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(05/05/03 5:17am)
In a tight contest, the No. 21 men's track and field team was able to use late run to push past Big Ten rival Purdue. The team defeated Purdue by seven points with a final score of 105-98.\nThe two teams bear a great deal of contrast: the Hoosiers controlling the distance events and Purdue winning the sprints. The teams matched evenly in the field and hurdling events.\nThe highlight of the meet was senior Adam Judge in the hammer throw. With a winning throw of 221 feet 7-inches, Judge broke his own school record for the third time this season and also earned the fourth best mark in the nation this season for the event.\nAlso with a dominant performance at the meet was sophomore All-American Aarik Wilson, easily winning both the triple and long jump. His 25-feet 6.25-inch jump in the long jump was almost a foot in front of second place in the event, and he defeated the field by almost four feet in the triple jump. Wilson will have two weeks to rest before he heads to the Big Ten Championships where he said he hopes to set himself up for a run at a national title.\nThe Jefferson twins, sophomore John and redshirt freshman Sean, continued their dominant spring. Sean cruised to a victory in 1500 meters with a time of 3:52.1 as the Hoosiers swept the event. Later in the meet, Sean came back to finish second behind John as they finished in a time of 1:51.21 and 1:52.55. John's time narrowly missed the NCAA regional provisional mark in event. Both have already met their marks in both 1500m and 5000m.\n"These guys have been so good," distance coach Robert Chapman said. "Basically, 90 percent of my job with these two has been to not wreck the van on the way to the meet and get them to the starting line on time."\nAlso earning victories for the Hoosiers were junior Pat Miller in the javelin, junior Ryan Sarbinoff in 400 meters, junior Daniel Martin in the 400m hurdles, freshman Stephen Haas in 5000m, the 4x100 relay and the 4x400 relay. Sarbinoff was forced all the way out to lane nine to out kick Purdue's Shaun Guice in the 4x400.\n"I really wasn't sure if we could take them in the dual meet format," junior Tom Burns said. "We're much better in the big meets, and at Big Tens we should be able to get them."\nPurdue outscored the Hoosiers at the indoor Big Ten Championships where they placed third over IU's fifth place finish. Both teams have aspirations to catch favorites Minnesota and Wisconsin at the outdoor championships.\nNext weekend, the team returns home for the Billy Hayes Invitational, their final tune-up before the Big Ten Championships from May 16 to 18 at University of Minnesota.
(04/28/03 5:31am)
This weekend the No. 15 men's track and field team continued its season marked by meets against top national level competition. The team sent athletes out west to Iowa for the Drake Relays in Des Moines and east to Pennsylvania for the Penn Relays at the University of Pennsylvania.\nWeather cooperated in both places and helped the Hoosiers to a successful weekend of racing.\nSenior Adam Judge returned to his hometown at the Drake Relays and turned in an impressive performance in the hammer throw. He finished fourth in the event with a mark of 64.44 meters. \nThe team was led by the distance runners, as has been the case for the last two weeks. The mile relay team finished second at the Drake Relays to perennial distance program Stanford, finishing with a time of 16:44.74. The relay team featured sophomores in John Jefferson and Eric Redman and freshmen Stephen Haas and Sean Jefferson. \nAt the Penn Relays, the top performance was turned in by another distance athlete, junior Tom Burns. Burns was edged in the Championship section of the 3000-meter steeplechase by .14 seconds as he finished second in a time of 8:50.06. The time shattered his previous personal record in the event by about 10 seconds.\n"We're hot right now, running extremely well," distance coach Robert Chapman said. "The challenge is maintaining this and building upon it for the next five weeks."\nThe distance crew also earned an impressive performance in the distance medley relay at the Drake Relays. John Jefferson, juniors Ryan Sarbinoff and Chris Powers and sophomore Russell Hollis finished third in the event with a time of 9:48.63.\nSophomore decathlete Jake Wiseman was fourth overall, but the top university athlete in the event at the Drake Relays. He finished with a point total of 6,593, almost 300 points ahead of the next university athlete.\nSophomore All-American triple jumper Aarik Wilson finished second in both the long and triple jump at the Drake Relays. He finished with a mark of 25'8 in the long jump and 52'06.75 in the triple jump.\nNext weekend, the team travels to West Lafayette for a dual meet against Big Ten rival Purdue. Both teams hope to challenge for a Big Ten title at the Big Ten Championships on May 16 and 17. This will be the Hoosiers' first test against competition from the conference.
(04/18/03 5:14am)
This weekend most of the No. 21 men's track and field team will stay home, but several will travel to Walnut, Calif., for the Mt. Sac Relays, which began Thursday and will continue through Saturday. There the athletes will face top national competition, as they have all season so far.\nOnly sophomore All-American triple jumper Aarik Wilson and the distance runners will make the trip to compete in the race. The rest of the team will utilize the bye week in preparation for next week when they will compete in either the Drake Relays in Iowa or the Penn Relays in Pennsylvania.\n"We're just taking the distance guys and Aarik out, and hopefully we'll get them in some competitive events," coach Marshall Goss said.\nWilson usually competes in both the long and triple jumps, but this weekend will focus completely on the triple jump. He said the meet will feature the best triple jumpers in the nation, including post-collegiate athletes. Several jumpers at the meet will push the 57-foot mark.\n"You always go into a meet with the objective of winning, but I really just want to get some experience jumping against the top guys before the USATF nationals meet," Wilson said. "I want to go out and make them know my name."\nWilson has asserted himself on the collegiate level, twice earning runner-up at NCAA Championships. For the first time in his career, he now looks to gain experience against post-collegiate competition. He said this experience will help later in the season and next year as he pushes to make the Olympic team. He also said it is later in the season when he will be at his best. This meet is preparation for then.\n"If I win this thing, it's going to have to be off guts," Wilson said. "We focus our training toward the end of the season, but the competition there will definitely pull me to a good mark."\nThe distance runners also hope the fast competition will lead to impressive marks. Last week the distance crew had four athletes meet NCAA regional provisional marks and look to add more to the list this week.\nLast weekend the Jefferson twins, sophomore John and redshirt freshman Sean, had impressive performances against Central Michigan and Indiana State. Both twins earned victories, John in the 5,000 meter and Sean in the 1,500 meter. Sean entered as the top seed in his 5,000 meter race, which took place late last night.\nThe team also features juniors Bart Phariss and Chad Andrews as the two and three seed respectively in the 10,000 meter race. Also competing at the meet are juniors Chris Powers and Nathan Purcell, sophomore Eric Redman and freshman Stephen Haas.\nResults for the meet can be found at http://vm.mtsac.edu/relays.
