An NCAA first: Jefferson twins break 4-minute mile barrier in same race

Two IU records. Two twins. Two sub-four minute miles. Two new IU distance kings. \nThe odyssey that led to the demise of two IU school records Saturday at Notre Dame began with two successive weekends five years ago. The first brought current juniors and All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson to IU for their official two-day recruiting visit. The next weekend brought current junior Stephen Haas to campus for his two days.\nFrom this, IU got three prize recruits who rewrote IU's record books two days ago. Saturday, Sean and John Jefferson became the first twins to run sub-4:00 miles in the same race in NCAA history.\n"We've both wanted to break 4:00, so to do it together was really special," said John Jefferson.\nFive years after their recruiting visits, two hours on Notre Dame's oversized track updated over a decade of Indiana distance running tradition. Sean and John Jefferson's performance gave them the top two spots in the Meyo Invitational Mile, both getting their first sub-4:00 mile within two seconds of each other. Sean's 3:56.44 broke three-time Olympian Jim Spivey's 1982 IU record. John's 3:57.85 ranks two spots back to third all-time fastest at IU. They became the fourth twins in NCAA history to both dip below track's most legendary barrier. \nThe first half of the race took just over two minutes. Two hundred meters later, Sean Jefferson, the 2004 NCAA Indoor Mile Champion, decided he'd had enough.\n"I ran it just like NCAA's," Sean said. "With 600 to go I started hammering. I saw the clock with 400 to go at 2:59 and I just started thinking, 'I'm going to break four over, I'm going to break four.'"\nOnly two spots back, John Jefferson, the 2003 NCAA Indoor Mile runner-up, born two minutes before Sean, saw his brother shoot into the lead.\n"I was in third coming around that final lap," said John, back in action after missing two track seasons. "I saw Sean ahead and that just gave me that extra energy to finish behind him in second."\nThey're now two brothers with two first-time sub-4:00 miles. \nBut IU wasn't done. One record remained on the books, held by two-time IU Olympian Bob Kennedy. Before the race, junior Stephen Haas, focused on next weekend's Tyson Invitational 5,000-meters, wasn't even sure he would run. Once he decided to race, he thought he might be able to run 7:55. With two laps to go, Haas sat in the lead ahead of 2004 Olympian Nick Willis of Michigan.\nTwo turns from the finish line, Haas was oblivious as to how fast he was running. \n"On the backstretch, in the lead, he was laughing," Sean Jefferson said.\nWillis kicked past him in the final straight, and Haas finished just over two seconds back in 7:51 -- a new IU school record and a personal best improved by 20 seconds. Two Wisconsin All-Americans fell to the track at his sides, exhausted from the effort. \n"After the race I wasn't even tired at all," Haas said. "Everyone was running around yelling and I just wanted to know how fast I ran."\nHaas ran fast enough to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships in five weeks, set a new school record and rank second in the nation. \nTwo recruiting visits, two races, two sub-4:00 miles, two new IU records. Only one question remains, with the Big Ten and NCAA Championships looming -- two team titles?\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.