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(01/30/04 5:44am)
After finishing second between Ohio State and Purdue in Columbus, Ohio, last Saturday, the men's track team is heading south to Missouri to compete against the Tigers, Nebraska and Wichita State. Each team has individual strengths the Hoosiers will have to contend with.\nMissouri, traditionally a strong team in the middle distances, provides several events IU athletes don't run very often, including a 1000-meter. The meet will also feature an 800-meter and a 600-meter. Senior Rodney Hollis took the bronze medal in the 600-meter at last year's Big Ten Indoor Championships but will compete in the 800-meter at Missouri.\n"So far, I've just been running 800's," Hollis said. "I won last weekend, but I didn't have to run very fast. After this weekend, we'll know which event I'm going to focus on. If I don't run the 600 at Big Tens, my brother Russell will take care of it."\nMissouri will also offer a pair of distance runners their first opportunity to race. Newly-minted cross- country All-American junior Chris Powers and sophomore Stephen Haas are slated to run the 3,000, while most other distance runners will get the weekend off in preparation of a fast invitational mile at the Indiana Invitational. \n"We're planning on just going out and seeing what he can do," says Haas. "It's our first race, but we've been running some phenomenal workouts, so we should be ready to run pretty fast. After the race, we'll have a better idea of what we're capable of." \nNone of the teams IU will race against are exceptionally strong in the distance events. While Powers and Haas will race for the first time, others will run atypical events. Junior Charlie Koeppen will take a crack at the mile, an event he rarely runs. \n"I haven't raced a mile since my senior year of high school," says Koeppen,. "So, since I don't have a clue what I can do, and it's more for training, I'm just going to have fun with it and see if I can get a personal best." \nBoth Missouri and Nebraska are perennial powerhouses in the throwing events, with Nebraska's Carl Myerscough the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor shot put champion. The IU throwing corps is determined and ready for a spirited competition. Freshman IU hurdler Stephanos Ioannou, fresh off a win in Columbus, will also have his hands full with three solid Nebraska 60-meter hurdlers.\n"Missouri and Nebraska are serious powers in the throws," senior thrower Mike Minton said. "We know they're going to be tough, and we're expecting the level of competition to bring out the best in us."\nAfter the Missouri meet, IU returns home for the Indiana Invitational at the IU indoor track, located in the Gladstein Fieldhouse. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(01/29/04 5:19am)
Sophomore Sean Jefferson has always been fast. In middle school he fancied himself a sprinter. By his senior year of high school, he discovered there were few people he couldn't out run over longer distances. \nIn distance running, coaches say speed kills, and Sean has speed.\n"If you have natural speed, all you have to do is get basic fitness under your belt," said IU coach Robert Chapman. "Then, in races you can relax and open a big can of whoop-ass." \nSpeed is the deciding factor in indoor racing.\n"Sean has 'tactical speed' indoors, the ability to change gears and accelerate almost instantaneously," Chapman said. "With tight turns on indoor tracks, he's especially dangerous."\nBut Sean's expertise can also be his curse. \n"A lot of guys with great natural speed are chronic sit-and-kick specialists," Chapman said. "If you're not careful, it can make you a one-dimensional racer."\nJefferson resolved this weakness in cross country, rebounding from finishing in 21st at the Big Ten championships to a stellar third place at regionals. At the NCAA championships, Jefferson used the same strategy, running within himself the first 5K in 15:11. The last half he let loose his speed and ran 14:46 for one of the fastest second 5Ks in the field. Shaking his legs out of an early pace in zero temperatures, far removed from his Floridian high school climate, Jefferson passed forty runners to finish All-American in no. 19, the highest IU finish since U.S. 5K record holder Bob Kennedy won the meet in 1992. \n"Sean really matured into a national level competitor at Regionals and NCAA's," Chapman said. "It shows a lot of maturity and confidence in a runner to let the pack go in the early stages, knowing you can run them down at the end."\nSean is in some respects on unfamiliar ground, as his lifelong training partner, and his twin brother John, also an All-American, has been sidelined since summer. John aches to get back on the track in light of Sean's success.\n"It's sweet to see Sean running so well," John said. "I can't wait to get back -- we could get in great shape for the Trials. We've always worked together, so it hurts to not be able to train and race with him." \nFlying solo, Sean is set for a strong track season, the ultimate test waiting at the Olympic Trials in Sacramento in July. Yet to find his best distance, Jefferson is flexible enough to qualify for the trials in both the 1500 and 5000-meters. His maturity will be an asset in late-season meets as he will balance training and racing for seven months. He capped outdoor track last year by finishing 11th place in the 1500-meters at the USATF Championships against professionals. Sean also holds the freshman 5K record at 13:58. \nJefferson has easily won his first two indoor races, including a mile in 4:12, simple considering his personal best is 4:06. Jefferson views his best times as unremarkable and looks forward to racing in one of the nation's toughest distance conferences. \n"I'm more confident this year," he said, "I can't wait for fast races the next few weeks, like Arkansas. The entire mile field has run as fast or faster than I have."\nOutdoors, Jefferson will race sparingly, in fewer relay carnivals, concentrating on peaking at the Olympic Trials.\n"With good timing, Sean can be a major player at NCAA's indoors and still meet his goals for outdoor and the trials," Chapman said.
