Big weekend for Hoosiers

The No. 15 men's track and field team continues its tough schedule this weekend as it takes athletes to the University of Pennsylvania for the Penn Relays and to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays. Each meet boasts top competition and promise solid marks.\nThe team will split up with the bulk of the athletes making the trip to Pennsylvania. Competition for the meet started Tuesday with the decathlon and continues through Saturday. The meet features top high school, collegiate and Olympic development athletes from across the nation.\nWednesday was big for IU's distance athletes. First was the steeplechase, led by junior Tom Burns at 6:55. Two hours later was the 5000-meter run, which the Hoosiers have shown great promise in this season with impressive performances from sophomore John Jefferson and freshmen Sean Jefferson and Stephen Haas. \nIn the Olympic development 5000-meter race, IU hall of famer Bob Kennedy began his return to competition after a one-year hiatus. Kennedy has twice competed for the United States in the Olympics, in 1992 and 1996, and has held American records in the 3000 and 5000-meter races. He won a total of 20 Big Ten titles during his career at IU.\nThe Hoosiers have had strong performances from the distance crew in recent weeks. The Jefferson twins, John and Sean, have dominated the last two weekends. Last weekend, John Jefferson earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Mt. Sac Relays in California, where he won with a time of 3:41.53, the second fastest 1500-meter time in the nation this year. Also, Sean Jefferson became just the sixth athlete in the history of IU to break 14 minutes in 5000-meters as he won with a time of 13:58.52.\n"We're one of the top distance programs in the Big Ten, which means we're also competitive with the top programs nationally," coach Marshall Goss said. "These guys have shown we're able to compete with teams like Arkansas and Stanford."\nThe Drake Relays began competition Wednesday with the decathlon. The meet boasts one of the best traditions in outdoor track as well as 37 consecutive sellouts. Similar to the Penn Relays, it will also offer competition against the top athletes in the nation.\nSenior thrower Adam Judge hopes for an impressive performance as he returns to his hometown for the meet. He has been the team's top thrower most of the season and has already met his provisional marks for the NCAA regional meet.\nThe team's schedule has been loaded with competitive meets across the country. In addition to last week's meet in California, the team has also traveled high quality meets in Florida and Texas. Last weekend, most of the team rested as only the distance runners and sophomore All-American triple jumper Aarik Wilson competed in the Mt. Sac Relays.\nNext weekend, the team will travel to West Lafayette to face rival Purdue in a dual meet. Both teams have hopes for a Big Ten title for the outdoor season and the meet will allow the Hoosiers to see where they stand against top Big Ten competition.