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(11/15/02 3:48am)
Saturday, the No. 20 men's cross country team travels to Purdue for the second time in three weeks. There the Hoosiers race in their most important race to date this season with the Great Lakes Regional meet.\nThe top three teams at the District meet earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships Nov. 25 at Terre Haute. The others may receive an at-large bid if they have enough regular season victories.\nThe Hoosiers expect a top three finish, but should earn an at-large bid if they slip. The district is one of the fiercest in the nation, so a solid performance should earn a bid.\n"It's been a very strange year," coach Robert Chapman said. "I've run just about every possible scenario on paper, and we could be as worse as seventh and still have about a 90 percent chance of making it. Our region has done a good job of getting their wins."\nThe team's top runners all season have been freshmen John and Sean Jefferson. John was named the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year and has twice been named Big Ten Runner of the Week. Sean was Big Ten Runner of the Week once. Both earned All Conference honors two weeks ago, the first Hoosier freshmen since the current five-kilometer American Record holder Bob Kennedy did so in 1988.\nAlso looking to score for the team are junior Bart Phariss, sophomore Tom Burns and freshman Eric Redman. \nChapman said earlier that he expects the team's sixth and seventh runners to close the gap between the team's pack. Several of the runners were forced to begin their training late this summer. He said sophomore Nathan Purcell and freshman Stephen Haas should start coming around.\nThe distance for the Regional meet will jump from the eight kilometer races the Hoosier's have been racing to ten kilometers. Chapman said the team views this as a benefit.\n"In cross country, we train more strength oriented, so it fits for us," Chapman said. "We look at it as a help, while other teams are intimidated by it."\nThirty teams will meet at Purdue, seven of which are nationally ranked. No. 4 Wisconsin are favorites, coming off a dominant performance at Big Ten Championships. Also competing are No. 7 Eastern Michigan, No. 9 Central Michigan, No. 17 Ohio State, No. 18 Michigan, No. 21 Butler and No. 28 Michigan State.\nThe meet will begin at 12:30 at the Varsity Cross Country Course.
(11/05/02 5:09am)
WEST LAFAYETTE -- Led by freshman twins John and Sean Jefferson, the 18th ranked men's cross country team ran to a fourth place finish at the Big Ten conference meet in Purdue Sunday.\nThe Jeffersons have been the stars of the season, running most meets side by side as the number one and two runners all year long. John finished fourth with a time of 24 minutes, 7 seconds on the eight kilometer course and Sean finished five seconds later in sixth place. \nThe twins are the first Hoosier freshmen to earn all conference honors since American record holder Bob Kennedy in 1988. \n"That was a great job by John and Sean," coach Robert Chapman said. "Those guys are going to have unbelievable careers. Just look at what they're doing as freshmen." \nThe team matched last year's finish with their fourth place team standing. Junior Bart Phariss finished 19th for the team, freshman Eric Redman finished 32nd and sophomore Tom Burns finished 37th. Chapman said before the race that the gap between the team's fourth and seventh runners should begin to narrow. This was true through four kilometers where juniors Jon Little and Nathan Purcell and freshman Stephen Haas ran with the team's number five runner, Burns. Chapman said that the move up to ten kilometer races should benefit the team in this aspect. \nLast year's fifth place finisher at nationals, Wisconsin, dominated the team competition Sunday finishing with all five scoring runners in the top ten. At one point of the race they had the top five runners. Wisconsin came into the meet ranked 11th. \nChapman said that the team did not cut back mileage for the meet as is customary for a meet such as Big Tens. They kept their mileage up in a gamble that they will be better prepared for Districts in two weeks and Nationals on Nov. 25.\n"We knew we ran the risk of giving up a spot or two here, but hopefully it will pay off later on," Chapman said. \nJohn Jefferson said that not cutting back mileage did not affect his race.\n"We've been steady with the mileage so this race felt just like any other race," he said. \nThe next race for the team will be back in West Lafayette for Districts on Nov. 16. If the team finishes in the top three as a team, they will automatically earn a spot in the NCAA Championship meet Nov. 25 at Terre Haute. However a good performance also gives them a chance at an at-large bid. \n"Our focus is on Nationals but first we've got to get in," Chapman said. "Hopefully it will work out but if not, then we?ll just move on to indoors. We'll come back in two weeks and see what happens." \nAt Districts the team will see the increase to the 10-kilometer race, which they expect to help them.\n"It will definitely be better for Bart (Phariss), who is more of a distance guy," Sean Jefferson said. "Also once our other guys cut their miles down, we'll be clicking for Districts"