(04/15/03 5:21am)
Imagine a four person relay team that appeared to only use two runners. Also think that with those two runners, the relay team was preparing to lap its opposition.\nThe men's track and field team is led in the running events this season by two sets of identical twins, John and Sean Jefferson and Rodney and Russell Hollis.\n"They're the foundation of the team with their sections they represent," coach Marshall Goss said. "They do a good job and make a very solid foundation."\nThe Jefferson twins came to IU as top national recruits from Delray Beach, Florida, possibly the number three and four prep runners in the nation behind high school legends Dathan Ritzenheim from Michigan and Alan Webb from Virginia.\nJohn was a Foot Locker All-American in the two-mile as a sophomore and finished in the top three at the cross country state meet from his sophomore to senior year. Sean was a three-time state champion in the two-mile and set the state record in the event.\nJohn got off to a quicker start for their college careers as Sean lost time training last year because of injury. Sean redshirted the indoor and outdoor season and enters track with freshman eligibility. John has already made his presence felt earning several awards, including Big Ten Freshman of the Year for cross country, All-American honors twice for indoor track and was national runner-up in the mile during the indoor season.\nDistance coach Robert Chapman said Sean has as much potential as John, probably at the longer events. Sean's injury last year cost him speed work training, but he looks this outdoor season to have a breakout season. He showed flashes of breaking out during the indoor season.\nGoss said he has never coached twins as similar as the Hollis'. From the classroom to the track, the pair is remarkably identical.\nAs was the case with the Jeffersons, one of the Hollis twins began his career with an injury. Rodney got a stress fracture last year which slowed his development. However a year after his injury, he has returned to Russell's side. Rodney had a breakout indoor season in which he broke the school record in 600 meters and shattered his personal record in 800 meters, running under 1:50. Russell also ran in the sub 1:50 range, mostly as a split on relay teams.\nThe Hollis twins did not have the credentials of the Jeffersons coming out of high school in Michigan City, Ind. However after buying into their training programs, their potential is unlimited. The team is counting on the pair for points in the Big Ten Championship in the 4x400 meter relay, the 4x800 meter relay and the open 800 meters.\nAs great as they have been on the track, the four athletes have matched their performances in the classroom. Both Rodney and Russell major in exercise science while John and Sean are undecided.\n"Studies come first," Russell said. "We're student-athletes, not athlete-students."\nThis weekend the four will be counted on as the team faces a tough three-way meet involving Central Michigan and Indiana State. So far they have produced and they expect to do more of the same this weekend.\n"I think when you watch this weekend, all four of them will go out there and get the job done." Goss said.
(04/14/03 6:05am)
The men's track and field team competed in its first home meet of the season this weekend and was fortunate enough to have perfect weather. The squad went up against tough competition with Central Michigan and Indiana State and came out on top of the triangular meet, by two points over the Chippewas 157-155. Indiana State finished with 90 points. \nThe team scores were in doubt until the final event came in -- the discus, in which junior Mike Minton placed first, ensuring the victory.\n"It was a good opener," junior Tom Burns said. "Today was just a day to get out that and put out a good time and see where we were compared to last year."\nThe Jefferson twins, Sean and John, provided an exciting performance in the distance events. Redshirt freshman Sean Jefferson competed first in 1,500-meter race and dominated on his way to a time of 3:44.17. Junior Nathan Purcell helped the freshman to the time by pacing him through a fast start.\n"My plan was to go out hard and take it where I've never been before and see what I could do," Jefferson said. "I wanted to really just push that third lap so I could see what I had left at the end."\nSophomore John Jefferson competed in the 5,000-meter race and played with the competition on his way to victory. He cruised the first 11 1/2 laps before unleashing a potent kick to catch three Central Michigan runners. He finished with a time of 14:18.85 with a last lap of approximately 57 seconds, leaving spectators shaking their heads.\n"(Jefferson) may have the fastest finishing kick in the country," sophomore Eric Redman said.\nThe distance crew carried the running events with the Jeffersons winning their events as well as Burns winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a regional qualifying mark of 9:00.27. Matt Sweetman also met the mark with a time of 9:10.49 in his third place finish in the event.\n"I was a little bit nervous beforehand," Burns said. "I know I'm really fit right now and I knew I was going to run a good time, but I had to just go out there and do it. I was never in this position before because I was always injured in the winter."\nThe sprinters also fared well with junior Contrell Ash winning the 100-meter dash, freshman Andre Grimes earning the victory in the 200-meter dash, and junior Daniel Martin winning the 400-meter hurdles.\nCoach Marshall Goss said before the meet that he hoped for many athletes to set the provisional standard for the NCAA regional meet this weekend. His hopes were answered as 11 athletes met their marks. Several said that making the standard takes some of the pressure off so they can focus completely on the competition aspect of their respective events. \nThe team next competes at the Drake and Penn Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, and Philadelphia, respectively, on April 25-27.
