Jefferson, Powers take All-American honors at Championships

Heading into the NCAA Cross Country Championships Nov. 24, the most important thing for senior Chris Powers and sophomore Sean Jefferson was the team's success. Although the team fell just short of a top-10 finish and the highest place in school history, it was a good day individually for Powers and Jefferson.\nThe two Hoosier runners earned All-American honors with Jefferson coming in 19th and Powers in 33rd overall. The top 35 finishers are All-Americans.\nPowers said he was excited about the honors in his last cross country race as a Hoosier.\n"It was great to finish my cross country career like that and do something I have been focusing on for such a long time," Powers said. "As a senior, being an All-American has been my goal since I got to IU, and it feels great to have finally achieved my goal."\nPowers ran a very consistent race and when it came to the end, he knew what it was going to take to be an All-American. He was running strong through the whole race and in about 50th place through nine kilometers of the 10K race. \nWith 1,000 meters to go, IU coach Robert Chapman told him that he needed to pass several runners to be an All-American.\n"At about the 9K mark, Chapman yelled at me that I had to pass some guys heading into the finish," Powers said. "So I passed about 10 or 15 guys and had one of the best finishes to any race I have ever had."\nChapman recognized that Powers had the right mindset and the desire to become an All-American from the very beginning of the season.\n"From day one, Powers knew he wanted the team to do well, and he wanted to be an All-American," Chapman said. "He had a clear vision of what he wanted to accomplish and the daily focus and persistence to make it a reality."\nAlthough Powers had a great performance, Jefferson stole the show. The sophomore placed the highest for a Hoosier at the National meet since Bob Kennedy won the individual title in 1992. \nJefferson ran a personal best time of 29:57 for the 10K, improving his time from the Regional by 43 seconds.\nThis was the first All-American honor for Jefferson in his short career. His brother, sophomore John Jefferson, has already been an All-American twice. \n"It feels really great to be an All-American and have an honor like this," Jefferson said. "I am really excited about this and joining my brother with All-American honors."\nChapman has noticed the gradual progression and the steady improvement in Sean's running. He said that by believing in the Hoosiers system, Sean was able to achieve such a high honor.\n"For Sean, he believed in our game plan, both training and racing, even though it was a lot different from what he would typically do in high school," Chapman said. "He approached this whole season very professionally and the maturity he has shown has been tremendous."\nWith the cross country season over, the two runners now are looking ahead to the track and field season. Powers says that the All-American honors in cross country are only going to help him heading into the track season.\n"Being an All-American in cross country gives me confidence for track season," Powers said. "Now I am focusing on becoming an All-American in indoor and outdoor track."\n-- Contact staff writer Alex Witteveld at pawittev@indiana.edu.