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(11/12/04 5:50am)
Just five years ago, the IU men's cross country team only hoped they would qualify for the NCAA Championships. This Saturday, instead of taking a last-ditch chance at qualifying and hoping luck falls on the Hoosiers' side, they will run with confidence, knowing that the 10,000-meter race at Eastern Michigan University is just a formality. \n"The team has reached the level where, year in, year out, they're one of the best teams in the country," said IU graduate and 2003 cross country All-American Chris Powers. "Regional is important, but NCAAs is the time for that breakthrough race."\nTeams approach the Great Lakes Regional meet in two ways. One type of team arrives knowing its season is at an end and that the careers of the team's seniors have come to a close. The team's top runners abandon the team and race to qualify individually. IU is no longer this type of team.\nThe other type of team qualifies for NCAAs every year. This type of team can run conservatively at Regionals and qualify at-large for NCAAs on the strength of early season wins. Armed with a top-10 ranking, this is the sort of team IU has become. \n"We're just going to sit in the pack," said junior All-American Sean Jefferson, the team's top runner all season. "We don't need to do anything spectacular to qualify, so we're just going to make sure no one gets away from us."\nIU has a number of athletes able to race in a front pack likely to be laden with All-Americans, including the nation's top team, the Wisconsin Badgers. \nTypically the race is tactical, inviting a slower, consistent pace that should allow most of IU's runners to settle in and conserve energy for the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute Nov. 22. \nThe Regional provides runners with a chance to polish racing strategies in preparation for NCAAs. Junior All-American John Jefferson said he plans to take full advantage of the race to gain more confidence in his resurgent season and plan his NCAA race.\n"I'm going to go out a little faster and run with Sean earlier in the race," John Jefferson said. "I want to be ready for NCAAs because the pace is usually faster, so this race will be good to find the right people to run with."\nSo much of collegiate cross country is tactical, as each team devises the best strategy to finish as well as possible. For some teams this means racing in a pack, willing weaker runners to hang on as long as possible. For others, it means letting the squads' top runners race at the front to score as few points as possible. In cross country, the lowest points (determined by finishing places) wins. \nLooking ahead to NCAAs, IU will probably use a strategy where two runners pair up and attack the race together. Aside from the Jeffersons, who are veteran pair-racers, IU's pairs will likely be senior Tom Burns and junior Stephen Haas and juniors Eric Redman and Charlie Koeppen. \nSaturday provides a chance to practice that dynamic -- a luxury only perennial powerhouses have -- one IU is beginning to understand. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(11/01/04 5:15am)
While IU students slowly awoke from Halloween weekend in Bloomington, the IU men's cross country team toed the line at the Big Ten Championships at the University of Iowa. \nRanked No. 13 before the race, IU was set to battle eight other teams for second place. Wisconsin, traditionally the class of the field, has perhaps its best lineup ever and ranks first in the country. The Badgers defended their title with a convincing 81-point win. \nIU scored 104 points and won the battle for second over Iowa, Minnesota and Michigan, who all tallied within four points of each other. Wisconsin sophomore Simon Bairu won his second straight Big Ten Cross Country Championship with a solid 23 minute, 45 second finish. \nIU's success depended on the performance of each of its runners. Holding up the front end were IU junior All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson. Sean led his brother by one second in 24:30, while John used a blistering finishing kick over the final two kilometers of the eight-kilometer race to nestle in right behind Sean in 24:31. Both Sean and John earned second team All-Big Ten honors.\n"Those guys are phenomenal," said recently graduated IU All-American Chris Powers, IU's second runner at last year's meet. "For John to get in shape so quickly this season after a year off is nothing short of remarkable."\nThird for IU was senior Tom Burns in 19th place, followed soon after by junior Stephen Haas in 24th.\n"Stephen started the race a little quicker than I did," Burns said. "But once we found each other we ran together."\nJunior Eric Redman rounded out IU's scoring in 45th place. Junior Billy Coale was IU's final finisher in 80th while junior Charlie Koeppen did not finish. \nIU's runner-up finish time improved on last year's second place and was their best since 2000's runner-up performance. Until Friday morning, IU anticipated a tough duel with Michigan for second. That morning presented the news that Michigan Olympian Nick Willis, the team's No. 2 cross country runner, would not compete due to injury, buoying the Hoosiers' confidence.\n"Willis is out," said Sean Jefferson at the time. "So we'd better beat them now."\nThe team did not disappoint and will look to carry its momentum through the Great Lakes Regional meet in two weeks. After the Regional, only the NCAA Championships remain. \nIU still has to sharpen its legs for the final push. IU's training style is well-adapted to the final part of the season. Both the Regional and National Championships are contested over 10,000-meters, a full mile and a quarter longer than the Big Ten race.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(10/29/04 5:17am)
Back in the top 15 nationally, the No. 13-ranked IU men's cross country team is riding a rising tide of optimism as it rolls into the Big Ten Championship this Sunday at the University of Iowa.\n"The Big Ten is easily the most talented and deepest conference in the country," said recently graduated IU All-American Chris Powers. "These guys are ready, and it will be exciting to see what they can do."\nIn last year's edition, IU finished third on the strength of two seniors, Powers and Chad Andrews. Losing Powers and Andrews to graduation, the Hoosiers are looking to fill the void. A candidate to plug the hole is 2002s Big Ten Freshman of the Year John Jefferson, who is nearing full-strength after a full year off due to injury. \nTwo weekends ago, IU finished sixth at the Pre-Nationals meet against top national competition, which all but guaranteed the men an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships in late November. \nThe driving force for that success was the front-running of junior All-American Sean Jefferson, continuing on a phenomenal tear through the NCAA ranks. His fifth-place finish, coupled with twin brother John's rally for 15th place in the final kilometer, gave IU a front duo comparable to nearly any other team in the country. \n"The race up front will be tough, but these guys can run with anyone in the country right now," Powers said.\nWith the added pressure of big meets, the Jeffersons seem poised to follow the pattern of tradition they have built since arriving at IU.\n"We've had some great workouts. The guys are running really well," Sean Jefferson said. "For me, it's time to test the legs, race up front and see what I can do."\nThe duo and its supporting cast of senior Tom Burns and juniors Eric Redman, Stephen Haas and Charlie Koeppen will encounter the nation's top-ranked team this weekend in the Wisconsin Badgers, who present a number of runners who could challenge for the individual title won last year by Wisconsin sophomore Simon Bairu. Also in the line of fire for IU is Michigan, currently ranked sixth nationally. Wisconsin and Michigan were the two teams to finish ahead of IU in 2003.\n"We have a decent chance at beating Michigan," Redman said. "They have two guys up front, but we have Sean and John. So if we can beat their third, fourth and fifth guys, I think we can handle them."\nThe Big Ten Championship is always full of surprises and requires a bit of luck. This year, IU hopes to get lucky and do some surprising of its own. The team is coalescing at the perfect time.\n"It's time to step on the line, race hard and see how the chips fall," Powers said. "They need to take a risk and make it sweet."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(10/18/04 5:14am)