(11/01/02 5:49am)
This Sunday the Hoosiers will look to continue their early-season success as they travel to Purdue for the Big Ten Championship meet. The team is ranked No. 18 in the nation and enters the tournament as a favorite, but will receive strong competition with four other teams ranked in the top 20.\nAlso looking to compete for the Big Ten title are No. 11 Wisconsin, No. 12 Michigan, No. 15 Minnesota and No. 20 Ohio State. Wisconsin finished fifth in the NCAA meet last year.\nThe men's team last competed Oct. 19 at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute where they placed fourth in their heat of 35 teams.\n"I always tell people that cross country is similar to football and basketball in that every year, you can count on four or five teams from the Big Ten being in the top 25," coach Robert Chapman said.\nThus far this year, the team has been led by freshmen twins John and Sean Jefferson. Each sibling has been named Big Ten Runner of the Week once.\n"I am happy that our younger runners have found success, they take the pressure off me," junior Bart Phariss said. "I know that they will run well, so I can just worry about myself."\nPhariss, sophomore Tom Burns and freshman Eric Redman have rounded out the team's top five in recent meets. Juniors Robert DeWitte, Jon Little and Nathan Purcell and freshman Stephen Haas all hope to crack the team's top five.\n"Any of the nine guys we're sending out could be in the scoring five for us the rest of the year," Chapman said. "We've been pretty low key with training this fall, looking more toward November and the track season, so a lot of these guys are really rounding into form about now."\nChapman said he entered the season focusing on the later meets. Now that those meets have arrived, Chapman said his team is physically and emotionally prepared to run well.\n"I don't ever have to worry about getting the guys up for these meets," Chapman said. "But we also made essentially zero emotional investment in any of the meets we have run in so far, so we're pretty fresh in that department."\nTeam members said the squad felt depleted around this time last year and attributed putting less concentration on the earlier meets as a factor. With the training to improve fitness and the early meets out of the way, the Hoosiers are fresh and focused on the important meets. The team will also race in an NCAA regional race on Nov. 16 and the NCAA Championship on Nov. 25. \n"With three races in 23 days, the focus shifts from training to building fitness, to training to prepare to race," Chapman said. "With this group, I just need to make sure they have fresh legs for the races and get them to the meet on time."\nThe Big Ten tournament kicks off at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Purdue.
(10/29/02 5:27am)
Last year the men's cross country team brought in one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. In addition to top freshmen, the team also landed a strong transfer from Rutgers, junior Jon Little.\nAfter an eighth place finish in the Big East Conference meet, Little questioned his potential if he stayed at Rutgers. He said he was very impressed with IU coach Robert Chapman's ability to take good high school runners and make a great college team and decided Indiana was the place for him. Little's decision was easier due to his father accepting a job as a professor at the university.\nSome members of the team were initially wary of the transfer. Sophomore Tom Burns said he was not sure there was a place for Little on the team. \nNow he says he was completely wrong.\n"He brings a dimension to the team that no one else can," Burns said. "Jon's transfer brought a leader to this team. Although he didn't know anyone here, he found his spot on the team and worked hard."\nLittle used hard work to ensure the team's acceptance. Chapman said that Little has the unique ability to maximize his potential and that earns him respect.\n"I think the team has accepted me because I always work hard at practice and lay it on the line at races," Little said. "That is what our team is all about this year, so my competitiveness is a good match for this year's team."\n Little has battled struggles since his transfer to IU. He was forced to sit out last season due to NCAA rules for transfer athletes. He said it killed him to have to sit out the season because he thought he could help the team, but the new freshmen recruits red-shirted with him and that made the adjustment easier.\nThen Little came down with mononucleosis during track season. He said he ran worse than when he was a freshman. The disease kept him from beginning his training until late August and he said he is just now starting to feel in good shape.\nThis season, Little's main role is to bring depth to the team and leadership. Due to his late start he has not had the impact he would like, but his competitive spirit forces him to do what he can to help the team and try for the team's top five.\nChapman said that Little always has a chance to help the team in cross country and in track he has a good chance of excellence in the steeplechase.\nBurns said Little has already made a great impact in his short time on the team. His attitude and determination along with the sacrifice he made to pursue his potential has earned the respect of his teammates and makes him seem like one of the veterans on the team.\n"He transferred to IU leaving his friends, his home and his comfort zone at Rutgers," Burns said. "It takes a man of character to be willing to leave everything behind for a chance at being great"