(04/14/03 5:59am)
Beautiful weather helped jump start the inaugural Little Fifty running event Sunday. Top competition and stands nearly filled to capacity made the event even more successful.\nBoth the men's and women's races experienced many lead changes during the race. The Stilettos pulled away in the women's race to win by almost a minute over runners-up Alpha Phi, while Sigma Chi won a four-team battle to earn the victory in the men's race.\n"It went very, very well," said senior Brittany Van Trees, one of the Steering Committee members. "There were many different types of teams and we can just do some amazing things with this in the future."\nIn addition to a competitive race, a sizable crowd enjoyed solid weather for the event. Blue skies and 70 degree weather made the 50 lap relay race even more enjoyable for the fans. Van Trees said the weather also made the event more successful as the crowd was larger than what it otherwise could have been. \nThe relay-style race consisted of 24 men's teams and 20 women's teams with four athletes on each team. Each team had an option of how many laps they ran before handing off, with most running a lap or two between exchanges.\n"I think that after everyone worked out the contingencies and figured everything out, they realized what's good to do and what's not," Van Trees said.\nThe women raced first after an elaborate introduction ceremony. The Stilettos dominated the trials, winning the 4x800 meter relay by 20 seconds. Senior Whitney Bevins said the competition was much tougher than the papers showed. \n"We were behind in the beginning and our strategy wasn't working quite like we had hoped," she said. "When we got set in our pace, we were fine."\nBevins also said the competition should be what makes the event more popular. She said it could become like the Little 500 where athletes train year round for the event.\nSigma Chi ended on top after being pushed the entire race by Mercury, Pi Kappa Phi and Fiji. These four teams finished over a minute ahead of the rest of the field.\nEach team benefitted a charity of its choice and some members of the event won scholarships, such as Little Fifty Spirit Scholarship or the Unsung Runner Scholarships.\n"I can't think of anything that the money would be better used for," senior Sigma Chi runner David Gaunt said. "Winning the Little Fifty only makes it that much more special for us and for them."\nThe Little Fifty was intended to kick off the Little 500 season, even though it is two weeks before the running of the Little 500. The IU Student Foundation, who organized the event, worked to link the two. The first lap of the race was paced by the pole winners, Phi Gamma Delta and Phi Mu, of the Little 500 and tickets for the Little Fifty were free with Little 500 tickets.\nThe Little 500 race weekend is April 25 and 26.
(04/11/03 5:27am)
This weekend the men's track and field team races at home for the first time of the outdoor season. This is one of only two home meets the team will compete in all season. The team has faced top notch competition at Texas and Florida the last two weeks to open the season and now faces Central Michigan and Indiana State in a three way meet.\nCoach Marshall Goss stressed the importance of the meet and said the team will have to be at its best to beat Central Michigan. The Chippewas started out the season ranked higher than the Hoosiers, and they are in the process of building a solid program, Goss said.\n"We're going to have to respond very well at home," Goss said. "It's really just going to be a great meet."\nCentral Michigan competed against IU last weekend at the Texas Relays where they had several top performers, including senior Dana Thomas, who broke the school record in the decathlon. The Hoosiers have an advantage, having competed in high quality meets for the last two weeks.\n"This week could be a struggle," Central Michigan coach Jim Knapp said in a statement. "We are going against two strong track programs who already have two meets under their belts."\nGoss said he hopes for more athletes to meet the NCAA regional provisional mark for their events. Already the team has several athletes who have met their marks, but Goss said he wants many more. He said in some events the team should have as many as three athletes meeting the provisional marks.\n"We're going to have to have a lot of people making provisionals if we want to win," Goss said.\nThe team enters the meet ranked No. 15 in the Trackwire Team Power Rankings. They are led by several All-Americans, including senior hammer thrower Adam Judge, sophomore triple and long jumper Aarik Wilson and sophomore miler John Jefferson. Wilson was the Big Ten Athlete of the Week for the week of March 31 after he won both of his events at the Florida Relays. Last week, Judge set a new school record in the hammer throw at the Texas Relays.\nThe team has aspirations for a Big Ten championship this season after earning fifth place in the meet for the indoor season. They had a staggering NCAA Championship meet, earning a ninth place team finish on the backs of Wilson and Jefferson, who were both national runners-up. They finished second among Big Ten schools at the meet.\nThe men will race with the women's team starting at noon Saturday at the Haugh Track and Field complex.
