Teams head to final qualifiers

This weekend both the men's and women's indoor track and field teams scatter to different meets as they try to qualify individuals for their respective NCAA Championship meets. These meets, just one week before the NCAA Indoor Championships, give runners a chance to qualify for nationals if they haven't already done so. \nOn the men's side, runners who have a chance to qualify for nationals will travel to Notre Dame and jumpers senior Hasaan Reddick and sophomore Aarik Wilson will travel to Iowa State for last-chance meets.\nThe team has already had three athletes meet the provisional requirements for nationals, each of whom earned All-American status a year ago. Reddick and Wilson have qualified for triple jump, and sophomore John Jefferson has met provisionals in the mile. Wilson has also met provisionals in the long jump, but needs a better mark to earn his way to the meet in the event. Junior Mike Minton is also fighting for a spot in the shot put.\nWilson said he is not overlooking his trip to Iowa because he needs a good performance to earn a chance to compete in the long jump at nationals. But Wilson added he has his sights squarely on the next week at the NCAA Championships. Those sights include, Wilson said, a national championship in the triple jump, where he is seeded fourth.\n"I'm going to Iowa to see if I can long jump a little farther, but I'm really focused on nationals," Wilson said. "I know I can win it in the triple, it's just a matter of me doing it."\nThe Hoosiers are coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. Coach Marshall Goss said Big Tens was a stepping stone to bigger accomplishments. \n"Our kids really put it on the line," Goss said in a statement. "We are pleased with the effort and the growth (at Big Tens), and I think that it will take us to another level. I am very happy with the team attitude. We are building towards number one all the time."\nOn the women's side, the team is coming off a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships last weekend. The squad is also ending several athletes to last chance meets at Notre Dame and Iowa State. \nThrowers senior Kelley McKinney and freshman Andrea Dalla Rosa will be traveling to Notre Dame this weekend in hopes of qualifying for the championships. Dalla Rosa threw a lifetime best in the shot put at Big Tens and finished fourth in the event. McKinney finished in sixth place in the weight throw at the conference championships. \nAlso travelling to Notre Dame will be sophomore Ara Towns. Towns, who completed IU's sweep of the 60-meter dash last weekend, could become the third Hoosier to qualify for the championships. Towns' teammates seniors Rachelle Boone and Danielle Carruthers took first and second in the event, respectively. Boone went on to finish first in the 200-meter dash, ending up with two Big Ten Championships by the end of the weekend. Boone has since been named Athlete of the Championship and Big Ten Athlete of the Year for her accomplishments.\nSenior Tandra Foster, the Big Ten champion in the long jump two years ago, and junior Lauren Chesnut will be travelling to Iowa State in hopes of qualifying for the long jump competition at nationals. \nCoach Randy Heisler said each athlete that travels to the last chance meets has a very real chance of competing at nationals, which will be held in Fayetteville, Ark. \n"They're all so close (to qualifying)," he said.