Wilson leaps to IU record, NCAA lead

Friday at Notre Dame's Alex Wilson Last-Chance Meet, junior All-American Aarik Wilson soared past IU's fourteen-year old indoor long jump record, set previously by Alan Turner at the NCAA Championships. Wilson's winning leap of 8.12 meters also eclipsed his personal best of 7.88 meters. The jump also serves as a tremendous boost to IU's team chances at the NCAA Indoor Championships, set to begin this Friday at the University of Arkansas. \nWith his record-breaking leap, Wilson vaulted into the NCAA long jump lead, one week after being anointed Big Ten Indoor Track Athlete of the Year. The Fallon, Nev. native now sits perched atop the national rankings in both the triple and long jumps, both by significant margins. Wilson's triple jump mark from Big Tens gave him almost a half a meter on the rest of the NCAA, while Friday evening's mark makes him the only collegian to have surpassed 8.00 meters. The next closest athlete has jumped only 7.90 meters. \nWilson will now lead IU to the NCAAs, where he was runner-up in the triple jump and took home sixth-place in the long jump in 2003. Joining him in IU's quest for championship glory will be junior All-American distance runners Sean and John Jefferson, sophomore All-American sprinter David Neville, and junior distance man Stephen Haas. Other Hoosiers may qualify for the meet as well, depending on the final declarations for the meet, due out early this week.