(01/22/04 4:47am)
The Hoosier trackmen continued early-season success in fine form Saturday. In their first full-squad effort, the men scored a convincing win as their 117.5 points beat Kent State (98.5) and Indiana State (98.5). \nSeveral athletes notched individual wins. In the sprints, sophomore David Neville, a top youngster in international ranks, took a second-straight 400m victory in 48.82, and sophomore Andre Grimes took the 200m in 22.62. Neville also anchored the Hoosiers' winning 4x400 relay. \nThe field events offered more points in the form of senior Mike Minton, who won the shot put with a heave of 16.42. Despite the win, Minton left the competition with improvements in mind.\n"It was just another warm-up meet," he said, "I'm going to keep building-up through the early meets to be ready to throw my best at the close of the year. I definitely could have thrown better today, but it's good to get a win and know you can improve."\nIn the distance events, senior Rodney Hollis bested the 800m field in 1:54. Senior Tom Burns held off Kent State steeplechase rival Peter Weisz in winning the mile in 4:22. The time tells little about the race, however, as a 2:22 first half guaranteed a sprint finish, led by Burns and senior Nathan Purcell, who finished third. \n"Coach Chapman told us not to go out faster than 2:07 for 800 or take the lead until then," said Burns, "A Kent guy led, and we took over at 800. All we had to do today was win the race."\nSophomore Sean Jefferson and Eric Redman took the top two spots in the 3,000 at 8:24 and 8:31, solid times given the fact they did an abbreviated workout for warm-up.\n"It was weird racing after a workout. My legs felt strange until about the last 400m when I started kicking," said Jefferson, "Changing gears snapped me out of it, and I felt better at a faster pace."\n"We're exerting a lot of energy and putting in a lot of work right now. We want everyone to peak at the same time for Big Tens and the NCAAs. We're six weeks away from the Big Ten meet and I saw a lot of positive things today. We had some strong performances for it being this early in the season."\nThe Hoosiers return to the track Saturday, when they are set to battle Purdue and Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio. \n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.