(10/23/02 4:54am)
In late June, instead of preparing for the upcoming cross country season, freshman Stephen Haas ran in the World Junior Trials for track. Because of that, Haas had a late start entering the cross country season. Going into his season, he was about four or five weeks behind his teammates.\nSo far this cross country season, the highest Haas has placed on the team was seventh last Saturday at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute. But, coach Robert Chapman said he thinks Haas will help the team tremendously in the second half of the season.\n"The key will be getting him to be mentally confident as he continues to build fitness," Chapman said. "Stephen will have a huge role in the next five weeks."\nThe most important meets for the team still lie in the future. In November, the team travels to Purdue twice for the Big Ten Championships and the Great Lakes District and Terre Haute for the NCAA Championships.\nChapman said that so far this season the team has taken the meets relatively lightly. He has put little pressure on Haas to contribute so far, but said Haas puts a tremendous amount of pressure on himself.\n"Stephen is his own harshest critic," Chapman said.\nHaas came to IU from North Carolina and helped form one of the best recruiting classes in the nation. Joined by twins John and Sean Jefferson from Florida and Eric Redman from Indianapolis, the team has been dominated by youth. \n"It was great when those guys committed to IU," junior Bart Phariss said. "They are great guys to train and race with."\nThe Jeffersons and Redman finished as the team's top three runners at Pre-Nationals last Saturday. Haas said he hopes to be with these runners by the end of the season.\nHaas came with a high school career as impressive as almost anyone in the nation. He was a Foot Locker Finalist in cross country as a junior in high school and a Nike Indoor All-American in track as a senior. He finished second in the state meet for cross country as a junior and champion as a senior. As a senior in track, he was state champion in the mile and two mile. Chapman said Haas has potential to be a star harrier.\n"He's going to have a great career at IU and he'll leave as one of the all-time greats," Chapman said. "It's my job to have the vision for what he can accomplish and keep him focused on that"
(10/21/02 4:04am)
Terre Haute -- The men's cross country team competed here Saturday to take on the nation's finest at the Pre-Nationals meet. The team placed fourth in their heat of 35 teams, led by three redshirt freshmen.\nFreshmen John and Sean Jefferson once again led the way for the Hoosiers with 16th and 18th overall finishes respectively. Freshman Eric Redman went out with the fast pace and held on to finish third place for the team and 57th overall in the eight kilometer race. \n"Our top three guys were freshmen," junior Bart Phariss said. "How great is that?"\nThe Jeffersons have led the team, along with Phariss, all season long. John Jefferson has been the team's number one runner in every meet with Sean closely behind.\nJuniors Phariss and Tom Burns rounded out the team's scoring with 64th and 82nd place finishes.\nThe team approached the meet as a low-stress big meet. The purpose of the meet was to give teams a chance to run on the course of the NCAA Championship meet on Nov. 25 and also to give teams a chance to run against top competition to earn an at-large bid to nationals.\nTo earn a spot at the NCAA Championship meet, a team must finish in the top three at Districts or earn an at-large bid. The Hoosiers have already beat top teams with fine performances at the Indiana State Invitational and have a No. 17 national ranking. This put little pressure on the team to perform well at the meet Saturday.\n"I think if you asked the guys, they would say they ran just about average," coach Robert Chapman said. "Luckily, our average is pretty good."\nChapman said the team did not really come in with any expectations. He expects for the team to hit its peak for nationals. He said that if the team can fire on all cylinders for nationals, they can do pretty well.\n"We had redshirt freshmen go one, two, three and that's pretty special," Chapman said. "And you know the older guys will be running well by the end of the season, so it looks like everything's clicking."\nThe team did benefit from the opportunity to race on the course where the NCAA Championships will be held. The team already raced there once for the Indiana State Invitational where they placed runner-up.\n"I think it is helpful to run on the ISU course a number of times before the championship meet," Sean Jefferson said. "I think knowing the course will give me a bit of an advantage over the other guys who have never run there before."\nThe team will compete next at the Big Ten Championships in West Lafayette on Nov. 3.
