeplechase. It was a historic season in the 4x100m relay for the Hoosiers, as Tyler Sult, Butler, Chris Vaughn and Devin Pipkin became the first All-American relay for IU in 30 years.

The 2011-12 season was the fifth under Helmer's guidance, and it proved to be one of the greatest ever for the men's program. The men’s team won the Big Ten Indoor title behind excellent weekends from Andy Bayer and Kind Butler. IU’s team championships was the first conference title in 20 years. Bayer won the Big Ten mile and 3,000m crowns, while Butler won the 200 and Darius King won the high jump. The Hoosiers went on to send 11 to the NCAA Indoor meet, with all 11 coming back All-Americans.

The team finished sixth at the national meet, scoring 25 points, including second place finishes in the distance medley relay and from King in the high jump. The 2012 outdoor season saw the Hoosiers take third in the Big Ten, getting individual titles from Bayer in the 1,500m, Zach Mayhew in the 10,000m and Derek Drouin in the high jump. Bayer would go on to lead 14 NCAA qualifiers by winning the 1,500m NCAA title en route to 11 Hoosiers earning All-America honors. Bayer's title is the eighth by a Helmer pupil, and the fourth since Helmer arrived at IU.

Bayer and Chelsea Blanchard earned Academic All-America honors for the second consecutive season. Drouin was the NCAA runner-up. That summer, Drouin qualified for the London Olympics, where he tied for third place to win a bronze medal for Canada. Drouin was awarded for Athletics Canada's performance of the year and as the field athlete of the year.

The 2013-14 season was successful for the Hoosiers with four Big Ten Championships and nine All-America honors. The IU men's distance medley relay team earned All-America honors for the sixth straight year, with a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Senior Kyla Buckley won Big Ten Championship titles in the shot put in the indoor and outdoor season. Fellow senior Kelsie Ahbe won the Big Ten Indoor Championship in the pole vault and went on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a school record jump of 4.40m to finish in second-place.

The 2015-16 season was a bit of a rebuilding project for the coaching staff. The indoor season produced two Big Ten Champions in Daniel Kuhn (600m run) and Sydney Clute (pole vault). Three Hoosiers qualified for the NCAA Championships, all earning Second-Team All-America honors. Clute backed up her indoor title by winning Big Ten gold at the outdoor championships with a mark of 4.42m (14-6), breaking the school and meet record. She would go on to finished fourth at the NCAA Championships. Laura Schroeder and Nakel McClinton finished first and second in the hammer throw at the Big Tens.

The Hoosiers won the 2016-17 Men’s Indoor Big Ten Championships on the strength of a well-balanced effort. Men’s event winners included Kuhn (600m), the distance medley relay, Eric Bethea (triple jump), Treyton Harris (long jump) and Willie Morrison (shot put). Katherine Receveur won the 5k with a school record mark of 15:28.99. The men’s DMR team of Joe Murphy, Markevious Roach, Daniel Kuhn and Kyle Mau finished fifth at the NCAA Championships. Kuhn finished sixth individually in the 800m and Receveur was also sixth in the 3k. In the outdoor season, Sydney Clute nabbed her third Big Ten Championship in the pole vault. He also mentored All-Americans Katherine Receveur and Jason Crist.

The 2017-18 indoor season brought home Track Athlete of the Big Ten Championships in Katherine Receveur along with four individual Big Ten titles. Daniel Kuhn (600m), Kyle Mau (mile), Receveur (3000m and 500m). There were eleven All-American accolades presented to the Hoosiers. Kelsey Harris (800m), Daniel Kuhn (800m), Kyle Mau (DMR and 3000m), and the men’s and women’s DMR squad collected honors at NCAA Championships. During outdoor, Willie Morrison was crowned Big Ten Champion in the shot put while Receveur earned gold in the 5000m at Big Ten Championships. Three Hooisers took All-American honors at outdoor championships, Maggie Allen (10000m), Adam Coulon (pole vault), and Ben Veatch (5000m).

Indiana Track & Field brought themselves up to the big stage during the 2018-19 season. At Big Ten Indoor Championships, Eric Bethea (triple jump), Jenna Jungels (long jump), and Ben Veatch (3000m) all walked away as conference champions. Both the men and women finished in second place overall. Indoor NCAA Championships saw eight individuals and two relay teams earn All-America accolades. The individuals were Eric Bethea (triple jump), Princess Brinkley (weight throw), Adam Coulon (pole vault), Khayla Dawson (shot put), Kelsey Harris (800m), Kyle Mau (mile and 3000m), Cooper Williams (800m), and Ben Veatch (5000m).

Both DMR squads picked up All-America credit as well. During Big Ten Outdoor Championships seven individuals walked away as champions including Maggie Allen (10000m), Adam Coulon (pole vault), Khayla Dawson (shoot put), Leah Moran (triple jump), Anna Watson (pole vault), Cooper Williams (800m), and Ben Veatch (5000m). As a team, both the men and women took second place. During the outdoor season, there were seven individuals that earned All-America accolades. Eric Bethea (triple jump), Adam Coulon (pole vault), Khyala Dawson (shot put), Daniel Michalski (steeplechase), Maddy Pollard (shot put) and Cooper Williams (800m) all walked away as All-Americans.