(04/11/03 5:25am)
The "Little 500 week" is kicking off a little earlier this year.\nThis weekend begins with the inaugural Little Fifty track race. The Little Fifty is a 12.5 mile relay race in which each team runs 50 laps around the outdoor track at the Haugh Varsity Track. Most teams will use a strategy of one or two lap exchanges.\nTickets for the event came with the purchase of a Little 500 ticket. During fall registration 6,000 tickets were sold, well over the 3,000 person capacity of the track and field complex. \nSenior Brian Gaylord, who is in charge of marketing the Little Fifty for the IU Student Foundation, said that with good weather the stadium could be filled. \nSince it is the first running of the Little Fifty, Gaylord said there are some questions regarding public knowledge of the event. However, many of the participants are members of the greek system and members of team fraternities or sororities ensure at least a decent showing at the race.\nThe IU Student Foundation, who hosts the event, will donate a considerable amount of money to several charities, including Middle Way House and Boy Scouts of America.\n"We have no idea how much money we will end up being able to donate, but it will be a lot," Gaylord said.\nThe day will kick off with the Little Fifty eight kilometer run, which Gaylord said will be mostly local Bloomington participants. After the road race, a barbecue will be held in the track complex parking lots. The barbecue will be available with a ticket. The Little Fifty will begin with the men's race at 2 p.m. followed by the women's race at 4 p.m.\nThe race promises to be competitive, especially on the men's side. At qualifications, Fiji earned the pole position with a time of 8.53.60 in a 4x800 meter relay. Several other teams should be competitive, including Mercury, Sigma Chi and Pi Kapps. \nSenior Jeremy Friedman, a runner for Mercury and a member of Riders Council, said he was excited for the first running.\n"I'm excited because I want this event to grow and to become more of a complimentary event to the Little Fifty," he said. "It's just exciting to be a part of this. But I can't emphasize more that it's just complimentary. We don't want to ruin the nostalgia of Little Fifty. Hopefully it will work and continue to grow." \nOn the women's side, The Stilettos earned the pole in 10:45.13, with Hot Buns and Alpha Phi handily beating the rest of the field.\n"The men's race should be very competitive," Gaylord said. "They will both be exciting to watch. We're going to find out Sunday."\nAwards will be handed out in the form of scholarships. In addition to awards, teams are using the race for other reasons. Sophomore Arik Frankel from Delta Sigma Pi said that his team will use the meet partly to bring publicity to the fraternity.\n"We'd like to get our name out, and this is a good way to do it," Frankel said. "There should be a lot of people out there and that will definitely help."\nThe IU Student Foundation hopes the Little Fifty gets the Little Fifty season off to a good start, Gaylord said. They are trying to link the two events and will have an elaborate pre-race ceremony, he said. A torch will be on the infield of the complex and the Little Fifty king and queen ceremony will take place.\n"We wanted the Little Fifty to kick off the Little Fifty," Gaylord said. "We're hoping both events strengthen each other"
(04/07/03 5:31am)
The men's track and field team sent some of its squad to Austin, Texas, for the Texas Relays while the rest went to Charleston for the Eastern Illinois Invitational meet. The Texas Relays were not scored but the team received top individual performances in which three individuals met NCAA regional provisional marks. The Eastern Illinois Invitational meet kept a team score but the Hoosiers did not focus on that aspect.\nThe Texas Relays featured top talent, including Olympians Maurice Greene, Allen Johnson and Terrence Trammell. Senior hurdler Matt Harris said before the meet that the competition at the relays possibly tops that of the NCAA championship meet.\nSenior Adam Judge, junior Patrick Miller and junior Mike Minton all met the NCAA regional provisionals. Judge did so in the hammer throw with a third place finish, Miller placed eighth in the javelin to meet his mark and Minton met his provisional mark in the discus with an eighth place finish. Minton qualified in the shot put last week at the Florida Relays.\nThe team received several other top individual performances at the Texas Relays. The 4x1500 meter relay team held off Wisconsin to secure a second place finish with a time of 15:29.35. Sophomore All-American Aarik Wilson earned third place in the long jump as well.\nThe Hoosiers put a solid showing in the distance events, led by sophomore Bart Phariss who placed ninth in the 5000-meter race with a time of 14:48.14. Junior Matt Sweetman finished eighth in the 3000-meter steeplechase and sophomore Nathan Purcell finished seventh in the 1500-meter.\nAt Eastern Illinois, the team faced adversity with inclement weather all weekend.\n"We got sunburned on Thursday, drowned on Friday and froze on Saturday," coach Marshall Goss said.\nThis was the second weekend in a row part of the team experienced bad weather. Last week, part of the team traveled to Purdue and experienced unfavorable conditions.\nSophomore Jake Wiseman was the highlight of the meet in the decathlon, narrowly missing the provisional mark in the event. He had a high enough mark in the javelin to meet the provisional standard.\nAlso the 4x800 meter relay team won at Eastern Illinois.\nThe Hoosiers will race at home for the first time of the season next weekend, hosting a three-way meet of Indiana State and Central Michigan. Goss said he anticipates a competitive meet in which many will set provisional standards. He also said the team hopes for some good weather.\n"The weather says mostly sunny and 66 degrees Saturday," Goss said. "That's what we need to have, some good, solid weather"
(04/04/03 5:42am)
The men's track and field team continues its series of road meets this weekend. Half of the team will travel to the Texas Relays while the other half will attend the Eastern Illinois Invitational.\nThe team expects strong competition at Texas across the board. Last weekend at the Florida Relays, the team had several athletes meet their regional provisional qualifying marks and coach Marshall Goss said that due to the quality of the opposition, he expects more to do the same this weekend. Texas, the host of the meet, finished tied for 11th place at the indoor NCAA Championships.\n"Texas Relays is probably better competition than at NCAAs," senior Matt Harris said. "The main goal is to see who we're going to have for Big Tens. Everything is focused for Big Tens."\nGoss said that those who travel to Eastern Illinois will also see solid performances. He said that Eastern Illinois has a strong team and several others will post impressive performances.\n"It will be like Purdue last week, but it will be a much better quality of meet with Eastern Illinois, Indiana State and Marquette being there," Goss said. "What we're basically doing is bringing people where they will really be competitive."\nGoss said that the team needs as many people as possible to meet the regional provisional standards. He said that if athletes get their marks early then that will relieve pressure at the end of the season. He also said that he is confident that the team can qualify a considerable number of athletes.\n"We should be bringing three people in most of the events," Goss said. "But with the standard, if we are ready for Big Tens, we'll get the standard so we don't have to worry about that so much right now. It'll just relieve a bit of the pressure later on."\nThe Texas Relays will not keep a team score, so athletes will be able to concentrate solely on their individual events. The Eastern Illinois Invitational will keep team scores, but Goss said that the team is not worried about placement as they are not sending the entire team.\nThe outdoor season has opened with challenging contests and the trend will continue in the upcoming weeks. It is quite different than the indoor season, which started loaded with dual meets.\n"The main thing with the high quality meets is that we get to go down to the warm weather places, and it really does a lot for the guys," Goss said.\nThe team struggled at the end of the outdoor season before their ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships. The team finished the season reeling from injury. Now healthy, the team has its sights set on a Big Ten Championship.\n"It's been aggravating being injured," freshman sprinter Andre Grimes said. "I think this is going to help a lot. The coaches have been putting me in longer events, trying to make me stronger and I think it's been helping a lot."\nNext week the team will race at home for the first time of the season with a dual meet involving Central Michigan and Indiana State University. Goss said that Central Michigan has put together a very solid team and that he expects the team competition to be a battle.
