IU makes strong showing at NCAAs

AUSTIN, Texas -- On the strength of four IU athletes, the men's track team finished 19th at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend at the University of Texas.\nJunior All-American Aarik Wilson solidified his status as one of the NCAA's top leapers as well as IU's best ever triple jumper. The Fallon, Nev., native began the weekend by finishing third in the long jump with a sizable personal best of 7.97 meters, third all-time at IU. \nWilson said he was pleased with the effort. \n"I felt like this was due," Wilson said. "I've put in a lot of long jump work this week, and to have it pay off is really encouraging."\nIU freshman sprinter David Neville atoned for missing out on qualifying for the 200-meter final in the 400 meters, blazing the second fastest time of his career, a seventh-place 45.31 seconds, only six-tenths of a second shy of first place. The freshman won his second All-America award in a field widely recognized as the NCAA's strongest ever.\n"He had a tremendous outdoor season," IU coach Ed Beathea said. "David represented Indiana very well at this national meet."\nEven without the Texas heat, the 5,000-meters is a grueling event. Senior All-American Chris Powers refused to let the circumstances affect him in his first and last NCAA Outdoor Championship. A Thursday rainstorm eliminated the qualifying round, changing the dynamic of the race. Instead of 16 athletes in the final, 27 toed the line. Powers worked his way up from the back of the pack, seldom wasting any time in one position. With two laps remaining in the 12 1/2 lap race, the seasoned veteran moved to seventh place. Sitting ninth with a lap remaining, Powers found himself in an all-out sprint for the final 200-meters with Stanford's Seth Hejny. Rounding the final turn, Powers pulled away, outlasting Hejny for the last All-America spot in possibly the final race of his career. \n"There was a big fall in the first two laps, and I had to step on a guy, right in his chest, to keep from falling," Powers said. "Plus, just about everybody was hurting bad in the fourth (kilometer). I knew I had to beat Hejny to get All-American so I was sprinting."\nBut the final heroics were left to Wilson, who took an early lead in the triple jump over NCAA leader Leevan Sands of Auburn. Wilson and Sands dueled at the NCAA Regional meet, and fans knew the title would come down to the two adversaries. Though Sands pulled out the victory on his final attempt, en route to a silver medal, Wilson broke his own school record with a leap of 16.93 meters. \nAlso competing for the men were sophomore Sean Jefferson and junior Jake Wiseman. \nJefferson, hobbled recently by a foot arch injury, did not qualify for the 1,500-meter final. Wiseman finished 21st in the decathlon with 6,943 points in his first NCAA Championships.\nOn the women's side, senior Audrey Giesler ended her career with one of her best races. Competing in her first NCAA Championship track meet, Giesler turned in an All-America performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing 11th with a final time of 10 minutes, 35 seconds. \nThe track season is not quite over for several of these athletes. Powers and junior Tom Burns may attempt to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in four weeks. Wilson, Neville, Sean Jefferson and his twin brother John have already qualified.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.