The IU men's cross country squad entered its section of the weekend's Pre-National meet in Terre Haute in need of wins over quality teams, and also in need of another front-runner to join junior All-American Sean Jefferson, who finished fifth place overall.\nIU satisfied both of these goals in the course of the chilly 8,000-meter race. In terms of wins, the Hoosiers' sixth place finish ahead of highly ranked Iona University, the University of Georgia and Butler University more than likely solidifies an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships to be held in five weeks, also in Terre Haute. \n"Iona will probably be an automatic qualifier," said junior Eric Redman. "And we have wins over Georgia and (the University of) Florida and one of them will be an automatic, too. We did what we needed to do."\nRedman rounded out IU's scoring in 90th as its fifth man with a strong finish that saw him pass nearly 20 runners in the final 500 meters. Just ahead of him was junior Stephen Haas, who finished 77th after a fast start. Senior Tom Burns was IU's third runner, crossing the line in 48th with a final time of 24 minutes, 46 seconds despite a painful final 20 meters. \nIU found its other front runner back in familiar form. Junior All-American John Jefferson used a blistering finishing kick to pick off 30 runners in the final two kilometers and finish 15th. The race was a breakthrough for John, who spent the entirety of last year with a nagging knee injury.\n"I'd like to know what I ran the last 2K in," John Jefferson said. "I just kept picking people off."\nSean Jefferson, IU's top finisher, ran the way he has for the majority of the past three seasons. He used the early part of the race to gauge his strength and gathered himself for a big kick, emerging at the front of the race's chase pack for a fifth place finish with a final time of 24:10 (an average of 4:50 per mile). \nThe performance, while not a smashing success for every IU runner, showed what the team that Track & Field News magazine predicted as among the nation's Top 10 is preparing to do - namely, improve on its 12th place NCAA finish last year. Missing only one runner from that squad, and adding John Jefferson back into the mix, leaves IU with the ability to do so. The Hoosier men know that they have begun to find their legs and can achieve the goals they set at the end of last year's campaign. \n"We're in a good spot," Burns said. "We'll all be there when we need to be."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(10/15/04 5:34am)
There are two ways a team can qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships held in Terre Haute in late November. The first is to finish among the top two teams at the NCAA Great Lakes District meet. The other is to amass enough wins over quality teams to receive an at-large bid. \nIU's first chance at gathering wins came at the Notre Dame Invitational two weeks ago, where they secured a win over the University of Florida, a virtual lock for an automatic bid out of the South Region. IU's next chance is tomorrow at the Pre-NCAA meet, held in Terre Haute as an opportunity for teams to take a trial run on the NCAA course. \n"We have a shot at getting some good wins," said junior All-American John Jefferson. "We're in Georgetown (University's) race, and that would be a good win to get. Plus, (the University of) Colorado is good, but they're young so we have a shot at them, too."\nA team earns an at-large bid when it beats enough teams that end up qualifying for NCAA's automatically at its Regional meets. Typically a large number of the at-large bids come out of the Great Lakes region. \nIU lost its top finisher in last year's meet to graduation. Luckily, other runners have begun picking up the slack and closing the gap, such as current front-runner junior Sean Jefferson, who finished seventh at Notre Dame two weeks ago, 10 seconds behind the race winner. \n"We need to get another couple of guys up front," the All-American said. "Once they're ready our team will be totally different."\nThis is a risk teams take in planning to peak on one single day in November; occasionally the team struggles to put together the finishes it needs in the early part of the year. However, recent workouts have seen the emergence of potential teammates set to join him up front. \nJohn Jefferson improves with each successive week in his continuing recovery from an entire year off due to injury. Junior Stephen Haas has spent the past two weeks running stride for stride with Sean Jefferson in workouts and needs only to put together a solid race. Senior Tom Burns is gaining confidence with each race, and junior Eric Redman, crucial to IU's core, is finally coming down from high mileage. Also, junior Charlie Koeppen has made significant improvements since recovering from illness and nagging injury. \n"Charlie's way further along than he was last year," assistant coach Matt Moody said. "He usually comes on strong at the end of the year. This year doesn't look any different."\nWith a proven strong front-runner and a surging supporting cast finding their legs as they adjust to training, IU seems on track to challenge last year's success, which culminated in a 12th-place team finish at the NCAAs. Pre-NCAAs is another step on the staircase to a podium finish -- the ultimate goal of IU's program. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(10/01/04 6:32am)
The honeymoon is over for the IU men's cross country team. After several weeks of training and low-key competition, the men travel to South Bend tomorrow for the Notre Dame Invitational, where they will line up against last year's NCAA Champion Stanford University. Somehow, IU will still be missing one thing that every other sport at IU has.\n"We still haven't gotten our adidas jerseys," senior Tom Burns said.\nUnlike catalog orders, distance running involves such delicate planning to have all seven athletes ready to perform at their very best on one specific day, that it is often difficult to decipher the strength of a squad from any one meet leading up to the NCAA Championships. Last year, IU used the Murray Keating Invitational in Maine to gauge its progress.\n"Notre Dame this year is a lot like last year's meet in Maine," said IU All-American alumnus Chris Powers. "It's a good opportunity to go head to head with quality teams like Stanford early in the year to see where your fitness is."\nIU is no stranger to top competition, having finished 12th at last year's NCAA Championships. The race will help determine the fitness of each athlete, and also serve as a barometer for how IU stacks up against the NCAA's perennial powerhouses. It will be a test not only for the team as a whole but for important IU individuals.