Runners shine as IU places 6th at Big Tens

This past weekend, the men's track team took on its conference rivals in the Big Ten Indoor Championships at the University of Michigan, finishing sixth as a team with 58 points, four points out of fourth place. \nIn a conference stacked with distance running power, IU performed impressively, amassing 31 of its points in the distance events. \nOne of the meet's biggest surprises was junior Rodney Hollis, who grabbed second place at the start of the 800-meters and never let go, giving Michigan's defending NCAA Champion Nathan Brannen a tough race. \nHollis, whose previous season best was 1:51.56, fought off late race fatigue to ensure a silver medal with a mark of 1:49.59, just short of the IU school record. \nThe mile run, perhaps the meet's most anticipated event, delivered a good deal of excitement. Easy preliminary heat victories for sophomore All-American Sean Jefferson and U of M's NCAA mile leader Nick Willis prefaced a spectacular final. A slow first half mile left it up to Jefferson and Willis, who dueled over the final three laps, gapping the rest of the field. Willis crossed the finish line in 4:04, outlasting Jefferson's 4:06. \nIU sophomore Eric Redman finished a strong fifth in 4:08. \n"I did everything I could today," said Jefferson. "When Willis has that kind of speed, what was I going to do? I'm looking forward to NCAAs now."\nThe 3,000-meters was perhaps the meet's deepest event, teeming with seven All-Americans, all of whom finished in the top seven and dipped under the NCAA provisional standard. IU senior All-American Chris Powers took sixth in a personal best 8:07.68. Michigan's Willis won in a meet record 7:57.10. \nFast from the gun, the top finishers ran together until the final lap.\n"I knew coming in that this was going to be a race of attrition," Powers said. "I just had to latch onto the pack and hang on as long as I could." \nIU's distance medley relay also dueled with Michigan, exciting the crowd in a preview of the NCAA Championships. Tom Burns' bold lead-off leg brought IU into second place. Juniors Ryan Sarbinoff and Russell Hollis held position in their legs, turning over the baton to sophomore Stephen Haas in a close third. \nAs leaders Minnesota and Michigan slowed to prepare for a finishing sprint, Haas slowly crept up and grabbed the lead, making a valiant attempt to hold off Michigan's Brannen, eventually finishing second in 9:51 with a 4:07 anchor leg.\n"I knew he was coming, so I just tried to get as much distance between us and the rest of the teams," said Haas. \nFreshman David Neville rose to meet a stiff challenge, facing a member of the U.S. 4x400-meter relay World Championship gold medal team, Minnesota's Mitch Potter, in the 400-meters and 200-meters. Neville took second in the 400-meters and third in the 200-meters, provisionally qualifying for the NCAA Championships in both events. \nRounding out IU's scoring was freshman long jumper Kiwan Lawson, who grabbed a solid third place with a season best of 7.36 meters. Freshman Stephanos Ioannou took fourth in the 60-meter hurdles in a season best 8.07. Junior Ryan Ketchum also dipped under the provisional standard in the shot put with a throw of 17.80 meters. \n -- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.