(10/18/02 5:27am)
The men's cross country team will face their toughest test of the season Saturday when they travel to Terre Haute for the pre-nationals meet. The top teams in the nation will line up at Indiana State in preparation for the NCAA Championships, which are held at the same site Nov. 25.\nThe team enters the meet at No. 17 in the nation, its highest ranking since 2000. Coach Robert Chapman said the team has the talent to make a strong showing and should just run relaxed. He said the most important goal for the meet was simply to keep everyone healthy and make progress for nationals and the other big November meets.\n"I think for our team to be successful this weekend we have to run like we've been running all year," freshman John Jefferson said.\nThe Hoosiers will be running on the same course as they competed on in their last meet two weeks ago at the Indiana State Invitational. The team finished runners-up, with three freshmen in their top five. John and Sean Jefferson fished fourth and fifth overall, respectively and Eric Redman was the team's fourth finisher.\n"I am happy that our younger runners have found success, they take the pressure off me," junior Bart Phariss said. "I know that they will run well, so I can just worry about myself."\nThe Jeffersons have been the top two runners in all of the team's meets so far. John Jefferson had won every race as an individual before the Indiana State Invitational and has twice been named the Big Ten Runner of the Week. Sean Jefferson finished only .1 second behind his twin at Indiana State.\nThis weekend will be the second of the team's three meets at Terre Haute. The runners said racing on the course so often builds confidence for nationals.\n"We probably know that course as good or better than anyone in the country outside of Indiana State," Chapman said, " Knowing what to expect takes a little of the mental burden off."\nThe team has not placed much mental burden on the pre-nationals meet. Phariss said the team has raced well enough to this point of the season to ensure a spot at the NCAA Championships, so they will use this meet to build momentum.\n"This is the least important big race I have ever run," Phariss said. "We have enough wins to go to nationals, so this race is not a big deal."\nAll season long, Chapman has planned to prepare the team for November while compiling enough wins to earn a spot in nationals. With a string of solid performances already, the team is confident they will make the meet. Now, Chapman said, they can focus on November.\n"If they put together a good race this weekend, then you're not just wishing and hoping for the championship races," Chapman said. "You've got something tangible to base your dreams on, which makes it a little easier to take that emotional risk"
(10/16/02 5:03am)
Junior Nate Purcell provided the men's cross country team with a pleasant surprise. Coming off a nagging heel injury last season, Purcell was forced into surgery last spring and it was undetermined when he would be back to full strength. \nPurcell's surgery limited the mileage he was able to run over the summer. His training consisted of running nearly half the amount that the rest of the team. Due to this, Purcell and coach Robert Chapman focused on the later part of the season.\n"With Nate, we both knew it would be a progressive process as the year goes on," Chapman said. "He's going to get a little better each week."\nChapman referred to Purcell as a relief to the pressure of the younger runners. He said Purcell will pick up the slack if anyone falters.\nPurcell said that in the past the team had gained a reputation from running poorly in races. He said he is confident this year the team will put that behind them.\n"We have always had the talent but on race day the team would not get the job done," Purcell said. "This year that is not going to happen."\nThis confidence is one of the main traits that has helped the team succeed. Junior Robert De Witte said that this confidence is contagious to the other runners on the team.\n"Nate's the type of teammate that will come up next to you in a race, say 'let's go get these guys' and actually make you believe you can do it," De Witte said. "His tenacious ability to drag his teammates through the tough middle of a race is invaluable."\nPurcell showed his worth in the team's last meet October 5 at the Indiana State Invitational where he was the team's fifth runner. He finished the race 43rd overall with a time of 25:32.9 over the eight kilometer course.\nPurcell has consistently been a force for the team during his career. After redshirting his freshman year, he was the team's fourth runner at the NCAA Championships his sophomore year.\nPurcell carries top honors from his high school performances in Illinois. As a junior, he placed seventh in the state meet and ninth as a senior.\nNow, healthy and confident, Purcell looks to help his team in the big meets in November, which include Big Ten Championships, the Great Lakes Regional meet and the NCAA Championship meet.\n"Come November there will be no excuses," Purcell said. "We are going to put our past reputation to rest and give people a reason to respect us"