\nJunior All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson, along with Burns, are accustomed to NCAA-level competition, having run both in the NCAA Cross Country and Track and Field Championships. Additionally, juniors Stephen Haas, Eric Redman and Charlie Koeppen have all competed at the cross country championships, lending valuable experience to the team's readiness. \nThe Jefferson twins in particular have an extra advantage on the Notre Dame course, which is devoid of hills but fraught with tight turns, because flat courses favor runners with the best pure speed. Sean and John might have more pure speed than anyone else in the field, both boasting mile personal bests just above four minutes. \nThis bodes well for IU, as the meet serves as one of the only opportunities the men will have to score wins over top national teams to advance their chances of earning a berth to nationals. \nStill, despite the significance of the meet, IU will follow its usual pattern. The race is but a stepping stone for the truly important races at the end of the season.\n"We never tapered for it, we just threw some spikes on to see what happens," Powers said. "Then back to training to get ready for the real race in November."\nThe Hoosiers have been training exhaustively. Notre Dame is but a blip on the radar screen on the path to their ultimate goal. But in the end, hard work must be coupled with a bit of luck to achieve exceptional success.\n"Cross country always takes a little bit of luck," John Jefferson said. "But I find the harder I train, the luckier I get."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(09/17/04 5:40am)
IU's drive to November's NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute takes a brief pit stop today in West Lafayette for the Indiana Intercollegiates. IU has won the race the last two years. \n"For Intercollegiates, the goal is always the same," IU coach Robert Chapman said prior to last year's race. "We want to get in a good solid workout and not get anyone hurt."\nThe team's mentality has changed very little since. However, last year, Chapman promised to shave his head if the team swept the top five places. They obliged, and Monday the guys were greeted by a freshly-buzzed coach. \nAt the turn of the century, IU struggled to win Intercollegiates after decades of dominance. Because the top competition in the state is Notre Dame, who traditionally does not compete in this race, this was something of a disappointment for followers of IU cross country. \nSince then, IU has stepped up the tempo and become the dominant squad on the course. The only question becomes whether a runner from another team can break up the Hoosiers' front pack sweep. \nThis doesn't look incredibly likely this year, as only one Purdue University runner has anywhere near the qualifications to keep up with IU's herd of national-level talent. \nStill, the Hoosier runners have learned from past races not to take anything for granted. \n"It always takes some luck to win a cross country meet," junior All-American John Jefferson said. "But I find the harder I train, the luckier I get."\nIU's last competition was the Indiana Open, where junior Billy Coale notched his first collegiate victory. Coale will again be in action, along with juniors Sean and John Jefferson, Eric Redman and Stephen Haas and senior Tom Burns. Junior Mike Diederich, traditionally an 800-meter track specialist, will make his cross country debut. Junior Charlie Koeppen, hampered recently by illness, will decide race day whether to compete. \nJunior All-American Sean Jefferson is the meet's top returner after placing third in a blanket finish in 2003 with IU alumni Chad Andrews and Chris Powers.\n"I do the same thing every race," Jefferson said. "I go out and do my best."\nOne change has yet to be made in the last two weeks. The men's cross country squad is the only team still waiting for its new adidas uniforms. \n"We got the shorts already," Burns said. "But we still don't have the jerseys, which are pretty important. So I guess we'll have to stick with our Nike stuff for now."\nResults will be available at www.iuhoosiers.com Friday night. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(09/08/04 5:53am)
When the IU men's cross country team climbs into the van for the short drive to NCAAs Championships in Terre Haute early this November, the health of the team's core will be an important factor. Even with its recent success on the national level, the team has not gotten to the NCAA's grand finale with everyone 100 percent healthy. \n"I haven't gotten through one yet," junior Stephen Haas said. "Not one season without some sort of minor setback."\nHaas' health will be especially crucial to IU's chances for championships this year. \nFive athletes score per team in a cross country meet. Right now, IU has five solid national-level runners. Therefore if even one runner has an off-day, the entire team's effort could go for naught. \nThis year the team's standouts have changed in several ways. First, it no longer has an older class of veterans to guide younger athletes, as Tom Burns is the team's lone senior. The team will have to forge its own identity and wait for an emerging team leader to set the standard. It will need someone to join the Jefferson twins, Sean and John, as a cross country front-runner.\n"For Stephen it might just take better luck. He's focused, talented and motivated," IU coach Robert Chapman said. "Minor injuries that pop up at the wrong time; that's just simple bad luck. If he can race like I know he can, and the other guys do as well, we could do something pretty special this fall."\nA change in training has positioned Hass to fill this need. This year the runners are focusing all their energy on the NCAA Championships. This required a change in mileage assignments for the long, hot summer.\n"I ran pretty low miles during the summer," Haas said. "I'm just now starting to get up into the 90-100 miles per week range. I'll have a 20-mile run the next two Sundays."\nThis territory is not altogether unfamiliar, as Haas has often relied on high mileage. In the past, the difficult training regiment has been both a blessing and a curse, producing fast times but less durability. \nThe 2004 track season saw Haas post a personal best in the 5,000 meters at 14 minutes and 12 seconds. \nYet the end of the year produced several untimely injuries that curtailed his training and left him finishing further back in races.\nFormer Hoosier All-American Chris Powers was Haas' training partner, and said he believes Haas is right at the brink of serious achievement. \n"Stephen has all the tools to be a big-time player on the national level," Powers said. "This year he just has to put them all together."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(09/06/04 5:59am)