The 2019-20 season brought monumental success to the track & field program. For the first time since 2017 the men brought home the Big Ten Indoor Championship team title with 120.5 points. There were also five individual Big Ten Champions-- Adam Coulon (pole vault), Jyles Etienne (high jump), Bailey Hertenstein (3000m), Leah Moran (Long Jump), and the men's DRM squad. During the first meet of the season four school records fell at Hoosier Open. Rikkoi 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"). Natalie Price inked her name at the top of the record book in the 500m in a time of 1:09.87. Cooper 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.

In an abnormal season, Helmer and the Hoosiers competed among just its Big Ten foes for the 2021 indoor and outdoor season. The indoor season saw the men’s take runner-up while the women finished in sixth at the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships. The championships saw four individuals rake in Big Ten Championships—Rikkoi Brathwaite (60m), Nathan Stone (pole vault), Ben Veatch (3000m & 5000m), and Cooper Williams (600m). At indoor National Championships Brathwaite took bronze and was a first team All-American. Maddy Pollard (Shot Put), Veatch (5000m), and the men’s distance medley relay squad consisting of Teddy Browning, Shaton Vaughn, Williams, and Arjun Jha captured All-America first team accolades.

Williams and Stone earned All-American second team accolades. There were three school records broken throughout the season. The women’s out 400m (Natalie Price), 1500m (Kelsey Harris), 5000m (Bailey Hertenstein), triple jump (Leah Moran), the men’s indoor 60m (Rikkoi Brathwaite), 1000m (Matthew Schadler), and 5000m (Ben Veatch) were all broken. Turning to the outdoor slate, Leah Moran (triple jump), Nathan Stone (pole vault), and Ben Veatch (10,000m) were crowned Big Ten Champions in their respective events. The Hoosiers earned 35 entries to the NCAA Great Lakes East Prelims with eight advancing to the NCAA National Championships. Indiana collected one first team All-America selections and five second team honors.

The 2022 Track and Field season saw the Hoosiers take 11 total entries combined between the Indoor and Outdoor seasons to the NCAA Track and Field Championships. Rikkoi Brathwaite was the NCAA Indoor runner-up in the 60 meters.

In 2023, Helmer coached Camden Marshall to his second Big Ten title and his first outdoors with an outstanding race at 800 meters in the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. The Hoosiers earned First Team All-American honors in the Distance Medley Relay with a fifth-place finish indoors in Albuquerque. They broke the program record with a time of 9:22.16 including an outstanding 3:54 anchor carry from Jake Gebhardt.

Before Indiana
Prior to coming to IU, Helmer served as the director and head coach at Georgetown University for eight years. He was promoted to director in July 1999 after serving as associate head coach with the Hoyas for seven seasons and assistant coach the five years prior. During his tenure, 120 of his student-athletes earned a total of 342 All-America recognitions, including 41 student-athletes receiving 96 certificates since becoming director in 1999. In addition, 219 student-athletes captured BIG EAST individual titles, including 67 after he became director. At the NCAA Championships, he guided 27 athletes or relay teams to a top-three finish, highlighted by four national champions - Joline Staeheli (mile, 1996), Miesha Marzell (1500m, 1996) and two distance medley relay champions (1997, 1999).

He saw his teams earn 22 top-10 finishes in NCAA Championship action, including a streak of 15 straight at the cross country championships that ended in 2003. Among the top-10 finishes were seven top-four trophy finishes, including a third at the 1998 NCAA Indoor Championships and a fourth-place finish at the 2002 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Helmer led Hoya teams to the Championship of America relay titles at the Penn Relays, the latest being the 2004 men's 4x800m squad with a time of 7:13.75, the seventh-fastest time in collegiate history. He was part of 37 BIG EAST Championship teams and his student-athletes were honored 11 times as the Robert A. Duffey Scholar-Athlete award winner, given to the student-athlete who best embodies academic and athletic excellence.

In January 2006, Helmer was the recipient of the Coaches Achievement Program award presented by Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. The Coaches Achievement Program honors coaches at select BIG EAST member institutions for excellence in coaching, mentoring and community service.

Helmer came to Georgetown from Woodbridge High School in Virginia, where he served as head coach for four years. Prior to that, he was the head coach at Virginia High School in Bristol, Va., for eight years. He was named Virginia Cross Country Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1983, along with being selected as the Virginia Girls' Track Coach of the Year in 1981. Topping off the honors, Helmer was selected as the Boys' Cross Country Coach of the Decade in Virginia. During his career, Helmer's teams won 45 district, 35 regional and 10 state championships. Individually, he produced nine high school All-Americans and 13 Foot Locker National Cross Country qualifiers.

Personal
Helmer is a graduate of Southwestern College located in Winfield, Kan., where he received a bachelor of arts degree in math. In October 2004, he was inducted into the Southwestern College Athletic Hall of Fame. He continued his education at East Tennessee State University, where he earned his master's degree in physical education, with a focus in biomechanics and human kinetics.

Helmer has three children, Tori, a teacher, Justin, a teacher and basketball and track coach, and Kari, a recent graduate of IU, and a granddaughter - Rylee and a grandson - Brody.