Hoosiers compete 1 last time before Big Ten's

In their final home meet of the indoor season, the IU distance runners finished strong, earning top results in IU's final indoor home meet -- the Hoosier Hills Invitational. This weekend's meet was the last before the Indoor Big Ten Championships, and IU churned out some top performances only to lose to the Indiana Invaders Track and Field Club several times.\nIn the one-mile run, four Hoosiers took the top five places. Senior Julie Shields took first place with a time of 5:05.32. IU then swept third through fifth places when freshman Nikki Peterson crossed the finish line with a time of 5:11.72, narrowly followed by sophomore Kristin Whitezell with 5:11.93 and senior Allison Miller with 5:11.93.\nSenior Larra Overton captured a second-place finish in the 600-meter run with a personal best time of 1:33.06. Her time is almost five seconds faster than her previous best time and just two seconds behind first-place winner Hope Sanders of the Indiana Invaders Track and Field Club. Overton's current 600-meter time is fourth on IU's all-time best list for the event.\nThe IU sprinters were no slouches either. \nOnce again, a member of the Invaders robbed a Hoosier from the first-place prize. Freshman Lauren Keefe finished second with a time of 1:00.41 in the 400-meter dash, which was about four seconds slower than the Invaders' Alicia Miller, whose first-place time was 56.60 seconds.\n"I think my 400 was a strong race," Keefe said, "Although I came out of the blocks weak, I ran strong the entire time, and that is what will be important for me at Big Ten's next weekend when I run the 600."\nFreshman Beth Gibbs placed eighth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.57 seconds. Gibbs faced a tough field of competition dominated by representatives from the University of Louisville. Louisville took five of the eight final finishes.\nGibbs also took ninth place in the high jump with a jump of 1.48 meters. \nIU also fared well in the field events. \nSophomore Sarah Gilleran placed fourth in the high jump with a final leap of 1.58 meters. Rose also placed eighth in shot put. Freshman pole vaulter Jackie Davis placed 12th.