The IU men's cross country team opened its season with a relaxed 5,000-meter race against Texas on a muggy Friday evening at the IU varsity cross country course. The two teams spent the race in a tight pack, with 14 runners finishing within three seconds of each other. The meet was unscored to allow unattached runners to compete.\nIU junior Billy Coale got his first collegiate win, crossing the finish line in 16 minutes, 29 seconds. Coale, who transferred to IU last year, took the lead at the head of the final 500-meter stretch and cruised in just ahead of the rest of the field. \n"I wasn't feeling too great on the last hill," Coale said. "But I caught up with the pack and ended up getting the 'W.'"\nIU's next four runners crossed the line at 16:35.00, with twins and junior All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson leading the group. Junior Eric Redman came next, followed by senior Tom Burns and junior Stephen Haas, who handled the bulk of the early pacing duties. The short race allowed the team to get in some extra training afterward, as it took a brief rest and ran a short up-tempo workout. \nThe race marked the return to competition of John Jefferson, who sat out the entire 2003-04 year with a nagging knee injury.\n"I felt fine," said Jefferson, the 2002 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. "Until the last part when I got a bug in my throat and had to cough it up before I could get back into things."\nOnly one IU runner could not finish with the large pack. Junior Charlie Koeppen finished a fair distance behind due to a combination of injury and illness.\n"I'm still recovering from being sick," Koeppen said. "The problem is that I got sick two weeks ago at camp but still bumped my miles up, so my body really hasn't recovered at all."\nThe only thing missing from IU's first competition was the new adidas uniforms, which apparently didn't reach the team in time for the race, a problem that will be remedied before IU's next meet, the Indiana Intercollegiates at Purdue in two weeks. IU has won the Intercollegiates for two straight years and looks to retain its status as the best cross country team in Indiana.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(09/01/04 5:54am)
When Robert Chapman took over as the IU cross country coach, his long-term goal was to develop a program that would be a perennial Big Ten and NCAA contender. He wanted a team that would consistently pump out All-Americans and eventually guarantee more success by attracting blue-chip recruits. \nThe effort began five years ago with last year's graduating class, and the dynasty appears to be under way. Twin All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson joined IU after feeling at home with the team's mentality, perhaps the most important element in developing a squad resistant to the ups and downs of arduous training cycles and brutally hot and cold weather. \n"We just fit in really well on our visit," said junior John Jefferson. \nThis year, it will be important for John to fit in again. After a year off because of a knee injury that never quite healed but never hurt enough to sideline him, John will look to join Sean, a cross country All-American in 2003 finishing 19th, the highest Hoosier finish since U.S. 5,000-meter record-holder Bob Kennedy won the meet in 1992. \n"I've been running a little bit," John Jefferson joked. "Last week I ran 70 miles and felt fine." \nLast season was a banner year for IU. Despite a few late-season complications, the Hoosiers rallied to finish third at the Big Ten Championships and 12th at the NCAA Championships, IU's highest finish in nearly 20 years.\nWith all but one scorer returning from the team's nucleus and several teams losing a large number of top runners, IU is looking forward to a successful campaign.\n"We'll have the big goals discussion at camp this week," said Sean Jefferson, last year's NCAA indoor mile champion. "But we've been talking about finishing top-five." \nIU's distance runners compete in three seasons, and Chapman considers one of his chief tasks the development of a training plan designed to keep them in shape for all three. \n"We can't just have XC in a box -- there's also indoor and outdoor track," he said. "The big goal is to try and be as on as we can for the championship portion of all three seasons."\nIt is even more important to IU's chances for John Jefferson to stay healthy because of the key loss of senior Chris Powers, who finished his career with two All-American awards -- one of which was in cross country. \nIU netted in its large freshman class marquee recruit Brian Sullivan, a national cross country finalist from Houston who owns a faster high school two-mile personal best (8 minutes, 52 seconds) than the Jeffersons. \nDespite the rigors of a new academic workload and a longer racing distance, Chapman said he believes his prize recruit will be up to the task.\n"If Sully is fit and the guys are healthy, then he'll run," Chapman said. "We know what we can do these next two years. In his junior and senior year, how the team does depends on how this frosh class develops."\nStrong role players will add depth and experience to the squad. Senior Thomas Burns, an accomplished steeplechaser in track and former walk-on, was the team's fifth runner last year at the NCAAs, while junior Eric Redman, who owns an indoor mile best of 4:07, came down with an illness just prior to the meet and struggled, finishing outside IU's top five, where he had been a fixture. \n"The word I've been getting is that Redman is extremely fit," Chapman said. "The challenge will be to keep him there." \nAnother athlete poised to become a frontrunner is junior Stephen Haas, whose breakthrough came last year in indoor track with a personal best 5,000-meters of 14:06, an NCAA provisional qualifier. Haas is quite possibly the linchpin that could put IU over the top.\n"I've been feeling strong in training," Haas said. "I've been easily hitting 80 miles a week, and our early hill workouts have been good."\nLast year's surprise role player was Northern Arizona transfer Charlie Koeppen, who stepped up to finish as IU's third runner. With the focus on maintaining fitness all year, IU will open its season a bit later than usual, likely at Notre Dame or at a meet in Maine. \nAs the beginning of Chapman's dynasty enters the real world and searches for something into which to pour the energy formerly reserved for running, they will monitor their successors. The program quietly grows. \n"It'll be fun to watch them develop," said Nathan Purcell, a fixture on IU's cross country team for the past four seasons. "They've got so much talent that they can't help but succeed."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(09/01/04 5:26am)
The past year has seen a transformation of IU's marquee distance runner. \nAfter nearly two years of frustration due to injury and other factors, Florida native Sean Jefferson came to national prominence last year with a serious breakthrough. Jefferson seized the NCAA Indoor Championships mile final halfway through with a strong surge and never looked back, coasting across the finish line in celebration, his time right at the magical four-minute barrier.\nHis NCAA win is viewed as his top performance to date. The basics for that victory, however, were forged on a cold, wet afternoon in Terre Haute, which played host to the 2003 NCAA Great Lakes Regional, a race stocked with national talent. Rounding a bend midway through the race, spectators spotted Jefferson as he emerged in the upper echelon of the race, separated from a pack filled with rivals. \n"When I saw Sean come out of the back of the course that far up, I thought he'd finally figured things out and that things were going to be different for him," said former Hoosier Nathan Gooden.\nThis year, Jefferson and IU have the elements to improve on last year's 12th place NCAA finish.