IU competes before largest regular season crowd ever as team travels to West Coast

Imagine traveling back to the days of the ancient Olympics, when neither football nor basketball could fill a stadium like track and field did. \nThe Hoosiers could have confused the present for the past when they arrived Saturday at the annual Pepsi Invitational to a marvelous stadium and a crowd in the thousands in Eugene, Ore. \n"The crowd knew track and supported everyone," said sophomore Stacey Clausing. "Sure they wanted Oregon to win because they were the home team, but when someone ran a fast time they all would stand up and cheer."\nIU knew that the competition would be tough going into Oregon's Pepsi Invitational on Saturday, and when it was all over, the team scores proved it.\nAt the end of the day, the Hoosiers finished fourth in the quadrangle with 107 points. Missouri won the event with 171.50 points while host Oregon was second with 171 points and Washington third with 164 points. \n"There were a lot of athletes who had qualified for indoor NCAAs or outdoor regionals already, and even some world-record holders," said sophomore Lorian Price. "We're still missing athletes in some events."\nOn the positive side, several IU athletes had strong finishes in their respective events. \nClausing took home two first place prizes. The reigning Big Ten Athlete of the Week won both the 200-meter and 400-meter dashes with times of 24 seconds and 54.35 seconds respectively. Sophomore Michele Huber finished on Clausing's heels in the 400 with a time of 55.98.\n"I was happy with my results," Huber said. "I (set a personal record) in the 400, but I didn't qualify for regionals in the 200, which was a goal of mine. I ran three races in one hour, which just isn't enough time to warm-up and get ready."\nFour other Hoosiers went on to earn second place awards. \nPrice just barely lost in the 100-meter hurdles finishing not even a meter behind the winner clocking a time of 13.67. However, she did pass the NCAA Regional qualifying mark. Price also finished sixth in the long jump with a leap of 5.40 meters, and helped the four by 100-meter relay with a second place of its own with a time of 46.53. \n"The 100 hurdles was a race where I figure out exactly what I needed to work on," Price said. "I need to be cleaner over the hurdle and run faster at the hurdles towards the end of the race."\nIU returns to action next weekend, April 15-16, when the team travels to the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif.\n-- Contact Staff Writer John Fischer at jbfische@indiana.edu.