(11/03/03 6:49am)
Being on his feet all day and coming to practice to run for miles used to concern senior Chad Andrews about his performance for the IU men's cross country team.\n"I'm just glad to be done with student teaching and back in the mix, racing up front," he said.\nAndrews, an education major, just completed his student teaching, which caused his schedule to be a little awkward. \nThe senior posted IU's best men's finish at the 2003 Big Ten Cross Country Championships at Michigan State University, helping propel the Hoosiers to a third place finish in the Big Ten. His time of 24:31 placed him ninth, just in front of fellow senior Chris Powers, who was two seconds back in 10th.\n"I started hurting around 4K, halfway into the race, and from there I had to will myself through it," said Powers, nursing a minor illness.\nA pair running strategy propelled the No. 19 Hoosiers into third place ahead of rival No. 7 Ohio State. IU's second pair, sophomores Eric Redman and Sean Jefferson finished 19th and 21st, respectively. Junior Tom Burns closed up the men's team score in 31st. Sophomore Charlie Koeppen followed in 32nd, sophomore Stephen Haas in 36th, senior Nathan Gooden came in 40th, and freshman Marcus Aguilar was 65th. Wisconsin sophomore Simon Bairu won the men's race in 23:58, and his team took the team victory.\nWidely predicted to finish fourth, the men were glad to get past Ohio State but said they feel they still have not put together the kind of race they are capable of.\n"The guys found the sand to get after it today," said men's coach Robert Chapman said. "Once we get a couple of them back on track, we'll be ready to roll." \nThe women's team also competed Sunday in East Lansing and finished fourth overall. Hobbled by injuries all season, they came into the race unsure of how they compared to the rest of the conference.\n"I honestly didn't think we would finish higher than fifth," coach Judy Wilson said after the race. "To finish fourth and beat Wisconsin helps us for later since they have some wins over some good teams." \nSenior Audrey Giesler led the team with a ninth place finish at 21:22, which earned her second team All-Big Ten honors. IU sophomore Kelly Siefker led the Hoosier pack in 31st, followed by junior Mindy Peterson in 35th, sophomore Larra Overton in 44th, freshman Kristin Whitezell in 48th, junior Julie Shields in 58th, junior Heidi Crowley in 67th and sophomore Allison Miller in 83rd. Given the early season losses of top runners senior Becky Obrecht and sophomores Lindsay Hattendorf and Jessica Gall, the women performed above expectation.\nBoth squads will be back in action in two weeks at the Great Lakes Regional meet in Terre Haute. The meet serves as the qualifying round to the NCAA Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the Monday before Thanksgiving.\n"We have got two more weeks before districts, a month until NCAAs, but we've still got to get there," Chapman said. "So let's do things right, recover, and get ready to roll."\nThe women will take a slightly different approach to prepare for the final races of the season.\n"We're going to get some solid work out in during the next couple of weeks for most of the girls," Wilson said. "We need to make sure and stay strong. For a couple of others, especially the younger ones, we're going just going to rest"
(10/09/03 5:26am)
This weekend a large number of former Hoosiers will be making their way back to Bloomington. \nSome come to visit their children, others hope to run into old friends, brothers, sisters and professors. They come in search of IU's 2003 Homecoming festivities, and they all have one thing in common -- they will need something to do.\nThe Student Athlete Advisory Committee is hosting a bonfire at 7 p.m. Friday in Dunn Meadow to help.\nSince last year's bonfire was ruined by inclement weather, the SAAC has taken measures to attract parade spectators.\n"We're really hoping for a big turnout this year because the weather is supposed to be marvelous, and last year we got rained out," said SAAC President and senior Mike Minton. "That literally rained on our parade, which was inconvenient." \nThis year the SAAC will have live music from Jenn Christy's Paradox and the Beatniks, which consists of IU cross country runners and seniors Chris "Long John Silver" Powers and Jeff "Yee-ha" Zeha, and a one-name prodigy dubbed simply "Randall." There will also be free cider and popcorn. \nSAAC member and senior Nathan Purcell said he is looking forward to the entertainment at the event.\n"Jenn Christy headlines Jenn Christy's 'Paradox.' She's a former IU swimming standout, so she gels nicely with the Athlete Advisory Committee hosting an event," Purcell said. He said Christy has played with local rocker John Mellencamp.\nThe Student Athletic Board coordinated the bonfire with the SAAC, and it said it believes it will become a cornerstone of Homecoming.\n"We hope the bonfire can be the sort of tradition where students, faculty, coaches, athletes and members of the Bloomington community can come together to have a good time and show school spirit," SAB special events chair and senior Alicia Webb said.\nThe groups aim to emphasize community with the bonfire, which is why the SAAC and SAB invited the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington to attend. \n"SAAC is striving to get more involved with the Bloomington community, so we could think of no better way to do so than reaching out to the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington," Minton said. "We'd just like to extend an open invitation to everyone, and say thanks for all of the support that IU athletics receives from members of the IU and Bloomington communities. It's going to be a good time."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.