\n"We're thinking top five," Jefferson said. "With my brother John in the mix, we should be solid." \nThe outlook was not always so bright for Jefferson. He spent the majority of his early career battling injuries. Other than an IU freshman record in the 5,000 meters and an appearance at the USA Track and Field Championships, Jefferson had to learn to persevere, train deliberately and listen to his body. He also had to learn how to race properly. Slowly, he worked his way through. \nTwo weeks after the Regional, Jefferson used the same surge tactic at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. One of only a handful of runners to run the last half of the race faster than the first, Jefferson went from mid-pack to 19th overall, good for earning All-American status. \n"At NCAAs I wanted to do exactly what I did at Regional and move up after the halfway point, turn the race into a 5K," Jefferson said. \nHis success grew out of patience. The restraint to wait for the right point to launch a mid-race surge, a cross-country learning experiment, brought him his NCAA mile title. \nBut Jefferson's banner year also had its downside. After two straight All-American seasons and a Big Ten 1,500-meter title, he developed a chronic foot injury that knocked him out of contention at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Previously planning on making a run at the U.S. Olympic team, Jefferson had to watch on TV as Ohio State's Rob Myers, whom he regularly defeated, finished third at the Trials and earned a shot at Athens. \nAll of this just taught Jefferson more patience. This year, things have to be planned out well in advance. and IU cross country coach Robert Chapman has a plan.\n"We have two other championships later in the year, with indoor and outdoor track," Chapman said. "In designing a training plan, we have to wait a little longer to start up tough workouts so that guys can get through the entire year strong."\nThat task begins now. Training is delicate, and Chapman said he knows Jefferson must be patient. Luckily, Jefferson has learned that trick well.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(07/15/04 1:37am)
A large contingent of former and current IU athletes traveled to Sacramento, Calif., to compete in this week's U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials.\nMany of the Hoosier elite have used strong performances during the Big Ten's 2004 outdoor season to train for the Trials, but an IU alumna and women's track and field graduate assistant coach is making the most noise from the Hoosier hopefuls. \nRose Richmond, who graduated from IU in 2003, qualified for the finals in the long jump competition Monday. Richmond's leap of 6.38 meters put her in ninth place overall going into tonight's final. Richmond's jump of 6.38 is a tenth of a meter shy of 2000 Bronze medalist and all-world track athlete Marion Jones' mark of 6.39, which places the controversial athlete in fifth place heading into the finals. \nRichmond is no stranger to top-notch competition, earning All-American honors twice and winning the 2001 and 2003 Big Ten Outdoor long jump championship. \nThe top three finishers in the long jump who have successfully met the Olympic "A" qualifying standard will be named to the U.S. Olympic team. The "A" standard for the long jump is 6.70 meters. If Richmond makes the team, she would need to improve her preliminary jumps.\nCurrent Hoosier All-American David Neville competed in the preliminaries of the 400-meter event Sunday and placed 17th overall in the field of 28. But the freshman's time of 45.69 seconds was just short as the top 16 finishers to advance to the semifinals. Neville's 2004 Olympic dreams haven't been completely dashed yet, however. He will compete in the qualifying rounds of the 200-meter Friday.\n"I believe that if it is God's plan for me, then I have a chance at qualifying in the 200," Neville said.\nBob Kennedy, a two-time NCAA cross-country champion while at IU, dropped out of the 10,000-meters with foot pain. Kennedy, who holds the American record at 5,000-meters, was a favorite to advance to Athens.\n"My body's getting older, and it's very frustrating," Kennedy told reporters after the race.\nFormer IU heptathlete, DeeDee Nathan, dropped from third to fifth in the 800-meters, which was the final event of the heptathlon, and barely missed a trip to Athens. \nTwo recent IU graduates -- long distance runners Tom Chorny and Tom Brooks -- competed in the semifinals of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Chorny finished 21st with Brooks following in 22nd place. \nAnother current Hoosier track star, senior Aarik Wilson, will attempt to achieve his Olympic aspirations in today's qualifying round in the triple jump. Wilson, IU's school record holder in the event, is coming off a stellar junior campaign, which culminated in his runner-up finish at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Championships last month. Wilson's season has been geared entirely toward qualifying for the Olympic team. A clutch performer, Wilson is a definite contender for a top-three finish.\n"The goal for that kid is to make the Olympic team," IU coach Randy Heisler said.\nTwin IU standouts Sean and John Jefferson opted out of the Olympic Trials 1,500-meters. Sean had a long and highly successful year that included an NCAA title in the indoor mile, while brother John battled injuries for the majority of the year. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob Dewitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(07/08/04 1:15am)
Visitors to IU track meets this season were treated to a spectacle rare to IU men's track until recently: a national caliber sprinter. Redshirt freshman David Neville, a tall, lanky Merrillville, Ind., native was undefeated at home meets and produced several remarkable performances for IU this season. \nThe next 10 days will be Neville's most difficult challenge as he will attempt to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento, Calif. \nAfter squeaking into the finals of the NCAA 400-meters, he secured his second straight All-America award, following his seventh place finish in the 200-meters indoors event.\n"I'm very pleased with my performance at NCAA's," Neville said. "I know that I have been blessed with a great first season, and I couldn't be any happier."\nStill, Neville isn't satisfied with being merely a top young sprinter. Despite training alone after the end of the NCAA season, Neville said he feels fresh and ready to compete for the country's top spots.\n"My goals for heading into the Trials are to try and make the U.S. 4x400 team," Neville said. "I believe that if it is God's plan for me, then I also have a chance at the open 400 and 200." \nThe U.S. 4x400-meter relay team is selected after the Trials and is stocked with athletes that perform well in Sacramento. Because of preliminary rounds, countries are allowed to send a pool of athletes for the relay.\n"From my understanding, the coaches will take the top 12 to Europe," Neville said. "They will make cuts for the team based on two meets run there before the Olympics."\nIn a world filled with spoiled stars and pitiful role models, Neville is a prototype for the right way to do things. Majoring in percussion while he's not ripping around the track, Neville has been a coach's dream.\n"He had a tremendous outdoor season and represented Indiana very well at NCAA's." said IU sprint coach Ed Beathea.\nNeville has barely even scratched the surface of his vast talent. He was a double champion at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, running IU's second-fastest all-time 400-meters en route to disposing of World Championships 4x400-meter relay gold medalists Mitch Potter and Adam Steele of Minnesota. He also contributed the 400 leg to IU's school record Distance Medley Relay indoors.\n"David Neville is going to be ridiculously fast," IU coach Randy Heisler said. "Every time he's on the track you just have to watch because you never know what he might do."\nThis sentiment is mirrored by IU's other All-Americans, including NCAA Indoor mile champion Sean Jefferson, who has big plans for future IU track squads.\n"With Neville scoring points in the sprints," sophomore teammate Jefferson said, "we have a chance at winning NCAA's, especially indoors."\nDespite his phenomenal success, Neville makes sure to keep his burgeoning athletic career in perspective.\n"I look to my father for support and guidance, and in my running career I count on God as my biggest supporter," Neville said. "If I'm ever down on myself, I know that I just have to put it into God's hands and he will take care of it."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(06/14/04 1:23am)
