No. 19 Hoosiers keep focus on NCAAs

The No. 19 IU men's cross country team is back in action this weekend as it heads to Chicago for Saturday's Loyola Lakefront Invitational. The meet comes on the heels of IU's first defeat in five years at the Indiana Intercollegiates.\n"Hopefully the younger guys can build some more confidence over 8,000 meters," senior Sean Jefferson said. "These early meets are obviously tune-ups, but they're important for some of the guys that haven't raced 8K many times."\nJefferson, his twin brother senior John Jefferson and senior Stephen Haas will not compete in the race, opting instead to continue to train for the championship part of the season. The trio might open in two weeks at the Pre-NCAA Invitational in Terre Haute, but only if its training indicates they are ready to race. \n"We're still training, getting back to speed after the long track season," Haas said. "We're going to be ready when it counts."\nAt Loyola, IU's supporting cast will again have the chance to step up. Senior Eric Redman, who finished in second place at the Intercollegiates, will lead a squad of young runners against teams from around the Midwest. \n"Redman's still logging high miles, but he's in pretty good shape so he's racing to keep his fitness up and gauge how well training has been going," Jefferson said. "Hopefully some of the younger guys will be able to finish strong."\nJoining Redman will be redshirt sophomores Brian Sullivan, Mark Fruin, Ryan Dixon, Brennon Plotner, Chris Honig, Charlie Keating and Marcus Aguilar, as well as freshman Tim McLeod. \n"McLeod ran well at Intercollegiates, especially since it was his first real collegiate 8K race," former IU All-American Chris Powers said. "That's a really good sign for the team because freshmen get increasingly better with each race."\nLooking ahead, IU's next meet is the Pre-NCAA Invitational, followed by the championship season, which includes the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA \nChampionships.