(03/28/03 5:47am)
This weekend the men's track and field team scatters as part of the team will travel to Gainesville, Fla., for the Florida Relays and others will meet in an open meet at Purdue to begin their outdoor season. \nThe team just finished its indoor season at Fayetteville, Ark., at the indoor NCAA Championships where sophomores Aarik Wilson and John Jefferson led the team to a eighth place finish. Now the team sets its sights on the Big Ten Championships where it has aspirations for a team title.\nWilson and Jefferson each were national runners-up at the NCAA Championship meet and will be vital for the success of the outdoor season as well. \nWilson placed second in the triple jump on his way to shattering the 30-year-old school record by over a foot and also placed sixth in the long jump. Jefferson used an incredible kick to catch eight runners in the final 150 meters and place second in the mile.\n"We're a mature enough team and a smart enough team to know that we've got others coming who weren't there for the outdoor season," coach Marshall Goss said. "With that it gives us a springboard to jump off into an excellent outdoor season."\nThe team will travel lightly this weekend, leaving many athletes behind. Team scores will not be kept at the meet, but the Hoosiers expect strong performances from their runners. After spending much of the indoor season reeling from injury, the team is finally regaining its health.\n"The health of the team is so important," junior Ryan Sarbinoff said. "It can make or break a season depending on how healthy everyone is."\nSarbinoff is one of the team's top sprinters and returning from a lingering hamstring injury.\nAfter racing every weekend from mid-January until the Big Ten Championships on March 1-2, most athletes have had a month to rest since then. Now the team once again resumes their schedule of racing every weekend until May 16-17 when it competes in the outdoor Big Ten Championships. \nWilson said that he is even more competitive after his runner-up finish at the indoor NCAA Championships. \n"You can say that I'm mad that I didn't win," Wilson said. "I don't plan on losing another national championship."\nThe team finished fifth at the indoor Big Ten Championships at Champaign, Ill. Goss said that he expects the team to be much stronger for the outdoor season. The team has been reliant on several young athletes who are continually developing to help the team's success, such as Wilson and Jefferson. Also, several veterans who will contribute this season traditionally perform better at the end of the season, which will be beneficial for the outdoor season.\n"It'll be good to get that first meet out and set the tone for the rest of the season," Goss said.
(03/26/03 4:58am)
At the second day of the NCAA Championship meet on March 14-15, sophomore jumper Aarik Wilson took part in one of the great duels of triple jump. Wilson and University of Southern California sophomore Allen Simms exchanged the lead several times in the finals with Simms coming out on top.\nWilson shattered Robert Cannon's 30-year-old school record by over a foot with a jump of 16.99 meters en route to his second place finish. He entered the meet seeded fourth in the triple jump but with expectations of victory.\n"I love getting records and stuff like that, but I really want to win," Wilson said. "You could say that I'm mad that I didn't win indoors. That's my goal. I want to get my ring, and I want to be the best this year."\nDuring the first day of competition, Wilson competed in the long jump and surpassed expectations. He entered ranked 13th in the event but a jump of 7.88 meters was enough to place sixth in the nation. Coach Marshall Goss said Wilson had some scratches that would have placed him even higher.\nIn high school Wilson focused more on the triple jump and also had aspirations of becoming a better long jumper. In his two years at IU, he has improved his personal best by almost three feet. He is only 20 and his coaches said he still has much room for improvement.\n"He's lighter, stronger and faster than he was at this point last year," jumping coach Wayne Pate said. "When you put those together, you're going to jump farther."\nWith his potential, Wilson said he is excited about what the future holds. Already he has earned All-American honors three times, was twice runner-up at the NCAA Championship meet and has twice won the Big Ten Championship, and he is only 20-years old.\n"I think he's made the move into the echelon as an international competitor, now he's got to move into the higher echelon in the United States," Goss said.\nWilson said he has his sights set on the Olympics next year. He has proved he can compete at the Olympic level. Goss said the jump that placed Wilson second at the NCAA Championships would have placed him in the top 10 at the World Championships and he still can improve dramatically.\n"I'm hoping that he'll qualify for the trials in both (long and triple jump) then have the option of picking one or the other," Pate said. "He has the ability and the talent of maybe making the team in either one."\nWilson said he is excited about the Olympics as they are growing closer each day. He said his chances with the Olympics rest on his ability to continue to improve in both events. \n"He's got the desire and heart, that's for sure," Pate said. "He's one of the most competitive kids I've ever coached. When you get a kid that's that competitive, there's no telling how far he can go"
(03/24/03 5:57am)
The men's track and field team put on an impressive performance at Fayetteville, Ark., over spring break with a ninth place team finish at the NCAA Championships. The team, which competed March 14-15, was able to place in the top 10 with 19 points despite only sending two athletes to the meet. The Hoosiers finished second among Big Ten schools, only two points behind Minnesota. The NCAA Championships were an improvement over the Big Ten Championships on March 1-2 where the team placed fifth.\n"On the men's and women's side together we brought down five athletes and everyone preformed third or better in at least one of their events," coach Marshall Goss said. "We are very excited with our team finishes as well. We are also very excited with what can happen outdoors coming off of this."\nArkansas captured the victory in the meet with 52 points, dominating second place Auburn, which only had 28 points.\nThe Hoosiers competed with sophomores Aarik Wilson and John Jefferson.\nWilson captured a sixth place finish in the long jump the first day of competition. He entered the meet ranked 13th in the event, but a personal record of 7.88 meters earned Wilson sixth place.\nSaturday, Wilson competed in the triple jump, his best event. Wilson shattered the school record on his way to a second place finish in the meet with a jump of 16.99 meters. In last year's indoor championships, Wilson finished fourth in the event and came into this year's meet ranked fourth. Wilson's jump broke Robert Cannon's school record, which had stood for over 20 years, by over a foot.\nJefferson also exceeded the expectations of the seedings. Jefferson relied on luck to make his way into the meet with 11 runners ranked ahead of him dropping out of the mile to run a different event. After scratches, Jefferson dropped from being ranked 25th to 14th. The event only takes 15 runners. \n"It shouldn't have been a question of us having to wait for those scratches," distance coach Robert Chapman said. "I think he knows he's a major player."\nJefferson was an All-American in the mile last year for the indoor season and also won the Big Ten Championships in the event. He was also the Big Ten's freshman of the year for the cross-country season.\nThe race had a slow pace, as Jefferson said he expected. He spent much of the race at the back of the lead pack. He remained in around ninth place, until the final lap when he started his kick. Jefferson was able to explode and outsprint Luke Watson from Notre Dame to earn the national runner-up title with a time of 4:06.46. Watson ran a 4:06.48.\nNow the team will gear for an outdoor season for which the coaches have high expectations. Goss said he expects the team to be competitive for a Big Ten title.\nThe first meet of the outdoor season will be March 28-29 at the Florida Relays in Gainsville, Fla.