AUSTIN, Texas -- On the strength of four IU athletes, the men's track team finished 19th at the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this past weekend at the University of Texas.\nJunior All-American Aarik Wilson solidified his status as one of the NCAA's top leapers as well as IU's best ever triple jumper. The Fallon, Nev., native began the weekend by finishing third in the long jump with a sizable personal best of 7.97 meters, third all-time at IU. \nWilson said he was pleased with the effort. \n"I felt like this was due," Wilson said. "I've put in a lot of long jump work this week, and to have it pay off is really encouraging."\nIU freshman sprinter David Neville atoned for missing out on qualifying for the 200-meter final in the 400 meters, blazing the second fastest time of his career, a seventh-place 45.31 seconds, only six-tenths of a second shy of first place. The freshman won his second All-America award in a field widely recognized as the NCAA's strongest ever.\n"He had a tremendous outdoor season," IU coach Ed Beathea said. "David represented Indiana very well at this national meet."\nEven without the Texas heat, the 5,000-meters is a grueling event. Senior All-American Chris Powers refused to let the circumstances affect him in his first and last NCAA Outdoor Championship. A Thursday rainstorm eliminated the qualifying round, changing the dynamic of the race. Instead of 16 athletes in the final, 27 toed the line. Powers worked his way up from the back of the pack, seldom wasting any time in one position. With two laps remaining in the 12 1/2 lap race, the seasoned veteran moved to seventh place. Sitting ninth with a lap remaining, Powers found himself in an all-out sprint for the final 200-meters with Stanford's Seth Hejny. Rounding the final turn, Powers pulled away, outlasting Hejny for the last All-America spot in possibly the final race of his career. \n"There was a big fall in the first two laps, and I had to step on a guy, right in his chest, to keep from falling," Powers said. "Plus, just about everybody was hurting bad in the fourth (kilometer). I knew I had to beat Hejny to get All-American so I was sprinting."\nBut the final heroics were left to Wilson, who took an early lead in the triple jump over NCAA leader Leevan Sands of Auburn. Wilson and Sands dueled at the NCAA Regional meet, and fans knew the title would come down to the two adversaries. Though Sands pulled out the victory on his final attempt, en route to a silver medal, Wilson broke his own school record with a leap of 16.93 meters. \nAlso competing for the men were sophomore Sean Jefferson and junior Jake Wiseman. \nJefferson, hobbled recently by a foot arch injury, did not qualify for the 1,500-meter final. Wiseman finished 21st in the decathlon with 6,943 points in his first NCAA Championships.\nOn the women's side, senior Audrey Giesler ended her career with one of her best races. Competing in her first NCAA Championship track meet, Giesler turned in an All-America performance in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, finishing 11th with a final time of 10 minutes, 35 seconds. \nThe track season is not quite over for several of these athletes. Powers and junior Tom Burns may attempt to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials in four weeks. Wilson, Neville, Sean Jefferson and his twin brother John have already qualified.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(06/10/04 2:11am)
Six Hoosiers have survived both the indoor and outdoor track and field season to arrive in Austin, Texas, for the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. \nIU's mix of qualifiers covers every discipline of the sport. Four already have All-American accolades from previous seasons, while a fifth makes his first appearance on the national stage. \nSophomore All-American Sean Jefferson is a postseason veteran, having been at the apex of every level of competition since high school. After earning his first All-American award at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall, Jefferson won the 2004 NCAA Indoor Mile title in grand fashion with a 4 minutes, 0.16 seconds. Jefferson stayed on course, notching the nation's fourth-best 1,500-meter time in April at 3:40.90, equivalent to a 3:57 mile. He then won a dramatic Big Ten 1,500 event over this year's second-fastest 1,500-meter runner, Wisconsin's Josh Spiker. Despite a slight foot injury, Jefferson is poised for another top 1,500-meter performance. \n"I've got some tough guys in my prelim," said Jefferson, referring to his the preliminary heat. "My foot's not perfect, but at the same time it really shouldn't hinder me at all."\nA Florida native, Jefferson said he doesn't expect the sweltering Texas heat or his foot to slow him down.\n"Sean ran four 400's in 58 seconds Sunday," said IU assistant coach Robert Chapman. "So we know his foot is fine to race."\nJunior All-American Aarik Wilson also is no stranger to the NCAA Championships. He has placed second nationally in the triple jump in 2003 and holds this year's second best jump and IU's school record, 16.91 meters, which he set at the NCAA Mideast regional two weeks ago. After redshirting the indoor season, Wilson is back on track, repeating as Big Ten triple-jump champion and taking second in the long jump, which he also will compete in this weekend.\nFreshman All-American David Neville has performed phenomenally both indoors and outdoors, earning All-American status at indoors with a seventh-place finish in the 200-meters. Neville exploded as a contender for NCAA titles in both the 200- and 400-meters at outdoor Big Ten's, winning both handily in 20.39 and 45.05 seconds, respectively. His 400-meter time bettered the Olympic 'A' qualifying standard, giving him a solid chance at making the Olympic squad and an even better shot at making the U.S. relay pool for the 4x400-meter relay. Neville improves each time he steps on the track, and he has yet to lose a big race outdoors. \nSenior All-American Chris Powers is IU's elder statesman, despite this being his first trip to NCAA Outdoors. Powers earned All-American status this fall in cross-country and has competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2002. Powers has peaked at the right time, running IU's fourth best time ever in the 5,000-meters a few weeks ago at 13:48, which ranks him behind three IU former Olympians. Powers snared an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships by placing third two weeks ago at the NCAA regionals in a controlled 14:18. \n"I've been concentrated on really rolling the last one to two kilometers," Powers said. "That's always the important part of the NCAA final."\nRounding out this group is the man with perhaps the toughest task. Junior Jake Wiseman will compete in the decathlon, a grueling 10-event excursion, crossing through every discipline of track and field. Wiseman, who excels particularly in the javelin and pole vault, notched his personal best and an NCAA-qualifying mark of 7,365 points at the Big Ten Championships, where he placed third. \nJoining the five Hoosier men in Austin and representing the Hoosier women will be senior Audrey Giesler, who earned a spot in the NCAA Championships by placing second in the steeplechase at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. Giesler's time of 10:16.25 ranks her 17th in the country going into this week's event.\nCompetition began Wednesday with preliminary heats and the meet concludes Saturday evening for IU with the final of the 5,000-meters. Results will be available at iuhoosiers.com. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(06/03/04 2:48am)
