Indiana runners Cole Hocker, Christian Noble and Noah Malone post historic times
Cole Hocker nearly ran to a world record. Christian Noble set a national record. And Noah Malone exceeded a world record.
It was all part of a big weekend for Indiana in track and field.
At Saturday night’s Oregon Relays, Hocker was part of a foursome of former Oregon runners attempting to break the world record in the four-mile relay — 15:49.08 by Ireland, set in 1985.
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Matt Wisner (3:59.69), James West (4:01.81), Hocker (3:57.31) and Cooper Teare (3:53.24) clocked a collective 15:52.05 for the second-fastest time in history. The time is not eligible for an American record because West is from England.
The 20-year-old Hocker, a Cathedral graduate who was sixth in the 1,500 meters at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, is aiming for July’s World Championships on his home Hayward Field track at Eugene.
On Friday night, Mt. Vernon graduate Christian Noble won the 1,500 in 3:36.00 to set an NCAA Division II record. Noble, of Lee University (Tenn.), broke the record of 3:37.35 set by Western Oregon’s David Ribich in 2018.
Hocker helped his fellow Hoosier by pacing the first 1,100 meters for Noble, who covered the closing 400 in 56.40.
Noble said he had been “eye-balling” the record for a while.
“To come out here and do it in Hayward was amazing — especially having Cole pace it,” he said. “It was just magical.”
An hour later, he finished fifth in the 5,000 in 13:35.61. His best is 13:24.78, or No. 2 in Division II history.
Noble, too, can aim at worlds because he has qualified for June’s USA Championships, also at Eugene. For 2022, his time is No. 1 by an American and No. 4 in the world.
On Feb. 27, he set Division II indoor records in the mile (3:56.10) and 3,000 meters (7:50.98).
At Terre Haute, Malone won the 200 meters Saturday in 20.34. Although it cannot be a record because of excessive wind (4.0 meters per second), the time is 10th in the NCAA and placed him on the year’s world list.
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The 20-year-old Indiana State sprinter from Hamilton Southeastern won three medals at the 2021 Paralympics in the T12 classification for the visually impaired.
Malone should soon crush the listed para athletics world record of 21.56 set by Poland’s Mateusz Michalski at the 2012 London Paralympics. Malone should be credited with the record already because he clocked a wind-legal 21.31 in the 2019 state meet at Bloomington.
Indiana State’s JaVaughn Moore won the 100 in 10.06 (+3.9) to rank No. 5 in the NCAA.
IU jumper breaks Olympian’s record
In the Indiana Invitational at Bloomington, Paola Fernandez-Sola finished first in the women’s long jump, breaking the IU record held by Olympian Rose Richmond. Fernandez-Sola, of Puerto Rico, jumped 21 feet, 8 ¼ inches and ranks No. 10 in the world.
Elsewhere, freshman Jayden Ulrich won the women’s discus with a distance of 187-8, also an IU record. Purdue sophomore Safin Wills won the men’s triple jump at 53-1 ¾, best in the Big Ten this year, and Purdue sophomore Cierra Williams (Warren Central) took the women’s 400 in 53.17.
Hoosiers freshman Camden Marshall (Corydon Central) was fourth in the men’s 1,500 in 3:42.20, climbing to No. 6 on the world under-20 list.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana runners Cole Hocker, Christian Noble, Noah Malone post historic times
