IU hosts Big Ten-SEC challenge

The Big Ten will battle the SEC tomorrow. It won’t take place on a basketball court or a football field, but rather on a track.\nThe Hoosiers’ track and field teams will host athletes from teams including Vanderbilt, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Purdue, Illinois and Ohio State in the first Big Ten-SEC challenge.\nThe Hoosiers are coming off a meet last Saturday where they had several athletes set career bests. Senior Kyle Jenkins, a 2007 All-American, set an NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the triple jump. Provisional qualifying marks are used to gain at-large entry into the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, where Jenkins hopes he can compete with the best in the nation. \nA focused athlete, Jenkins said he thought his performance was OK, but wanted to do better. \n“It’s somewhere to start,” he said. \nJenkins said he is looking forward to the meet this week, especially because of the top-caliber competition that will be present. \nSophomore high jumper Jared Nuxoll, fresh off of a career day last Saturday, said he thinks the competition will help prepare the team for big meets in the future.\n“We have some of the best in the nation that will be here,” he said. “It will be a good preview for Big Ten’s and NCAA’s.”\nIU coach Ron Helmer, while excited about the meet, was quick to not overemphasize its importance this early in the season. \n“This is just another step,” he said. “It is a chance for our athletes to get comfortable competing.” \nKentucky thrower Rashaud Scott was named the SEC male field athlete of the week after his victories in the weight throw and shot put at the Kentucky Invitational last week, according to the SEC league office. \nScott won the weight throw with a toss of 64-10 3/4, setting an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. IU senior thrower Paul Fearnow placed second in the event at the Indiana Open with a toss of 57-5 4/25. \nEven with these early meets seemingly not as important as the big meets to come, some Hoosiers still have anxiety about how they will perform. Junior sprinter Audrey Smoot is excited, but nervous about the meet. \n“It makes you nervous about how you will stack up,” she said.