(10/09/02 4:32am)
When men's cross country coach Robert Chapman designed his plan to rebuild his team, he wanted to use a base of Indiana high school stars and eventually land some high school All Americans.\nLast year, Chapman was able to take a step towards those national stars by bringing in three Foot Locker All-Americans in Stephen Haas from North Carolina and twins John and Sean Jefferson from Florida.\nHe also brought in Eric Redman from Indianapolis, a signing that slipped under the spotlight. After redshirting his freshman cross country season, Redman has been the team's biggest surprise this year.\n"We knew Eric had talent, worked hard, and came from an excellent program at North Central High School in Indianapolis," Chapman said. "But I also thought of him as a little more of a middle distance type of runner, and often they struggle with cross country in college moving to the 8K and 10K. Obviously that isn't the case (with Redman)."\nRedman has scored in all three meets this season at the number four and five position for the team. Last weekend he ran a career best 25:10.1 at the Indiana State Invitational to earn a 21st place overall finish in the eight kilometer race.\nHe has surpassed most people's expectations already this season. \n"I think he's a gutty kid, but I also think being around the other guys has helped him raise his game to a higher level," Chapman said. \nOne of those who has helped Redman is junior Bart Phariss. The two were high school teammates at North Central. As a freshman, Redman was a member of a cross country team in which Phariss won the five kilometer individual title in the state meet, and Phariss has watched Redman run since he was 13-years-old.\n"I knew that he was going to be good during his sophomore year of high school," Phariss said, "He just raced really hard, especially at the big meets at the end of the year."\nRedman said he always expects to perform well when the meets are important and does not accept less. He said he wants to finish in the top 25 at both the Big Ten Championships and the District meet this season and eventually earn All American status. Phariss predicts that in two years Redman will earn those honors.\nIn high school, Redman earned All State honors as a junior and senior in both track and cross country. His senior year, he placed seventh in the state meet for cross country and third in the mile. This spring, he placed tenth in the 1500 meter race at the Big Ten Championships.\nRedman said he entered the cross country season with high confidence from the track season and solid training. Now he works on gaining experience to attain his goals.\n"I think that with every race I'm learning more about running fast with the top runners and by the end of the season who knows where I will be," Redman said.
(10/04/02 8:25pm)
Saturday, the IU men's cross country team travels to Terre Haute to compete in the Indiana State Invitational. The team will face its most difficult opposition of the season against a field of six ranked teams.\nThis will be the second consecutive year the team has raced in the meet. They will race on the course several times later this season, including on Nov. 25 at the NCAA Championship. Members of the team said the meet will provide positive experience for Nationals and other meets at the course.\nThe Hoosiers enter the meet undefeated and ranked No. 22. Coach Robert Chapman has downplayed both of these facts, stressing to his team that later in the season is more important than the first several meets. He also said the team does not worry about the polls.\n"We don't really need twelve people who have not seen us practice or run to tell us how good we are," Chapman said. "We're confident enough in our own ability to not get validation of our ability from a poll."\nSophomore Kurtis George said the team looks forward to testing their ability Saturday. George added this weekend is an opportunity to put together a solid race and pick off some good teams.\n"The team is fit and ready to run," George said, "The wins are there; we just need to grab them."\nGeorge said the team's strength lies in their talent and depth, and that they showed that in their first two meets in which they used a solid pack and front running to win the team competitions.\nSophomore Tom Burns said he expects similar results this weekend, despite the difficult competition. He said junior Bart Phariss expects a breakout performance and freshmen twins John and Sean Jefferson should continue their success. John Jefferson has been the top Hoosier finisher at both of the Hoosier's two meets so far this season.\nBurns said he expects freshman Stephen Haas to have an impressive race.\nThe Hoosiers last competed at the Indiana Intercollegiates on Sept. 20 where they placed first but ran in pouring rain. This weekend should provide better running weather, but the ground could be wet from the possibility of rain on Friday night. \nBurns said the team is not worried about outside influences. He explained that, although the meet is important, it won't characterize the rest of the season in either a positive or negative manner. \n"This will be the first show for us," Burns said, "I would love for the team to win the meet and show the other teams that we are a legitimate top ten team"
