Indianapolis 500 the Greatest Spectacle in Racing is this Sunday
The 107th running of the Indianapolis 500 is this Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as 33 drivers go 200 laps and 500 miles around the two- and half-mile oval. Thier goal is to cross the yard of bricks first, kiss the bricks, get the Borg Warner Trophy and drink the milk in victory lane. The TV coverage beings at 11am on NBC with the Green Flag set to drop at 12:45pm. The race is blacked out in the Indianapolis Market and will be shown Sunday Night on WTHR Channel 13 starting at 7 pm.
Alex Palou will lead the 33-car field to green in the Indianapolis 500 after the young Spaniard put together the fastest four-lap pole run in history on Sunday, edging Rinus VeeKay and Felix Rosenqvist to give Chip Ganassi Racing its third consecutive pole in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Palou, who won on the road course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, whipped four laps around the historic 2.5-mile speedway at an average of 234.217 mph. That was a mere 0.007 mph faster than VeeKay, who still gave Ed Carpenter Racing a front-row starting spot for the ninth time in the past 11 years. Palou surpassed the record pole run of 234.046 mph that Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon put up last year. It also was the second-fastest qualifying effort, trailing only Arie Luyendyk’s 236.986, which he set the day after pole qualifying in 1996.
Two-time Academy Award nominee Adam Driver, who will soon be starring as Enzo Ferrari in a biopic of the Italian automobile magnate, will serve as the honorary starter for the race. Driver perhaps most famously played Kylo Ren in the three most recent Star Wars films, and he was nominated for Academy Awards for his work in “BlacKkKlansman” and “Marriage Story.” Driver also has received four Primetime Emmy nominations for the comedy-drama “Girls” and his guest appearance on “Saturday Night Live” in 2020. Driver grew up in Mishawaka in northern Indiana before serving in the armed forces with the Marines. He returned from duty and enrolled at the University of Indianapolis before auditioning for Julliard, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. His other film credits include “House of Gucci” by Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh’s “Logan Lucky” and “Silence” by Martin Scorsese. He also appeared on and off Broadway in “Look Back in Anger” and the revival of Lanford Wilson’s “Burn This.”
Angela Brown an Indianapolis native and world-renowned opera soprano sang “God Bless America” during the 2017 race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in advance of the race. She’ll do it again before this year’s race. The Indianapolis native appeared in March on WISH-TV’s “Life.Style.Live,” sharing her personal faith moments with News 8’s Randy Ollis. She also was featured on News 8 in March as part of the “Celebrating Women’s History” series. “I’m excited to be part of the global experience that is the Indianapolis 500,” Brown said in a statement from IMS. IMS President Doug Boles said in the statement, “As a Hoosier, she knows just how much the Indy 500 means to all of us, and you will hear that passion in her voice and performance.”
Indiana University Baseball falls to Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament
Four Iowa runs in the seventh innings turned a three-run lead for the Indiana baseball program into a one-run deficit and an eventual loss in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. Indiana will face Michigan at 3pm this afternoon in an elimination game. The winner of that contest will need to beat Iowa twice on Saturday to reach the Big Ten Tournament championship game on Sunday. Each game of the Tournament will be carried on the Big Ten Network and Indiana Sports Radio Network via IUHoosiers.com/Audio. After the Hoosiers built a 4-1 lead, the Hawkeyes scored the final eight runs of the game to grab the 9-4 win. The home team on the scoreboard, Indiana (41-17) opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first inning, before both teams plated single runs in the second. After IU plated one in the bottom of the sixth to build a 4-1 lead, Iowa (41-13) took the lead with a four-run seventh. The Hawkeyes scored four more in the ninth inning.
Sophomore Luke Sinnard didn’t factor into the decision after he allowed one unearned run over six innings in the start. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five. With the five strikeouts, Sinnard moved his single season total to 109, which ties the program’s single season record with Vernon Wilshere (1934) and Eric Arnett (2009). Redshirt senior Craig Yoho allowed three of the four seventh inning runs on two hits and a walk over one-third of an inning of work. Freshman Connor Foley (3-2) took the loss with one run allowed on one hit with a pair of walks in an inning of work. Sophomore Luke Hayden worked the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed four runs on three hits with two strikeouts.
