A race to the finish in IU-Purdue Titan Series

The IU men's track and field team will take on in-state archrival Purdue this weekend at the E.C. Billy Hayes Track. Two points in the Titan Series (a combination of all sports pitting IU against Purdue) are up for grabs, and the Hoosiers are aiming to break the current tie with the Boilermakers. The meet will be IU's penultimate home meet of the year, with the Billy Hayes Invitational May 7, serving as the Hoosiers' home finale. \nPurdue had a recent coaching shake-up and has not shown the strength it typically has in its track program. As IU continues to rise, the Boilers have become less intimidating. \n"We always want to win our meets," IU head coach Randy Heisler said. "But this is Purdue, and no one ever wants to lose to Purdue."\nNearly all of IU's top talent will be in action at home with only four of its top distance runners absent, as they will compete in Stanford's Cardinal Invitational. \nLeading the quest for the Olympics and Olympic Trials qualifying is junior All-American Sean Jefferson, currently No. 2 in the NCAA in the 1,500-meters. Jefferson will compete in an elite section of the 1,500-meters including several American Olympians. The field hopes to dip under the Olympic 'A' standard of 3:36. \n"There are going to be fast guys in the race," Jefferson said. "I'm going out there to improve my time to make sure I get into the Trials and have a shot at the Olympic standard."\nCoach Heisler said Jefferson has been running well and expects his star runner to excel this week. \n"Sean did a workout the other day where he was just clicking off sub-60 400s," said Heisler. "He's running phenomenally right now."\nSenior All-American Chris Powers and sophomore Stephen Haas will run the 5,000-meters at Stanford, while junior Tom Burns will look to drop six seconds in order to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the steeplechase. \nTwo Hoosiers are set to star against Purdue. All-American and NCAA triple jump leader junior Aarik Wilson has already qualified for the Olympic Trials and freshman All-American David Neville is in top form as well. \n"This weekend I plan on going out and running fast," Neville said. "I definitely plan on winning my races, and I'm hoping to get my 200 time down."\nNeville is currently ranked in the top 20 in the NCAA in both the 200- and 400-meters. Last weekend at the Penn Relays, Neville snatched the baton from a hobbled teammate and came from behind to win IU's heat of the 4x200-meter relay. \n"David was absolutely flying in that 200," Heisler said. "Every time he races you sort of hold your breath because you never know what he'll do -- he could run 45-point in the 400 and it would be no surprise."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.