Tough competition awaits team

Coming off of a decisive victory Saturday, the men's track team will head south in hopes of continuing its success. \nThis weekend, the Hoosiers will be a part of the Sea Ray Relays in Tennessee for the first time since the 1994-1995 season. Then, the men's team had two top-five finishers, including a win in the pole vault. That success could be repeated, but the competition will be strong.\n"We'll be running against a fine field of competition and will really seek to extend ourselves in several events," said coach Marshall Goss. "We will have a motive of training and preparing for Big Tens in a meet where everyone will be challenged."\nDespite the success in last weekend's home meet, not all of the Hoosiers are content with mere victories.\n"I was disappointed in myself this past weekend," said sophomore thrower Mike Minton. "I was pressing too hard and from now on I just need to go out and have confidence in myself and throw the throws I know I am capable of doing."\nAs a sophomore, Minton is less experienced than many of his competitors. He said that doesn't bother him.\n"I'm in great shape right now, so I'm not really worried about the age and experience of other guys," Minton said. "I just need to go out there and do the best I possibly can and just have confidence in myself."\nJunior pole vaulter Dino Efthimiou also took first place Saturday but said he is confident he can improve. Efthimiou provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet with a vault of 17 feet, 4.5 inches.\n"Even though I made the provisional mark Saturday, it's really not that big of an accomplishment," Efthimiou said. "My vault was well under my (personal best), and it will never make it in nationals." \nEfthimiou said he is optimistic about the rest of the season. \n"The good side of not doing my best is that I always have that next weekend to improve," he said. "Now I really have something to work towards."\nThe Tennessee Volunteers will play host to the meet, which runs today through Saturday. The Hoosiers will face tough competition from both the ACC and SEC conferences, including many athletes the team has not seen yet. \nBut many Hoosiers will be left out of the meet, Goss said, causing some unrest. He said other teams are doctoring times to gain entry into the meet.\n"We got some kids that aren't getting in just because some schools are making false cases of how good they are, so that leaves some of our people out," Goss said. "However, for what we are taking, we are very excited about what they are going to do." \nThe athletes are also excited about the competition they will face. \n"Traditionally, it has always been a great meet," Minton said. "We're going to see a lot of different people that we don't see during the regular year and it seems like exactly what I need right now"