With temperatures hovering at or above 90 degrees, IU men's track team's top stars qualified for the 2004 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the NCAA Regional meet this weekend at Louisiana State University. \nThe best result came from junior All-American Aarik Wilson, who set a new personal best and school record in the triple jump en route to a second place finish. His mark of 16.91 meters, while short of the phenomenal jump of winner LeeVan Sands of Auburn (17.30), broke Robert Cannon's 1978 school record of 16.87. Wilson currently ranks second in the nation and will be a strong contender for the NCAA triple jump title.\nFreshman All-American and Big Ten champion David Neville finished third in the 400 meters. His 45.88 seconds puts him consistently running under 46 seconds and indicates a shot at running even faster at the NCAA Championships. Even though Neville narrowly missed qualifying for the finals of the 200 meters at the Regional, his mark of 20.38 from the Big Ten Championships still garnered him an at-large bid to NCAAs, and he will compete in both events. \n"I admit the weather had an effect on my performance," Neville said of the blistering heat. "My legs felt a little tight at the start of the 400, so I just tried to get through the race."\nWhile the heat is only a nuisance for field events and sprints, it is treacherous on distance athletes.\nSenior All-American Chris Powers got a slight reprieve from the heat in the 5,000 meters, as the evening produced temperatures in the upper 70s. Powers, ranked 10th in the NCAA with a personal best of 13 minutes, 48 seconds, used a strong late-race surge to stick with the front pack and finish third in a tactical 14:18, securing his first bid to the outdoor championships.\n"It was pretty hot, but it'll be the same in Austin," Powers said of the NCAA Championships site at the University of Texas scheduled for June 9-12. "It was good to prep for NCAA's."\nThe brunt of the heat was felt by sophomore All-American Sean Jefferson, who competed in the 1500-meters. The final was held at midday in stifling 101-degree temperatures. Jefferson, a Florida native, conserved his energy and moved from last in the final 600 meters to finish fourth and secure an automatic bid to compete in the Championships.\n"All of these races are to prepare for the Olympic Trials," Jefferson said after the Home Depot Invitational two weeks ago. "The guys I saw at Home Depot and the guys that'll be at NCAAs are the competition for the Trials."\nIn addition to these four, junior Jake Wiseman will compete at the NCAA Championships in the decathlon on the strength of his Big Ten Championships performance. Wiseman enters the meet seeded at No. 17. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu .
(05/27/04 1:34am)
Select members of the IU men's track team will catch a flight south today to compete at this weekend's NCAA Regional meet. This is the second year of the new NCAA qualifying format, which takes the top five individuals in each event from each of the five Regional meets, along with a number of at-large selections.\nIU has several athletes poised to make the cut. Among them are junior All-American and NCAA triple-jump leader Aarik Wilson, freshman All-American sprinter David Neville and sophomore All-American distance runner Sean Jefferson, who competed last weekend at the elite Home Depot Invitational in Carson, Calif., finishing fourth in the 1,500-meters in a field of professional athletes. \n"My goal for this meet is just to be in the top five and qualify for NCAA's," said Jefferson, who will race the 1,500-meters. \n"I was happy with my place last weekend, but I'd have liked to run a faster time. It was good to race against the guys I'll be seeing at the Olympic Trials," he said.\nNeville enters the meet fresh off a double victory at the Big Ten Championships, where he stunned Minnesota stars Mitch Potter and Adam Steele. Neville will compete again at both 200 and 400-meters, though his Minnesota rivals are competing in a different region. \n"Even though the Minnesota guys aren't in the region, it's still a tough meet for David," IU coach Randy Heisler said, prior to the Big Ten Championships. "Basically that's because he'll still have the entire Southeastern Conference to contend with."\nNeville will also run a leg on the 4x400-meter relay. If for some reason he were to falter in the 200 or 400-meters, he likely would qualify for the NCAA Championships with an at-large bid. The relay, however, needs his strength to qualify.\n"Regionals will be just another meet for me to try and win my events," Neville said. "I'll also get to help the relay get to Nationals."\nWilson comes into the Regional sure of an at-large bid regardless of his finish. Wilson will also compete in the long jump. However, it will still be important for him to perform well to prepare for the next six weeks, which will include both the NCAA Championships and the Olympic Trials. \nIU has a large contingent of other athletes competing this weekend. The group includes the Hollis twins, Rodney and Russell, in the 800-meters, freshman Marcus Aguilar in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, senior All-American Chris Powers and sophomore Stephen Haas in the 5,000-meters, junior Ryan Ketchum and senior Mike Minton in both the shot put and discus; freshman Kiwan Lawson and junior Jake Wisemanm in both the decathlon and javelin and also a 4x100-meter relay team. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(05/20/04 1:46am)
The Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Purdue, held last weekend, brought IU's men's track and field team a fourth place finish while Wisconsin took home the top spot in the highly competitive meet. But IU garnered a number of outstanding results and provided several athletes with stepping stones to bigger and better things.\nFreshman All-American David Neville provided IU's top achievements. Undefeated outdoors, Neville raced both the 400 and 200 meters. The races offered fierce competition in Minnesota's Mitch Potter and Adam Steele, both of whom earned 2003 World Championships gold medals last summer in Paris by competing on the USA 4x400 meter relay team. In the 400, where the Gopher sprinters were third and first respectively in last year's NCAA Championships, Neville drew a lane inside both of the highly touted Gophers. Neville bolted out of the blocks, grabbing an early backstretch lead, closing the gap on the Minnesota duo. As he emerged from the final turn in the lead, Potter readied for a final push. But Neville maintained form, breaking the track record and setting a 1.1 second personal best, finishing first in 45.05 seconds, good enough for second all-time at IU.\n"I went all out at the Indiana Relays," said Neville, whose time ranks third in the nation and sixth internationally. "This is the first time since then. This was definitely one of the biggest highlights of my career, and I got the Olympic 'A' standard."