Not only does Indiana University have home track advantage this Friday and Saturday, it also has a notable season under the belt so far.

Indiana will be the team Eastern needs to watch out for at the Indiana Relays this weekend.

The Hoosiers opened their indoor season at home, and several athletes shattered school records in the process.

In the women’s 5,000-meter run, Katherine Receveur set the Indiana school record with her time of 15 minutes, 50.30 seconds.

Bryce Miller is now the Hoosiers’ eighth all-time 5,000-meter runner after finishing the race in 13:59.04.

Willie Morrison broke a 20-year record after he tossed the shot put 63 feet, 10.5 inches.

Brenna Calder set a school record in the 1,000-meter run as well.

Indiana’s second home meet was a faceoff with the University of Tennessee in a duals meet.

The men’s team took a decisive victory over Tennessee, earning 71.5 points over Tennessee’s 49.5 points. The Hoosier women toppled their counterparts 65-53.

Indiana shined in field events where the men earned 12 top-five finishes and the women took home 11.

The Hoosiers once again dominated their opponents in their third meet of the season when they took on Big 10 opponent Purdue.

The men earned 91 points over the Boilermakers 43, and the women upset 10th-ranked Purdue with a 73-62 win.

Indiana was also recently ranked first in dual meets by trackandfieldnews.com.

Although the ranking admittedly has no bearing on the team’s successes, it does indicate that the team is being recognized for its performances so far this season.

How does Eastern stack up

The Eastern men have won one meet this season while the women have placed as high as second in one of the three indoor competitions.

However, individuals on each team have had stand out performances in their respective events.

Sophomore shot putter Adam Kessler has been a leader in the event as he has earned first place finishes in both of Eastern’s home meets.

Kessler threw his personal best indoor throw at the John Craft Invite, where he threw for 54’08”.

Senior thrower Bryn Buckwalter took first in the shot put and weight throw at the invite as well. She threw a record-breaking 49’07.75” in shot put and 57’11.25” in weight throw this season.

Senior Riley McInerney has been stellar in the mile run and the 3,000-meter run as well. McInerney recently snatched the eighth place school record in the 3,000-meter run as he ran the race in 8:15.75 at the Illini Classic in mid-January.

Senior Jamal Robinson was less than a second away from his personal-best time at the John Craft Invite where he covered 200 meters in 22.49 seconds.

Eastern has fared well against tough opponents in the duration of the season but will need to bring its best competition and performances to Bloomington on Friday and Saturday.

Kaitlin Cordes can be reached at 581-2812 or krcordes@eiu.edu