(03/14/03 5:29am)
The track and field indoor season concludes this weekend with the NCAA Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. The Hoosiers were able to qualify two individuals. Sophomore Aarik Wilson qualified in both the long and triple jump and sophomore John Jefferson made the field in the mile.\nWilson dominated this season in the triple jump, finishing the year undefeated in the event. He heads into nationals with the goal of an individual title. He finished fourth in the meet last year as a true freshman and enters this year's meet with the same ranking. However, coach Marshall Goss said that each of the top four triple jumpers are favorites in the meet and Wilson has a good shot at the title.\n"We think he's coming into his own right now in the long jump," Goss said. "In the triple jump, he's been consistent all the way through."\nGoss said that Wilson, although ranked 13th in the long jump, can place high in that event as well. He is seeded only .16 meters behind the No. 6 ranked individual in the event. Also, six individuals ranked ahead of Wilson set their season personal records in late January or early February. Goss said that because the competition is so tight anyone could come out of the shadows and win the event.\nA strong performance in the long jump is important to Wilson because he said that when he came to the college-level one of his goals was to become a great long jumper. A strong performance here would be a validation of that goal.\nIn the triple jump, Wilson has a chance to become the greatest in IU track and field history. Second on the list and only a sophomore, Wilson is likely to someday become the top individual.\nJefferson's entrance into the meet came with a great deal of luck. Before scratches had been made, he was ranked No. 25 in the mile, but this year many participants chose to run different events so Jefferson was able to drop to the fourteenth spot and sneak in. Only 15 runners qualify for the race. Distance coach Robert Chapman said Jefferson deserved a spot in the race as he was an All-American in the event last year and was the champion at the Big Ten Championship.\n"It shouldn't have been a question of us having to wait for those scratches," Chapman said. "I think he knows he's a major player. All of the variables are in place for him."\nOne of the benefits Jefferson has heading into the meet is versatility. Jefferson has trained with high mileage and his fitness is capable of handling a fast pace. Also, Chapman said that no one in the field has a stronger finishing kick than Jefferson, so a slow pace would work in his favor as well.\n"There's no one that's really the clear cut favorite in the mile," Jefferson said. "Anyone in the field can win it, so I need to put my self in position and only good things can happen from that"
(03/13/03 5:09am)
Tuesday, the NCAA released the roster for those who will compete at the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., next weekend. Sophomore John Jefferson was waiting for the list to let him know if he will attend the meet as a participant. Jefferson was sitting at 25th in the mile and needed to be among the top 15 to qualify for the meet.\n"I didn't want to be waiting around for the list to come out, so instead I went out and studied and had (sophomore Stephen) Haas call me to let me know," Jefferson said. "Earlier coach had told me I was pretty much in and we had a pretty good idea that I was."\nJefferson was fortunate as many of the runners ranked ahead of him in the mile qualified for other events as well and chose not to race the mile at nationals. Rarely do enough people drop from the event that the 25th ranked athlete qualifies.\n"It happened to be one of those years where a lot of people who qualify in the mile opt to go into the 3000m or the distance medley," coach Marshall Goss said. "It opened up a chance and John's got to be very appreciative of it. He's got to go out and show everyone what kind of miler he is."\nJefferson is certainly deserving of the bid. He ran in nationals for the indoor season last year and earned All-American status at the meet, finishing 10th place with a time of 4:11.78. He is confident he can better that performance this year.\n"I'm mentally prepared because I've beat a lot of the guys who are ranked high," Jefferson said. "All I have to do is make the finals and go from there."\nGoss said he expects Jefferson to be in the mix at the end of the race. One of Jefferson's strongest assets as an athlete is his kick, which is among the best in the race. If he is near the lead in the last lap, he has as good a chance to win it as anyone else.\n"I think he knows he's a major player," distance coach Robert Chapman said. "All of the variables are in place for him."\nAs only a sophomore, Jefferson has a chance to establish himself among the greats of Indiana's storied distance program. He is following in the footsteps of Olympian Bob Kennedy, who races as a slightly longer distance than Jefferson. Like Kennedy, Jefferson earned All-Conference honors as a freshman in cross country and won Big Tens in the mile this year.\nOne of Jefferson's goals coming into the season was to crack the four-minute mile barrier, but it would actually be beneficial if the race was slower because of his kick. However, Chapman said Jefferson's fitness is wonderful and he can be competitive in either style of race. The race will require a preliminal and much of the style of race will be determined by how the runners recover from that.\n"The speed is there and the fitness is there but what's going to determine how well he does is if the killer instinct is there," Chapman said. "If that killer instinct is there, he certainly will be a major factor in the race, mainly because of his kick"
