Hoosiers primed to contend with Big Ten conference elite

When Robert Chapman took over as the IU cross country coach, his long-term goal was to develop a program that would be a perennial Big Ten and NCAA contender. He wanted a team that would consistently pump out All-Americans and eventually guarantee more success by attracting blue-chip recruits. \nThe effort began five years ago with last year's graduating class, and the dynasty appears to be under way. Twin All-Americans Sean and John Jefferson joined IU after feeling at home with the team's mentality, perhaps the most important element in developing a squad resistant to the ups and downs of arduous training cycles and brutally hot and cold weather. \n"We just fit in really well on our visit," said junior John Jefferson. \nThis year, it will be important for John to fit in again. After a year off because of a knee injury that never quite healed but never hurt enough to sideline him, John will look to join Sean, a cross country All-American in 2003 finishing 19th, the highest Hoosier finish since U.S. 5,000-meter record-holder Bob Kennedy won the meet in 1992. \n"I've been running a little bit," John Jefferson joked. "Last week I ran 70 miles and felt fine." \nLast season was a banner year for IU. Despite a few late-season complications, the Hoosiers rallied to finish third at the Big Ten Championships and 12th at the NCAA Championships, IU's highest finish in nearly 20 years.\nWith all but one scorer returning from the team's nucleus and several teams losing a large number of top runners, IU is looking forward to a successful campaign.\n"We'll have the big goals discussion at camp this week," said Sean Jefferson, last year's NCAA indoor mile champion. "But we've been talking about finishing top-five." \nIU's distance runners compete in three seasons, and Chapman considers one of his chief tasks the development of a training plan designed to keep them in shape for all three. \n"We can't just have XC in a box -- there's also indoor and outdoor track," he said. "The big goal is to try and be as on as we can for the championship portion of all three seasons."\nIt is even more important to IU's chances for John Jefferson to stay healthy because of the key loss of senior Chris Powers, who finished his career with two All-American awards -- one of which was in cross country. \nIU netted in its large freshman class marquee recruit Brian Sullivan, a national cross country finalist from Houston who owns a faster high school two-mile personal best (8 minutes, 52 seconds) than the Jeffersons. \nDespite the rigors of a new academic workload and a longer racing distance, Chapman said he believes his prize recruit will be up to the task.\n"If Sully is fit and the guys are healthy, then he'll run," Chapman said. "We know what we can do these next two years. In his junior and senior year, how the team does depends on how this frosh class develops."\nStrong role players will add depth and experience to the squad. Senior Thomas Burns, an accomplished steeplechaser in track and former walk-on, was the team's fifth runner last year at the NCAAs, while junior Eric Redman, who owns an indoor mile best of 4:07, came down with an illness just prior to the meet and struggled, finishing outside IU's top five, where he had been a fixture. \n"The word I've been getting is that Redman is extremely fit," Chapman said. "The challenge will be to keep him there." \nAnother athlete poised to become a frontrunner is junior Stephen Haas, whose breakthrough came last year in indoor track with a personal best 5,000-meters of 14:06, an NCAA provisional qualifier. Haas is quite possibly the linchpin that could put IU over the top.\n"I've been feeling strong in training," Haas said. "I've been easily hitting 80 miles a week, and our early hill workouts have been good."\nLast year's surprise role player was Northern Arizona transfer Charlie Koeppen, who stepped up to finish as IU's third runner. With the focus on maintaining fitness all year, IU will open its season a bit later than usual, likely at Notre Dame or at a meet in Maine. \nAs the beginning of Chapman's dynasty enters the real world and searches for something into which to pour the energy formerly reserved for running, they will monitor their successors. The program quietly grows. \n"It'll be fun to watch them develop," said Nathan Purcell, a fixture on IU's cross country team for the past four seasons. "They've got so much talent that they can't help but succeed."\n-- Contact staff writer Rob DeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.