4 Hoosiers ready to take on NCAAs

After completing the Women's Outdoor Track and Field Mideast Regional in Bloomington two weeks ago, four Hoosiers are set to compete with some of the best athletes in the country for their first time Wednesday through Saturday at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, Calif., at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.\nEven though only the top five individuals from each event at Regionals automatically qualified for Nationals, which no Hoosiers did, several of the IU members earned good enough times throughout the season for a trip to \nSacramento. \nThe Hoosier will send junior Kelly Siefker, competing in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, and senior Larra Overton racing in the 1,500-meter run. Joining Siefker and Overton are IU sophomores Stacey Clausing, competing in the 400-meter run, and Lorian Price in the 100-meter hurdles. Each earned at-large bids to for their first ever chance to compete in the NCAA Championships.\nIU coach Randy Heisler is happy for the athletes representing IU and believes they are ready to compete with the nation's best, he said.\n"We're excited to compete in the NCAA Championship," Heisler said. "They worked hard all year long and deserve to be here."\nOverton finished sixth at the Mideast Regional in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4 minutes and 26.33 seconds just a second away from an automatic spot. Overton is currently No. 26 nationally in the 1,500-meters. She also captured a fourth place finish in the Big Ten Championships held in Columbus, Ohio, in mid-May.\nPrice led her race the entire way in the 100-meter hurdles during the Mideast Regional before losing her balance and hitting the eighth hurdle resulting in a seventh place finish with a time of 13.71. Before the Regionals, Price was well prepared as she won the Big Ten title in the 100-meter hurdles. She currently ranks No. 30 in the country in the 100-meter hurdles.\nClausing also won a Big Ten title, as the No. 23 athlete in the women's 400-meters posted a time of 23.51 in the 200-meter dash. In the 400-meters she led most of the race at the Mideast Regional before finishing seventh with a time of 53.63. \nThe final member representing IU at the Outdoor Championships is Siefker. She is currently No. 24 nationally in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase, placing seventh in the event in a time of 10 minutes 27.80 seconds. \nCoach Randy Heisler thinks that the NCAA Championships is a great way to showcase his team's individual talent.\n"Hopefully in the next few days (IU) will prove what it takes to compete at this level," he said.