Hoosiers look sharp in final Big Ten event

In its final tune-up in preparation for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, the men's track team looked sharp in the Billy Hayes Invitational Friday night.\nHighlighting the action were twin All-Americans John and Sean Jefferson in the 1,500 meters. The duo raced in a special section of the 1,500 devoted to fast times. The combination of cool weather and racing underneath the lights brought Jefferson near his personal best. \n"It's always nice to run under the lights," Sean said. "Everything feels faster."\nIU's best distance threats since American 5,000 meter record-holder Bob Kennedy did not disappoint the crowd, crossing the line side-by-side in 3 minutes and 41.64 seconds and 3 minutes and 41.68 seconds. John got the benefit of the photo finish. The marks converted to 3:58 in the mile, propelling the twins into sixth and seventh on the NCAA list.\nSenior Rodney Hollis was next on the highlight board in the 800 meters. Although he already qualified for the Regional in the event, a faster time would only help his starting position. Hollis finished fifth in the race. His final time of 1 minute 49.97 seconds was good for fifth place in the upcoming event.\n"The four by 400 helps a lot for 800-meter speed," said Hollis, who also ran the relay.\nHollis helped the 4x400 meter relay team atone for their near miss of the Regional standard at the Penn Relays. He joined junior Andre Grimes, freshman Doug Dayhoff, and sophomore All-American David Neville in their season-best time of 3 minutes 8.69 seconds, meeting the Regional mark of 3 minutes 10 seconds. \nNeville put on some fireworks of his own, qualifying for the Regional meet in the 200 meters with an easy victory over conference rival Kenneth Baxter of Purdue, winning in 20.9 seconds. \n"My training has gone ridiculously well lately," said Neville, the reigning 200 and 400 meter Big Ten champion. \nAlso improving on his season-best was senior Tom Burns, who posted a two-second victory in the 3,000 meter steeplechase at 8 minutes 53 seconds. Burns will look to take on Ohio State's Aaron Fisher next weekend, as the two are the main threats to win the event. \nJunior Ryan Ketchum put up a solid showing for IU in the throwing events, taking second in the shot put in a season-best 18.10 meters and ninth in the hammer throw with a toss of 52.24 meters. \nOn the women's side, sophomore Stacey Clausing led the Hoosiers, qualifying for the Regional meet individually in the 200 meters with a time of 23.69 seconds in the event. She then anchored the women's 4x400 meter relay, which qualified for the Regional, with a final time of 3:39.76. \nBoth the men's and women's squads will travel to Columbus, Ohio, next weekend to compete in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.