\nA top three finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials will give him a bid to this year's Olympics in Athens. Regardless, he will almost certainly be included in the relay pool for the 4x400 meter relay. \nNeville was not content with one Big Ten title, and stayed loose for the 200 meters against the same competition. He again got out to an early lead and hung on, crossing the line with a second victory in a blazing 20.39 -- also second all-time at IU. \nSophomore All-American Sean Jefferson endured a slow early pace to discover himself boxed inside a pack of slower runners as his main rivals opened a gap ahead. Entering the final straight with 30 meters to make up, Jefferson glanced down at his legs as if to wake them and mounted a furious charge. At the line, Wisconsin's Josh Spiker eased up enough for Jefferson to beat him 4 minutes, 1.86 seconds to 4:01.87 after a 51 second final lap. \n"I don't even think (Spiker) knew I was there," Jefferson said. "I was just hoping there was enough track left for me to catch him."\nNeville and Jefferson weren't the only Hoosiers to turn in impressive performances. Junior All-American Aarik Wilson, the reigning Big Ten champion in both the long and triple jump, took the triple jump by almost a meter and also finished second in the long jump. Each time Wilson took to the air, the crowd issued a smattering of awed groans, as each of his jumps easily outdistanced the field.\nJunior Jake Wiseman supplied another highlight, enduring track and field's most grueling event, the decathlon. Wiseman outlasted nearly all competitors to finish third with 7,365 points, which could qualify him for NCAA's. After 10 events, Wiseman competed individually in the pole vault and javelin, where he placed seventh.\n"I swear I brought 12 pairs of shoes to this meet," said Wiseman, referring to the decathlon's rigors. "I have a bag full of just shoes. Ten events; I don't feel too sore, though."\nNeville, Jefferson, Wilson and Wiseman along with other Hoosier qualifying athletes will return to action at the NCAA Regional at Louisiana State Memorial Day weekend. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(05/13/04 2:14am)
The IU men's track and field team travel to Purdue this weekend to compete in the Big Ten outdoor championships. The competition begins at noon Friday and concludes after Sunday's 4x400-meter relay, scheduled for 3:45 p.m. After last year's third-place finish, IU's best since 1992, the Hoosiers have set their sights high this year. \n"This time of year it's all about business," coach Randy Heisler said. "We have a chance to be very competitive. You never know what will happen in championship meets."\nA number of athletes are prepared to score big points. Reigning triple and long jump champ, junior Aarik Wilson, currently leads the Big Ten rankings in both events. Freshman Kiwan Lawson is ranked third in the long jump, the same spot he claimed at the Indoor Championships in February.\nThe 2004 season has also been kind to junior thrower Ryan Ketchum, who currently ranks fourth in the shot put and a close fifth in the discus. \nPerhaps IU's most important new asset this outdoor season is freshman sprinter David Neville, who earned All-American status at the NCAA indoor championships by placing seventh in the 200-meter. Neville currently ranks second in the conference in the 400-meter, wedged between last year's NCAA champion and third placer, both of whom will be in action for Minnesota. Neville is also ranked second in the 200-meter, and will also contribute to IU's relays, where he will get help from Hoosier football players, seniors Herana-Daze Jones and Courtney Roby.\n"The only race David has lost this year is the NCAA indoor championship," said Heisler. "Who knows how good he can be? He doesn't even know." \nThe distance races provide IU with an opportunity for a victory in nearly every event. Junior Rodney Hollis ranks fourth in the 800-meter, where he was second at indoors to eventual NCAA champion Nate Brannen of Michigan. With Brannen redshirting, Hollis now has an improved shot at victory.\nThe 1500-meter provides IU's best chance at a distance victory with NCAA mile champion sophomore Sean Jefferson entered. Jefferson also finished second to an eventual NCAA champion from Michigan who will also redshirt the outdoors meet.\n"I always look forward to championship races because it's about racing," said Jefferson, currently ranked fourth nationally. "Most other races are about hitting a qualifying time. This is about winning."\nSenior All-American Chris Powers will race the 10,000-meter Friday evening, an event he has run only once, three years ago at the Drake Relays.\n"Last year I was kicking myself for not running the 10K," said Powers. "It was so slow. I told myself I was going to run to win it this year." \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(05/10/04 2:02am)
This weekend's Billy Hayes Invitational provided the IU men's track and field team with a chance to get some final competitive preparation before next weekend's Big Ten outdoor championships at Purdue. The meet saw several personal bests and a number of performances that should bode well for IU.\n"It's usually a good meet for those competing," IU coach Randy Heisler said. "The addition of (Herana-Daze) Jones and (Courtney) Roby will strengthen our sprinting at Big Ten's."\nIn their first outdoor meet of the year, senior football players Jones and Roby contributed to IU's winning 4x100-meter relay team. Roby also finished fourth in the 100-meters in 10.7 seconds.\nBeyond Roby's track career, he starts as a wide receiver on the football team and has led the Hoosiers in receiving each of the past two seasons and Jones, the starter at strong safety, earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors last season, finishing second on the team with 96 tackles. \nIU's other relay, the 4x400, provided one of the highlights of the evening. After a slow start, the baton was handed to sophomore All-American, David Neville. Neville roared around the track to hand IU the lead, which sophomore Andre Grimes solidified en route to a seasonal best, 3:09.86.\n"Neville was absolutely unbelievable," senior Chris Powers said, who took the weekend off to prepare for Big Ten's. "He's a serious talent and he's only getting better."\nHeisler said before the meet that one of the goals for the team was to get athletes who were near regional qualifying marks to qualify. Prior to the long jump, freshman Kiwan Lawson, who was third at the Big Ten indoor championships, was within two centimeters of the regional standard. Friday afternoon provided Lawson the chance he needed, as he pulled out a regional qualifying leap of 7.49 meters. \nIU also got an encouraging performance from sophomore Stephen Haas, who set a new personal best in the 1500-meters with a photo finish second place effort against IU volunteer assistant Chris Ekman. Haas finished in 3:49.73, equivalent to a 4:06 mile.\n"It was good to get in some speedwork before Big Ten's," said Haas. "I'll probably be running the 5K and 10K so a fast 1500 gives me confidence in my footspeed."\nIU also got good work from its throwing corps. Sophomore Ryan Ketchum set an outdoor personal best in the shot put, finishing second with a heave of 18.71 meters. Senior Mike Minton finished fifth in the event with a mark of 17.06 meters. \nThe Big Ten Championships begin Friday evening at Purdue University's outdoor track in West Lafayette.\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.