All-Americans step up to beat OSU, Purdue

On the strength of an array of impressive performances, IU put Big Ten indoor track squads on notice Saturday afternoon with a victory over conference rivals Ohio State and Purdue. The Hoosiers scored 128 points to best the Boilermakers' 92 and the Buckeyes' 87 points.\nIU's stars were out in force, giving the Hoosiers wins in 8-of-15 events.\nJunior All-American Aarik Wilson continued to climb the national ladder in the triple jump, soaring to a season-best mark of 16.04-meters, which puts him in a tie for first in the NCAA performance rankings. \nWilson also placed second in the long jump to sophomore teammate Kiwan Lawson, who leapt to a distance of 7.43-meters, just short of the NCAA provisional standard. \n"Kiwan has said he's going to win the Big Ten," said IU coach Randy Heisler. "To do that, he's got to beat Aarik Wilson, which won't be easy -- but I like that attitude, that's what we want."\nJunior Ryan Ketchum launched a sizable season best en route to second place in the shot put with a mark of 18.35-meters. In other throwing action, senior Wil Fleming surpassed the NCAA provisional mark in the weight throw with a heave of 20.12-meters.\nSophomore All-American David Neville opened his sprinting season with an easy 400-meter victory, coasting across the finish line in 47.85. In other sprinting action, freshman Marcus Thigpen improved his season-best in the 60-meters with a time of 6.85 to finish 2nd. \nSenior Rodney Hollis took home a win in the 800-meters with a time of 1:52.6. In the mile, freshman Brian Sullivan finished 2nd in 4:17, while freshman Chris Honig finished third, also in 4:17. \nIU's All-American twins, Sean and John Jefferson, took their first step in the quest to beat a four-minute mile in the 3,000-meters. Paced out early by junior teammate Eric Redman, Sean took over mid-way through the race and extended a sizable lead over a Purdue athlete. Sean cruised home in 8:12, a ten-second personal best, and the fastest by an IU athlete other than recent graduate Chris Powers in the last six years. \n"I felt good," said Sean Jefferson, the reigning 2004 NCAA Indoor Mile Champion. "I just cruised in the last half-mile. I could've hammered it if I'd wanted to but instead I just stayed smooth."\nJohn Jefferson didn't fare quite as well, staying at the same pace as the opening portion of the race and crossing the line in 8:30.\n"I felt a little flat," he said. "Two more weeks, and we've got the big test -- the mile at Notre Dame, which is always fast."\nIU also got wins from sophomore Stephanos Ioannou in the 60-meter hurdles, as well as from senior Jake Wiseman in the pole vault. The Hoosier relay squad of Neville, Hollis, Andre Grimes and freshman Doug Dayhoff won the 4x400-meter relay. \nThe Hoosiers return to action next weekend in Bloomington as they host the two-day Hoosier relays. \n-- Contact Staff Writer Rob \nDeWitte at rdewitte@indiana.edu.