Hoosiers win qualifying spots at relays

The IU men's track and field team wrapped up competition at the Penn Relays Sunday after posting three top-10 finishes Saturday. Highlighted by sophomore Kyle Jenkins' first-place finish in the triple jump, the Hoosiers finish saw the team obtain regional qualifying marks in every event they competed in on the meet's final day.\nKnown for annually drawing a prestigious lineup of athletes, this year's Penn Relays saw an exciting and controversial USA vs. the world men's 4x100-meter relay. Led by 2004 Olympic gold medalists Justin Gatlin and Shawn Crawford, the USA team initially won the race and subsequently lost it on account of disqualification. Following a video replay, the decision was overturned 30 minutes later to ensure a victory for Team USA, which eventually won five of the six relay events.\nThe estimated crowd of 50,000 was likewise privy to Jenkins' performance Saturday. The sophomore, who already owned a qualifying standard in the event, duplicated the feat with a leap of 15.51 meters to claim the title.\nAlso Saturday, the men's 4x400-meter relay team, including juniors David Neville and Treymane Warfield, along with sophomores Doug Dayhoff and Ryan Smith, improved upon its heat time from Friday, finishing in third place overall with a time of 3:07.71.\nStill, the solid performances were not merely limited to Saturday, as the first day of the event saw three Hoosiers finish in the top 10 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Senior Eric Redman led the way with a sixth-place finish, snapping the line at 8:59.325, while fellow senior Marcus Aguilar finished just behind in 9:11.159, good enough for eighth. Finally, sophomore Chris Honig notched a personal best, finishing right at the heels of Aguilar in 9:11.867 for a ninth-place finish.\nLikewise, Friday the men's 4x100-meter relay team, consisting of freshman Will Glover, sophomores Marcus Thigpen and Keith Heerdegen, and junior Stephanos Ioannou contributed to the steadily growing list of Hoosiers with regional qualifying marks. They achieved this distinction with a time of 40.53 seconds, marking the team's fastest time in the event this year and good enough for seventh place.\nWith the performances this weekend, IU now boasts six athletes and two relay teams in a total of 10 events with regional qualifying standard marks. These athletes are guaranteed a position in the NCAA regional meet May 26 and 27 in Knoxville, Tenn., before possibly moving on to the NCAA Championships in June.\nFirst, however, the team plays host to the Billy Hayes Invitational this weekend. Action begins at 4 p.m. Friday at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field complex.