(03/10/03 6:03am)
This weekend the men's track and field team competed with only a few athletes as it tried to qualify for the NCAA Championship meet next weekend at Fayetteville, Ark. Some athletes traveled north to Notre Dame while others headed west to Iowa State. The results included personal records from a number of athletes.\nThe highlight of the weekend was the performance of twin middle-distance runners Rodney and Russell Hollis. Both ran spectacular times as Rodney Hollis was able to earn the victory in the race.\nRodney Hollis finished with a 1:49.70 time while Russell Hollis was right behind with a 1:50.82.\n"It was a big breakthrough for them," coach Marshall Goss said. "However, I'm not sure if it was as big of a breakthrough as it is on paper because they have been working very hard."\nThe Hoosiers had another set of identical twins competing at Notre Dame. Sean and John Jefferson both earned personal records in the mile, with John earning the victory in the event. John Jefferson finished with a time of 4:03.03 and Sean Jefferson ran a 4:07.71. John Jefferson was on the bubble of earning a bid to the NCAA Championship meet and was hoping for faster competition to give him a better time for the season. He was an All-American in the event a year ago. \nSophomore Aarik Wilson competed in the long jump at Iowa State with hopes of a better provisional mark to earn him a trip to nationals. He has already secured his spot in the triple jump, currently sitting at fourth in the event. Wilson finished third in the long jump in the meet with a jump of 7.52. Goss said that the coaches expect Wilson to make the cut for the national meet.\nThe team also welcomed the return of junior sprinter Ryan Sarbinoff from injury. In his first meet since early February, he ran a season's best in the 200-meter race with a time of 21.54.\nNow the athletes still competing set their focus squarely on nationals. Wilson is the only athlete guaranteed a berth but the team has several others with their fingers crossed. Junior Mike Minton in the shot put, John Jefferson in the mile and Rodney Hollis in the 800-meter event all have hopes to qualify for the meet. \n"All we can do is wait," Goss said. "We won't know until Tuesday."\nGoss said the main purpose of the indoor season was to give the team momentum heading into the outdoor season. The team has done that to an extent with a fifth place finish at the Big Ten Championships last week, despite the fact that it was a team crippled from injury. This weekend was another building block for the outdoor season.\n"We've found that we're very versatile thanks to some of the breakthroughs we've had," Goss said. "We've got some latitude to go in a lot of different directions with some events"
(03/04/03 6:31am)
The men's indoor track and field team competed in the Big Ten Championship this past weekend, placing fifth in team competition against a tough field. Wisconsin won a tight team race for the second year in a row, defeating Minnesota by only two points.\nWisconsin was able to clinch the team championship thanks to a strong group of distance runners, while Minnesota relied on depth and Purdue used a 1-2-3-4 finish in the 60 to finish third place.\nThe Hoosiers came into the meet reeling, due to a number of untimely injuries. The team relied on strong performances by top athletes and had several veterans step up with solid performances as well.\n"We definitely would have liked to have a lot better performance than fifth place, but being realistic what we did in the meet was rewarding to the kids," coach Marshall Goss said. "Almost everybody across the board put it on the line, and we had many personal records."\nThe team was led as it has been by sophomore All-American Aarik Wilson. He earned victories in both the triple and long jump, in spite of what he called a bad performance in the triple jump.\n"I didn't do what I needed to do in the triple, and I thought the guy who got second was going to beat me," Wilson said. "The long jump went real well though, and I'm happy with how I did there."\nNow Wilson sets his focus to the NCAA Championships in two weeks where he is one of the favorites for the individual title in the triple jump. Currently he is ranked fourth in the nation in the event, but he said he has as good of a shot as anyone to win it.\nSenior Hasaan Reddick also placed well in the triple jump, finishing third place.\nAlso earning a victory for team was sophomore John Jefferson in the mile. Goss said his twin brother Sean was a big reason why John was able to win the race. Sean said the mile in the conference meet is known to wait for the kick. He made an early move which essentially took him out of the race, but it helped his brother hold off a strong runner from Michigan, Nick Willis.\nThe team received clutch performances from veterans this weekend. Senior hurdler Matt Harris and junior sprinter Contrell Ash went up against top athletes in the nation and placed well. Harris earned fourth in the hurdles, and Ash overcame problems with the timing system to place seventh in the 60m and fifth in the 200m with seasonal personal records in both.\n"I ran pretty good this weekend," Ash said. "We were disappointed with how the 60m went. We had to run it two or three times before they finally got it down because of the timing system, and that took away from my time before the 200m."\nThe distance medley relay team earned a third place victory with strong performances from each participant. Junior Casey Friske, junior Daniel Martin and freshman Wil Fleming also had impressive performances.
