Top runners see national title at end of the road

IU's 2005 men's track team offers fans a number of top-notch athletes, including several All-Americans, Olympic Trials qualifiers, Big Ten Champions, and one NCAA Champion. With such a talented squad, this year's team has high hopes, looking to a national title.\nThe men's track team is set to open its competitive indoor season Saturday at the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse. The meet will begin at 11 a.m. with the final event scheduled for just before 2 p.m. \nIU's meet serves as a warm-up for the heart of the season, which starts within the next two weeks in a multi-team home meet and a Big Ten showdown against Purdue University and The Ohio State University. \nThe Hoosiers' strengths span the entire event spectrum, with strong jumping, vaulting and throwing in the field events, and equally formidable performers on the track. \nThis season's top threat in the throwing events is junior Ryan Ketchum, who is poised to make the leap to national prominence this season.\nFew teams have better horizontal jumping corps than IU. Junior Aarik Wilson is IU's best triple jumper of all time and has twice been runner-up in the NCAA Championships. Backing him up are sophomore Kiwan Lawson and incoming freshmen Kyle Jenkins and Leslie Majors, who recently finished his first season of IU football.\n"Aarik is to the level where there are very few humans who can do what he can do," said IU head coach Randy Heisler. "He almost won nationals in the long jump, which is his second event because he is that competitive."\nIn the sprints, IU has one of the nation's top talents in sophomore David Neville, who came into his own during the 2004 outdoor season. At the Big Ten Championships outdoors Neville took home 200-meter and 400-meter titles en route to an All-American award and a top-thirty world ranking in the 400-meters. Indoors, Neville was an All-American at 200-meters and ran a leg on IU's school record Distance Medley Relay (DMR). The NCAA and World Indoor Distance Medley records are only a few seconds faster than IU's record. \n"For the DMR, it's nice to have a great sprinter available in Neville," said junior John Jefferson. "If we can put one together anything's possible."\nIn the distances, IU returns 2004 NCAA Indoor Mile Champion Sean Jefferson and his twin brother John, who was runner-up in the same event in 2003 prior to sitting out 2004 with an injury. The brothers figure big into IU's plans and could help lift the Hoosiers to an NCAA team title, and leaves open the possibility that IU could take first and second in the mile.\n"Cross country took its toll on the distance guys," said junior Sean Jefferson, training over the semester break with teammates in San Diego. "We'll start racing again soon and things have gone well."\nThe Hoosier Open will provide IU a chance to prepare for the upcoming season, and also to gauge the progress of young athletes.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.