(10/01/02 4:56am)
Cross country coaches routinely stress that a team is only as strong as its fifth man. With the depth sophomore Kurtis George provides, the Hoosiers are positioning themselves for a Big Ten title run. In the early part of the season, the team has used a strong pack to lead them to commanding victories. George made his presence felt in the pack.\n"Kurtis' main role on the team is to help push the middle pack runners and eventually be a front runner," sophomore Tom Burns said.\nIn the team's last race, George helped the pack and earned a sixteenth place finish in the eight kilometer race. Coach Robert Chapman said he expects George to improve and consistently finish in the top seven for the team. He spent all of last season in the top seven, placing as high as 4th on the team.\n"Ideally, Kurtis' role would be to solidify our top five, as he did for a good chunk of last season," Chapman said. "He's a little short right now, but I think he can be there in the end."\nGeorge has shown solid flashes of potential. As a harrier in high school, he earned all state honors for three years, including a third place finish as a junior. He also earned a third place finish in the two mile for track.\n"He has the talent to be one of the best in the country," Burns said. "He just has to get that in his head, and he will excel."\nIf George can make that breakthrough, the Hoosiers would receive a much needed lift. Chapman said the team has three solid front runners in freshmen John and Sean Jefferson and junior Bart Phariss. If George can earn All-American honors, the team would have one of the strongest groups in the nation.\n"Coach has said and I feel that I can be a major factor in this team's success this year," George said.\nIn addition to the depth he brings to the team, George's quiet leadership has also been beneficial.\n"Kurtis is not a vocal leader," Chapman said. "He talks with his feet."\nFor a team dominated by underclassmen, this type of leadership is an important trait for a young runner to have, Burns said.\n"Kurtis has affected my running career by being one of the best runners in practice," Burns said, "Everyone knows that Kurtis will show up in a workout to help the team"
(09/23/02 5:08am)
Severe weather tried unsuccessfully to ruin the afternoon for the Indiana Intercollegiates cross country meet Friday afternoon. Although tornado warnings highlighted the day for most of central Indiana, the story at the IU cross country course was the dominant effort put forth by the men's team. The team won both the team and individual titles. \nThe Hoosiers used pack running from the early portion of the eight kilometer race and finished with only 14 seconds separating the team's top runner from their seventh.\nThe team won the meet, beating runner-up Purdue by 25 points. Freshman John Jefferson was able to out-sprint previously unbeaten Boilermaker Kyle Orender to win the meet individually with a time of 28:46.\n"We haven't had anyone win this meet in a couple years. So while we wanted to dominate as a team, we also wanted someone to win individually," coach Robert Chapman said. \nFive of the meet's top seven finishers were Hoosiers. Freshman Sean Jefferson, twin brother of John, finished third in the meet, two seconds behind his sibling. Also scoring for the team were junior Bart Phariss in fourth, sophomore Tom Burns in sixth and freshman Eric Redman in seventh. \n"It felt great," Sean Jefferson said. "We were just trying to run relaxed and as a team."\nThe team's goal was to run comfortably and work on fixing potential weaknesses for later in the season, Chapman said. He added the team will face more difficult meets further in the season in which this meet should prove valuable.\n"This meet gave younger runners and everyone else a chance to work out any problems we're having before we get to upcoming bigger meets," sophomore Kurtis George said.\nRacing in their first eight kilometer race, the young runners were able to stick with the pack for most of the meet en route to finishing in the top five for the Hoosiers. \n"The race worked out how we wanted it to," Redman said. "We felt real good."\nAlthough pack running has been beneficial to the team so far, Chapman said as the meets progressively get bigger and more competitive, the team will likely have to run a more individual style of race.\n"We'd like to keep the pack going, but we won't be able to count on that," Chapman said, "That means we need some guys to step it up and run out front for us."\nThe Jeffersons made solid steps to becoming the team's front runners Friday although Phariss and redshirt freshman Stephen Haas are also working for the top spot, Chapman said.\nThe team will race again next Friday in Charlotte, NC for the Great American Cross Country Festival.
