Indiana University Track and Field Earn 16 Entries for the NCAA East Regional Meet in Lexington, Kentucky
Indiana Track & Field will send 16 entries to the NCAA East First Round in Lexington, Kentucky that starts today and will continue through Saturday. The top-48 athletes in each individual event, and the top-24 relay teams, from each region are entered into the preliminary rounds. Competitors will be paired down from 48 to a group of 12 that advances from each region to comprise a field of 24 athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June. The Hoosiers will compete across 12 events in the four-day regional meet. Kenisha Phillips will run the 400 meters after she earned a spot in the top-20. Her time of 52.31 is ranked 14th in the east region. The women will compete in the 4×400 meters after qualifying with a time of 3:37.44. They are ranked in the top-25 in the east region. Phillips, Maddie Russin, Morgan Snow and Ryann Parrish earned the qualifying spot with a third-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with a time of 3:37.44.
Antonio Laidler and Micah Camble and will represent the men’s sprint squad. Laidler will run both the 100 and the 200-meter dash. He ranks 32nd in the 100m after he tied his personal best time of 10.19 at the Big Ten Championships. He ranks 27th in the 200m with a time of 20.56. Camble qualified for the 400 meter-hurdles with a time of 51.15 at the Billy Hayes Invitational and sits at No. 29 in the region. Camden Marshall and Nico Colchico will compete in the 800 meters. Marshall holds the fifth-fastest time in the east region with a time of 1:46.23 this season. Colchico is ranked in the top-25 (No. 23) in the event posting a time of 1:47.59. On the distance side, Skylar Stidam will race in the 10,000 meters. He is ranked No. 13 in the region with a time of 28:32.41. Stidam will also run in the 5,000m race alongside Austin Haskett. Haskett is currently ranked 40th with Stidam rounding out the qualifiers at 47th.
The Hoosiers will have six Hoosiers competing in the field. Mahogany Jenkins will compete in the Triple Jump event with a qualifying mark of 12.75m for the women. Grayson Rolen qualified for the men’s high jump with a season-best jump of 2.11m. The men’s pole vault group sends a trio of athletes in Nathan Stone, Tyler Carrel and Riley Johnston. Stone and Carrell sit just outside the top-10 at the 12 and 13th after clearing a bar of 5.45m this season. Johnston rounds out the entries at 5.12m in 47th. Stone earned All-American honors in 2021 and 2023, placing 13th in both appearances. Sean Mockler holds a top-10 mark in the region. His school record throw of 68.82m ranks fifth. Mockler earned Second Team All-American honors in 2022
Indiana University Football completes its 2024 Recruiting Class
With the spring transfer portal window winding down, Indiana head football coach Curt Cignetti added eight scholarship student-athletes into the mix of his first recruiting class at the helm of the program. In all, Indiana will have 46 student-athletes join the fold in 2024. Sixteen signed National Letters of Intent, while 30 transfer student-athletes arrive in Bloomington for summer workouts. Of the 46 signees, 28 arrived on campus for spring practice. Along with the 22 transfers, freshmen Tyler Cherry (Greenwood, Ind.), Dontrae Henderson (Charlotte, N.C.), Brody Kosin (Davisburg, Mich.), Mario Landino (Macungie, Pa.), Daniel Ndukwe (Lithonia, Ga.) and Josh Philostin (Palm Beach, Fla.) have enrolled in classes and participated in spring practice.
IU signed 23 players on offense, 21 on defense and two specialists. Indiana’s defense added seven defensive linemen, eight defensive backs and six linebackers, while the Hoosier offense on boarded seven offensive linemen, six running backs, five wide receivers, three quarterbacks and two tight ends. The special team’s unit added one long snapper and one kicker. The signees arrive in Bloomington from 13 different states and one from Canada. In all, 11 from Virginia signed with the Hoosiers and six more come from Georgia. Five join the roster from Florida, while four each from the Hoosier State and Pennsylvania are among the newcomers. Three each came from Maryland and Wisconsin, while two signed from Illinois and Texas. IU signed one each from Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, New York and Tennessee. Kurtis Rourke joins the program from Oakville, Ontario, via Ohio University
Indiana University Men’s Basketball will welcome Eastern Illinois on November 10
A home game on Indiana’s 2024-25 nonconference schedule has been reported. The Hoosiers are expected to host Eastern Illinois on Sunday Nov. 10 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall, The Daily Hoosier can confirm. That would likely be IU’s second or third game of the season. The regular season starts on Nov. 4. Indiana is 2-0 all-time against Eastern Illinois, with a 94-55 NCAA Tournament win in 1992, and an 88-49 win in Bloomington in 2015.
