Sprinters set eyes on NCAAs

After they crossed the finish line 0.01 of a second apart, Big Ten champion Lorraine Dunlop gave a high-five to runner-up and teammate Rachelle Boone.\nDunlop, a senior, edged Boone, a sophomore, in the 60-meter dash at the Big Ten Championships Feb 25. A week later, Boone shattered Dunlop's school record in the 60-meter dash, and sophomore Danielle Carruthers' record in the 200-meter dash.\nDunlop said she knows the underclassman chasing her on the track during practice and in meets for the past two years is more than a shadow. Boone is one of the top sprinters in the country.\n"Where she is now, she's near a lot of seniors," Dunlop said. "It's kind of scary because no one knows what her full potential is yet. I don't think she's reached it."\nBoone has recorded top 10 times in two events entering the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships today and Saturday in Fayettville, Ark. She ranks fifth, ahead of eighth-place Dunlop, in the 60-meter dash, and sixth in the 200-meter dash. Boone met her qualifying times last week, and her coach and teammates said they know she saves her best performances for the end of the season.\n"In the beginning of the year, she gets frustrated because she wasn't where she wanted to be," Carruthers said. "But she puts it all together at the end of the year. She's a pressure person."\nThis weekend marks Boone's first trip to indoor nationals. She has progressed from being a freshman whose best accolade was a sixth-place finish in the 200 dash at Big Tens. After failing to qualify for indoor nationals last year, she finished her season by earning a trip to outdoor nationals and placing 11th in the 200-meter dash and 13th in the 100-meter dash.\nBoone has become stronger this year because of the Hoosiers focus on weightlifting in the preseason, sprints coach Ed Beathea said. Add that strength to her raw talent and confidence, and Boone is a potential All-American.\n"The coaches and all of us, we aren't surprised because she's trained hard and she's fast," said Carruthers, who runs 4x100-meter relay with Boone during the outdoor season. "So, now she's a national contender. She has the mental capacity."\nPart of Boone's success during the outdoor season could be attributed to her talent at running 300-meter tracks, which are 100 meters longer than most indoor season tracks. Because outdoor tracks are longer, the curves are wider, allowing Boone to run quicker. Last weekend, Boone established her two IU records on a 300-meter track at Iowa State, but this weekend's NCAAs will be held on Arkansas' 200-meter, banked track.\nArkansas' track is similar to Penn State's, where Boone finished third in the 60-meter and the 200-meter dashes Feb. 9 behind competitors she later defeated at the Big Tens.\n"I would say her confidence after the Big Tens helped her improve (for last weekend)," Beathea said. "Getting on an oversized track helped. It's going to be tough. I think her chances are good. She's run well the last two weeks."\nThe last two weeks have included two runner-up performances in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes and scoring 21 points at the Big Ten championships. She's been the Hoosiers' fastest 200-meter sprinter throughout the season but has only recently been a factor in the 60-meter dash. Her previous career-best time of 7.38 seconds at Big Tens ranked her only third on her team.\n"I did well, but not as well as I wanted to," Boone said. "I knew if I didn't do it at that point, I wouldn\'t get it."\nBoone only had one more competition -- the Last Chance Qualifier at Iowa State -- to earn a trip to nationals. She ran the 60-meter dash in 7.30 seconds, only 0.04 seconds slower than Brianna Glenn of Arizona, the nation's fastest woman this year. Boone will race former foes from last year's outdoor NCAAs this weekend, but she's not focusing on particular opponents.\n"I just want to try to make it to finals," Boone said. "I'm not even sure who's in it exactly. I guess I'll see a lot of familiar faces, so I won't be as nervous."\nShe'll definitely see one familiar face -- Dunlop's. Dunlop said she is glad Boone could run in a nearby lane.\n"I've always known she was tough, and I'm thankful she's there to push me," Dunlop said. "It's surprising in the 60, because she's fast but she's so strong. In the 200, she's so talented and she's so fast.\n"She really is a good weapon"