(09/20/02 6:37am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One of the key ingredients for a successful cross country team is at least one runner the coach can count on for a solid performance every race. Head coach Robert Chapman said sophomore Thomas Burns fills that role for the Hoosiers.
Last year, Burns made his presence felt after redshirting as a freshman. He was in the team's top five in each of his five races last season. He also had an impressive track season for which he was named Academic All-American this spring.
Burns said he expects similar results this season.
"I see my role very similar to last year," Burns said, "I'm a very consistent racer, and my role is as our three, four or five guy."
(09/20/02 6:16am)
The No. 23 men's cross country team will serve host to the Indiana Intercollegiates this Friday. The meet has a storied past as this will be the 64th time the annual race has been held. Though it is only the second meet of the year for the Hoosiers, it will be the team's final home meet of the season. \nThe Hoosiers have hosted the meet 14 times and this will be the third consecutive season it will take place at the IU Cross Country Course. Although the cross country season is traditionally focused on gearing up for later meets, the team has not decreased their training schedule for this weekend. \nSophomore Thomas Burns downplayed the meet's overall significance, but said it would help the team in preparing for later competitions. \n"It's sort of just a meet for bragging rights," Burns said. "We will train smart and keep the big picture in mind."\nThe open race begins at 3:45 p.m. and the men's 8k race will kick off at 5:10. Both races are at the IU Cross Country Course.\nThe Hoosiers will receive solid competition from the talented field, which includes Notre Dame, Butler and Purdue. The meet will be the first for the Hoosiers at the eight-kilometer distance, and it will also provide valuable experience for the Hoosier's young corps of runners. The team has 12 freshman and sophomore runners, including four redshirt freshman.\nIncluded in this group are three-time all-state honoree John Jefferson, his twin brother Sean Jefferson, who was 31st at the Foot Locker National Cross Country Championship as a junior, 1999 Footlocker finalist Stephan Haas and Eric Redman who earned all-state honors in track and cross country his junior and senior years. \nCoach Robert Chapman will use the team's performance in the meet to gauge the progress of the younger members of the squad. For many of those younger runners, this will be their first real test against high-level opponents, although not as high as they will see in later meets.\n"This meet will give the younger runners and everyone else a chance to work out any problems we're having before we get to the upcoming bigger meets," sophomore Bart Phariss said.\nThe Hoosiers competed in their first meet Aug. 30 at the Indiana Open. John Jefferson and Phariss took second and third respectively and five other Hoosiers finished in the top ten. Today's race is the team's first meet since the Indiana Open. Sophomore Kurtis George said the down time is necessary for the team.\n"You can't race every weekend. It takes too much out of you. You'd be done," George said. "The way our schedule plays out, you have a couple of weeks to condition, log some good mileage and stay healthy."\nChapman said this meet will be the team's first step in asserting itself as a dominant national program.\n"We're hopeful this season is one where we can take another step as a program," Chapman said. "Our mission is to see if we can take the next step and become a consistent national power"
(09/13/02 5:43am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>In 1998, Colorado coach Mark Wetmore was able to lure two of the top recruits in the nation to his university, identical twins Ed and Jorge Torres. Last year the Torres twins were able to lead Colorado to a national championship and are a favorite to repeat this year.
Last year IU coach Robert Chapman brought twins John and Sean Jefferson from Florida to Indiana with hopes of the same success Colorado's twins brought.
After redshirting freshman year, they are vital toward the team's success this year.
"We need one or two front runners to step up," Chapman said, "The Jefferson twins and (Stephen) Haas all have the pedigree to be a front runner for us."
Along with Haas from North Carolina and Eric Redman from Indianapolis, the Jeffersons headlined a top recruiting class last year. Previously Chapman built his teams with primarily top Indiana athletes making the Hoosiers roster appear like an Indiana high school all-star team.