(02/28/03 6:14am)
This weekend the No. 20 men's indoor track and field team faces the pinnacle of its season as they travel to Champaign, Ill., for the Big Ten Championship meet. In almost every event, this year's conference meet offers the most challenging competition in recent times. The Hoosiers will have to scrape for every point they can get.\n"We're going to give it everything we possibly can," coach Marshall Goss said. "We're a good team, and we're going to battle as best as we can."\nThe team will come in counting on big points from a few individuals. All season long, the team's leading point scorer has been sophomore All-American triple jumper Aarik Wilson and the team will look to him again this weekend. Senior Hasaan Reddick also boasts All-American credentials in the triple jump and looks to score solid points for the team.\nAfter the top point scorers, the team will count on every point they can get. Athletes who will look to score for the team are senior hurdler Matt Harris, juniors Mike Minton in the shot put, Contrell Ash in the sprints, sophomores Rodney and Russell Hollis in middle distance, sophomore high jumper Noah Shelton and freshman Wil Fleming in the weight throw. \n"I know I've felt better this week than I have all season," Shelton said. "We started tapering off two or three weeks ago, and now my legs feel great."\nGoss said the team will rely heavily on the distance squad. Distance coach Robert Chapman uses a high mileage philosophy, which focuses on this meet in particular. The distance runners in the Big Ten have been stellar, especially in the mile where two athletes have already broken the four-minute barrier. The Hoosiers will be led by sophomores in the distance events with John and Sean Jefferson, Stephen Haas and Eric Redman leading the way. John Jefferson was an All-American in the mile.\n"I can't speak for everybody, but I know with all these meets against small schools ... now, this is our first opportunity to go out against national class guys," Redman said. "We don't have to think about times now, we just have to worry about our place."\nEarlier this season, the team was ranked among the top of the Big Ten, but after struggling through injuries and an unimpressive performance at West Lafayette against Purdue and Ohio State, the team has dropped considerably. Still faced with the problem of injuries, the team has to find a way to overcome this obstacle to have a chance at the conference title.\n"We were rated pretty high in the country at one time," Goss said. "We're not going into this as a healthy team, but we're going still going to give it everything we can"
(02/28/03 6:13am)
Confidence has never been a problem for sophomore high jumper Noah Shelton. Even this weekend when facing one of the top high jumpers in the nation in senior Shaun Guice from Purdue at the Big Ten Championships, Shelton said he knows what he needs to do.\n"(Guice) is good, but he can be beat just like anyone else," Shelton said. "Even if he has a good meet, I still think I can beat him. I don't think anybody is that much better than me that I can't beat them."\nA high school state champion in the high jump at South Bend Adams high school, Shelton has all the credentials to match his confidence. Shelton said his goal this weekend at the conference championships is a top-three finish in the meet, which will take a jump of close to seven feet. Seven feet is higher than Shelton has jumped all season but he said he thinks that it is possible because he has been feeling better after tapering his training.\n"We started tapering two or three weeks ago and the jumps have just been easier and easier," Shelton said. "My legs feel great; they're going to be ready for this weekend."\nShelton has been essential to the team this season, assuming the role as the team's top high jumper. Coach Marshall Goss said he has shown vast improvement upon last year, mainly because of added consistency. This season, he has been the team's top high jumper in every meet.\n"I think that he's been paying more attention to the little things he's needed to correct and that's led to more consistent jumps," Goss said.\nShelton said the strong season has felt even better due to a dismal year last year. After redshirting his freshman year, Shelton faced a rough schedule of class, practice and work last year.\n"Last year was probably the toughest year in my life," Shelton said. "I was always tired. I never wanted to do anything; not go to class, go to practice or go to work."\nGoss said the team expects a strong performance out of Shelton this weekend at the Big Ten Championships. Shelton has gained a reputation as a clutch performer due to his high school state championship and during outdoor track last season when he had a personal record at the Big Ten Championship meet.\n"He's out to take it to another level and he's been known to do that," Goss said. "I always expect a lot of Noah. He's a clutch performer"
(02/24/03 6:01am)
Saturday the No. 11 men's track and field team competed in the Hoosier Hills as their final tune-up before the indoor Big Ten Championship meet, which takes place next weekend at the University of Illinois.\nTeam scores were not kept and many of the team's top individuals sat out the meet, but individuals who did perform were impressive. Most notably was senior triple and long jumper Hasaan Reddick, who was an All-American for indoor last year. Reddick jumped a season best 15.7-meter in the triple jump, which is a provisional mark for the NCAA Championship meet March 14 and 15 at the University of Arkansas.\nSenior Matthew Harris won the 60-meter hurdles and in the shot put junior Mike Minton and freshman Ryan Ketchum finished first and second, respectively. In the high jump, sophomore Noah Shelton placed third and 4x400-meter relay team finished second. Sophomore All-American Aarik Wilson sat out of his speciality, the triple and long jump and competed in only the 60-meter dash, where he placed second.\n"This meet was more practice," Wilson said. "I ran the 60-meter to work on my runway speed (for the triple and long jump)."\nThe team did not race any long distance athletes and the middle-distance runners who competed ran shorter events. The focus of the meet was more for the field event athletes.\nNow, the team will prepare for what the focus has been on since the beginning of the season with the Big Ten Championship. They have gradually reduced the training in the weeks leading up and most athletes are feeling fresh.\nCoach Marshall Goss said this year is a breakout season for the Big Ten. An example he gave was in the mile. Usually a 4:12 time scores points for a team whereas this year the time would most likely not qualify for the finals in the event. But, sophomore Eric Redman said while the competition will still be very fast, it should thin out into other events.\n"We're going into what will be a very tough meet this year," Goss said. "We're going to go out and run our best. Our kids are competitive and they'll get the job done."\nGoss said Purdue, Michigan, Minnesota and last year's champion Wisconsin are the favorites heading into the meet. The Hoosiers have already defeated Michigan once during the dual meet season.\nGoss said that the main objective for the meet is to show improvement. So far this season, the team has showed improvement as a whole and Goss wants the trend to continue.\n"We've got to make growth over the last year," Goss said. "We do that by personal records, personal growth and concentration."\nThis week as the coaches make out their final rosters, Goss said it is somewhat of a crap-shoot throughout the conference. Each coach will look to try to predict his counterparts placements and tries to give his athletes their best opportunity to win.\n"We're going to do well," Goss said. "A lot of how we finish is going to come down to where everybody puts their people, but we're going to put out everything we can no matter what"