Sophomore Brock Tibbitts drove in a pair of RBIs with a double to move his season total to 66 runs batted in, a total that sits tied for No. 9 on the single season charts with Josh Phegley (2009). Senior Phillip Glasser reached base three times in the contest with a single and two walks. He added one RBI and one run scored. Senior Hunter Jessee scored two runs and was on-base twice thanks to a pair of hit-by-pitch. Kyle Huckstorf continued to be a thorn in the Hoosiers side as he had two hits, one run scored and three RBIs in the game. Eight of nine starters collected hits in the game and all nine starters reached base at least once in the contest. Will Christophers (4-1) picked up the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless work with six strikeouts.
Indiana University Softball player Taryn Kern named top-3 TUCCI/NFCA National Freshman of the Year Finalist
Indiana freshman second baseman Taryn Kern was named as one of the top-three finalists for the TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association committee announced on Thursday afternoon. Kern started in all 62 games for the Hoosiers and finished the season with a .404 batting average. The freshman broke the program’s single-season home run, RBI and run scored records. More recently, Kern earned NFCA All-Region First Team in addition being named the Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year and selected to the All-Big Ten First Team and All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
The San Jose, Calif., native leads the Hoosiers offense as well as eight offensive statistical categories in the Big Ten: slugging percentage, OBS, OPS, RBI, home runs, walks, and hit by pitch and runs scored. She ranked third in conference in batting average and sixth in hits. Kern wrapped the season with 23 long balls that tied the Big Ten Freshman single-season home run record. She is tied second in the nation behind Tennessee’s KiKi Milloy.
The TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year is set to be revealed on May 30. The TUCCI/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award was created in 2014 to honor outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. In order to be eligible for this award, each student-athlete must be a true freshman or a redshirt freshman and be nominated by their member head coach.
Indiana University Rowing competes in the NCAA Championships
No. 16-ranked Indiana rowing will begin competition in the 2023 NCAA Rowing Championship this morning. The regatta runs through Sunday at the Camden County Boathouse in Pennsauken, New Jersey. IU returns to the championship meet for the seventh time in nine full seasons after earning an at-large bid for the first time since 2019. The first day of rowing for Division-I programs is scheduled to begin at 9am this morning, beginning with Varsity Eight heats. Indiana’s V8 is entered in heat four and will race at 9:36 a.m. All three days will be streamed live on NCAA.com. Indiana reached the NCAA Championship after recording a program-record finish at the Big Ten Championships earlier this month. The Hoosiers pulled off a third-place performance as a team, highlighted by a silver-medal finish by the Varsity Eight also a program-best result.
IU head rowing coach Steve Peterson was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the first time in his 20-year stint with the Hoosiers. Peterson has led the Hoosiers to each of their seven NCAA appearances and, in 2014, was named the CRCA National Head Coach of the Year. For the first time in program history, four Hoosiers earned All-Big Ten honors. Senior Laura Feinson, the reigning Big Ten Rowing Athlete of the Year, repeated as a first-team honoree. Fellow senior Piper Maaka, a second-team selection a year ago, progressed to the first team, joining Feinson. Senior Ruby Leverington and freshman Emily Bowden each earned second-team laurels.
Indiana’s Varsity Eight is carrying momentum into the national regatta. In April, the crew beat Ohio State’s top boat head-to-head and was named the Big Ten Boat of the Week before leading the team to its sixth-straight Dale England Cup a week later. At the conference championships, the V8 surged in the last 500 of its race to secure the silver medal in front of Ohio State and Rutgers. Indiana’s 2V8 and V4 finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the conference meet. In its seven NCAA appearances, IU’s top finish is 11th, repeating the feat in 2014 and 2015.
