4-by-1 mile squad expected to lead Hoosier effort

Most of the time, the focus of outdoor track and field is on individual performances and championships. April, however, serves as relay season. \nThe month starts with meets like the Texas, Florida and Kansas Relays and finishes in grand fashion. The nation's top talent splits to Pennsylvania or Iowa, the sites of the Penn Relays and Drake Relays. \nIU has switched meets in the past, but has settled in recent years on the more prestigious Penn Relays , which start today and continue through the weekend. \n"Drake's OK, but Penn is just plain and simple a better meet," said senior Tom Burns, who has raced in both. "The competition is better and the entire stadium is just packed. You don't get that anywhere else for a track meet."\nIU's best chance for a relay victory comes in the 4-by-1 mile. The team's main competition will likely come from conference rival Michigan, a team that has stated its intention to shoot for the first ever sub-16-minute performance. To accomplish that, the team would have to have each of its runners average a sub-four minute mile.\nDespite the Wolverines' intentions, IU is a team that matches up well with Michigan. Twin All-American juniors Sean and John Jefferson have both run substantially faster than four minutes, with times of 3:56 and 3:57, respectively. In addition, relay mates junior Stephen Haas and senior Eric Redman have both run times equivalent to 4:04. After several years of untimely injuries, the Hoosiers are excited to finally have their best team on the track.\n"It's exciting to have all four of us out there finally," said Sean Jefferson, who will make his second appearance in Philadelphia. "We've never gotten to race when we were all healthy. Two years ago I was hurt, and last year John was hurt."\nThe Jeffersons will also run in the distance medley relay and sprint sensation sophomore David Neville will also be on the track for IU, running in the 4-by-400 and sprint medley. \n"Penn is really an opportunity to run some good relay legs," said the All-American Neville. "Most important, though, is getting our 4-by-400 relay team qualified for regionals."\nThere is no better place for fast times than the Penn Relays, which will pack in fans on from all over Friday and Saturday for the Distance Classic and College Relay Carnival in two levels of stands surrounding the track. \nThough the meet is a highlight on the athletes' schedules, the weekend is not without stress. As most IU students prepare for finals, the track team will spend several days in a hotel or in a crowded stadium, environments not known to be conducive to intensive studying.\n"I leave for Penn on Wednesday afternoon," said Burns, who will run in the 5,000-meter race. "I don't come back until Sunday night. That doesn't leave much time for finals."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Rob \nDeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.