IU faces off against Ohio State, Purdue

No Big Ten rivalry goes unnoticed, and after two weekends of lax competition, the men's track team is set to open the doors Saturday to the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse for two of the Big Ten's strongest indoor track teams.\nMost of IU's marquee talent is slated to compete, including junior All-American Aarik Wilson, picked as a favorite to win the NCAA triple jump title and recently named Big Ten Indoor Track Athlete of the Week. Last weekend, Wilson provisionally qualified for the NCAA championships in both the long jump and triple jump en route to two wins over freshman teammate Kyle Jenkins. Those easy marks rank him third in the triple jump and eighth in the long jump nationally. \nWilson's Big Ten honor gives IU its second straight Big Ten Athlete of the Week. Last week, junior thrower Ryan Ketchum took the honors. \n"Ryan's going to need to be a player at both the conference and national level if we want to be competitive," said IU head coach Randy Heisler. \nSo far, Ketchum has showed he is capable of contending for significant points in the Big Ten. He is currently ranked No. 4 nationally in the shot put with a mark of 17.91-meters, set at last weekend's Hoosier Classic. \nMaking their 2005 indoor track debut for IU will be twin All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson, who will race the 3,000-meters, an event neither has competed in seriously since the 2003 season. \n"We'll talk it over with Coach Chapman and decide what will be best way to approach the race for the season's development," Sean Jefferson said. "We'll end up doing something that will get us on track to reach our goals later in the season."\nLast year was interesting for the Delray Beach, Florida natives, as John Jefferson spent the year in the bleachers with a knee injury. Sean went on to seize the NCAA Indoor mile title in 4:00. The previous year, John Jefferson was runner-up. The two haven't competed in the same race together on the track since the 5,000-meters at the 2003 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships. \n"It should be a good indicator of where my fitness is," said John Jefferson, who won the Big Ten mile title in 2003. "The 3K is a good prep workout for a few weeks when I open in the mile at Notre Dame."\nThe meet begins at 11 a.m. Results will be available shortly afterward online at www.iuhoosiers.com.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rob \nDeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.