Indiana University Golfer Drew Salyers set to compete in the NCAA Championships in Arizona
Indiana junior Drew Salyers will compete in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships over Memorial Day weekend at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Salyers is one of six individual players from a non-advancing regional team to make it to Scottsdale. He is also the No. 1 seed of those six players entering the championships. The NCAA Championships will take place from Today through Wednesday, May 31. Stroke play will be from the 26th-29th and match play will be on the 30th and 31st. Salyers will begin competition today and is guaranteed to play through at least Sunday. After those three days, if Salyers is one of the top-nine placing golfers on a non-advancing team, he will move on to play on Monday in the final round of stroke play.
The first four days of the tournament only features stroke play to determine the individual national champion. The last two days consist of match play to determine the team champion. After the first three days of stroke play, a cut is made so only the members of the top-15 advancing teams, and the top-nine placing golfers on non-advancing teams, move on. Those advancing get to play on the final day of stroke play. This is the third consecutive year that Grayhawk Golf Club has hosted both the NCAA Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships.
Drew Salyers’ appearance in the NCAA Championships is the first of his career and he is the first Hoosier to reach the NCAA Championships as an individual since Jake Brown made it in 2018. In the NCAA Auburn Regional, Salyers finished tied for fourth and shot a 212 (72-68-72; -4). He finished in the top-20 of 10 of the 12 events he played in this season. He took first place at both the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational (Oct. 16-17) and The Williams Cup (Oct. 21-23). For the season, he has shot for par and an average of 71.51 strokes per round. His season and career-low round came at the Quail Valley Collegiate Invitational when he shot a 65 for both round one and two. He finished the tournament shooting a 199 over three rounds (65-65-69; -17).
Indiana University Pole Vaulters Tyler Carrel and Nathan Stone qualify for the NCAA Championships
Tyler Carrel and Nathan Stone secured IU’s first two spots at the NCAA Outdoor Championships after finishing top-12 in the men’s pole vault at the NCAA East Prelims on Wednesday evening. A series of close calls early in the competition, including Stone’s three attempts at 5.05m/16-6.75 and Carrel’s third-attempt clearance at 5.30m/17-4.5, made for an eventful evening before the duo settled in to secure their national bids with clearances at 5.40m/17-8.5. Carrel will make his debut at the national meet while Stone makes his fourth national championship, the second outdoors. IU sends two men’s pole vaulters to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time since Adam Coulon and Brock Mammoser in 2019.
Riley Johnston, IU’s third vaulter in the field, cleared a lifetime best of 5.20m/17-0.5. The first regional meet of his career saw him finish as the top-ranked freshman in the region. He finished 20th overall, putting three IU athletes in the top-20 of the region. Not to be outdone on the night, Antonio Laidler bettered his own school record in the 100 meters. Now the sole owner of the title of fastest man in program history, Laidler dropped a 10.19 in the first round to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals. Laidler previously shared the record with Rikkoi Brathwaite (2022), having matched the program best mark of 10.20 at the Louisville Invitational in April. The Florida native was one of six-time qualifiers with six entries advancing out of his heat (2nd).
Camden Marshall cruised to a big Q in the 800 meters and a lane in Friday’s quarterfinal. He ran a comfortable 1:49.21 and advances to the quarterfinals for the second-consecutive year. The Big Ten Champion will look for his first individual bid to a national meet when he toes the line today. Keefer Soehngen, who came into the meet seeded 45th, finished 30th in 1:50.34 at his NCAA East Prelims debut. Micah Camble finished 36th in the 400-meter hurdles, running 53.05 to close out his season.
Sean Mockler fell just six feet short of qualifying for the national meet after launching the hammer 64.27m/210-0. Battling injuries during the outdoor campaign, Mockler threw in just three competitions, eclipsing 64 meters in each outing. Akron’s William Gross took the final qualifying spot out of the NCAA East Prelims with his mark of 65.97m/216-5. Mockler wraps up his sophomore season that featured a fifth-place finish in the weight throw at the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Noah Koch in his first of two events this weekend, finished 23rd in the shot put with a mark of 18.09m/4.25. The final qualifying spot in the east region was set at 18.75m/61-6.25 by Kennesaw State’s Isaiah Rogers. Koch will return to throw the discus this evening.
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