Eastern Illinois is led by former IU basketball player Marty Simmons. A member of the Ohio Valley Conference, the Panthers finished the 2023-24 season as the No. 320 team according to KenPom. They were 14-18 overall, and 8-10 in league play. Simmons was offered a two-year contract extension during the offseason. During his three years leading the program, EIU has increased their win total each season, from five, then nine and 14 a year ago. Simmons and Eastern Illinois defeated Iowa in Iowa City in 2022. A product of Lawrenceville, Ill., Simmons played two seasons at Indiana under Bob Knight (1983-84 and 1984-85) before transferring to Evansville for his final two seasons. Simmons played for IU in their 1984 Sweet 16 win over Michael Jordan and No. 1 North Carolina. He averaged 25.9 points per game for the Aces as a senior. Indiana’s Big Ten opponents for the 2024-25 season were previously released. They’ll also play three games in the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas in November.
Taylor University’s Quinn White Named USTFCCCA Assistant Coach-of-the-Year
For the fifth time in the past nine years, Taylor’s Quinn White has been named the USTFCCCA NAIA Great Lakes Region Outdoor Track and Field Assistant Coach of the Year. White was previously awarded this top honor in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022. White has claimed the same honor for the women’s team during the indoor seasons in 2019 and 2024 and the men’s team during the 2021 indoor season. Now in his 14th year as an assistant coach with the Taylor track and field programs, White saw his student-athletes rack up nine national qualification times in five events during the 2024 outdoor season, with six of those times resulting in A-standards.
Additionally, White’s middle-distance and distance athletes raced to two individual titles at the recent Crossroads League Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Ahna Neideck and Audrey Brinkruff finished first and second in the steeplechase at the CL Championships, and in the Fighting Chance Invite the following week Noel VanderWall smashed her own program record in the 1,500-meters. White’s middle-distance and distance groups enter the NAIA National Championships ranked top-10 in the NAIA in USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings in three events, led by the 5,000-meters and 1,500-meters both of which are rated No. 3. TU also rates ninth in the 800-meters. The Trojans will look to cap their impressive outdoor season with a strong showing at NAIA Nationals on May 22 through May 24.
Indy Eleven Women’s Soccer and Kings Hammer FC play to 3-3 draw
Indy Eleven came away with a 3-3 draw against Kings Hammer FC in their 2024 home opener at the Grand Park Events Center Monday evening. The Girls in Blue move to 1-0-1 on the season, while Kings Hammer is 0-0-1. Natalie Mitchell got the scoring started for the Girls in Blue with a play that developed down the right side from Ella Rogers. Rogers found an overlapping Lizzie Sexton, who sent the ball into the center of the 18. Mitchell collected the cross off a Kings Hammer defender and sent home the 23rd-minute tally for her first of the season.
Indy doubled the lead just two minutes into the second half when Addie Chester found herself on the end of an Amelia White cross inside the six. Kings Hammer stormed back to tie the match with back-to-back goals off an own goal and one from Ellie Mink in the 60th and 64th minutes, respectively. An 83rd-minute goal from Norah Jacomen, her second of the season, off White’s second assist of the evening put Indy up late, but the visitors were able to snag one back late off a 91st-minute free kick from Lily Yordy.
Indy Eleven outshot Kings Hammer 16-9 in the match with Chester coming away with a team-leading four. Ashton Blair registered four saves in goal. The Girls in Blue next host St. Charles FC Thursday at the Grand Park Events Center. Kick is slated for 7 pm with action streaming on Sports Engine Play.
Indiana Fever drop close game to the Connecticut Sun in Gainbridge Fieldhouse
Five Indiana Fever players finished the night scoring in double figures as the Indiana Fever dropped a second game this season to the Connecticut Sun, 88-84, on Monday night in front of another sold out Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Indiana (0-4) outscored Connecticut in bench points (25-4), points in the paint (48-42) and owned a four-point lead with under five minutes to play before the Sun finished the game on a 16-8 run to close out the win. In their second meeting of the year and first at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark led the Fever with 17 points and five assists each. Clark’s five assists all came in the fourth quarter, and she also recorded three rebounds and two blocks. On Monday, Mitchell moved into a tie with Fever legend and current video associate, Tully Bevilaqua, for the fifth most games played in an Indiana Fever uniform at 197 career games.
Indiana forward NaLyssa Smith finished with 13 points, six rebounds and two steals, while center Aliyah Boston posted 11 points, eight rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Off the bench, Fever center Temi Fagbenle recorded her first double-double of her WNBA career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Kristy Wallace added eight points, three assists and two rebounds, while guard Erica Wheeler recorded eight points and three assists in a reserve role as well. Former IU Star Grace Berger did not play.
Connecticut (3-0) never owned a lead larger than nine points as the Sun ultimately prevailed with forward Alyssa Thomas and forward DeWanna Bonner at the helm with 24 and 22 points respectively. Thomas played the entire game and paired her 22 points with 14 rebounds on Monday night, marking her second double-double of the season. Guards Tyasha Harris and Dijonai Carrington also scored in double figures with 16 and 14 points respectively. Indiana will tip off a three-game trip to the west coast starting with the Seattle Storm (1-3) for their first meeting of the season tonight at 10 pm. The Fever will then meet the Los Angeles Sparks (0-2) and the Las Vegas Aces (2-0) on Friday and Saturday this week. Indiana’s game against the Storm will broadcast on WTHR Channel 13.
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