IU will look for improved results from the same lineups it sent to the Big Ten Championships when it goes to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Friday. When those lineups were sent to the Big Ten Championships the IU men finished third and the women finished eighth IU Coach Ron Helmer said senior Carl Smith and sophomore Katherine Free will be alternates for this upcoming meet and the team has done all it can to prepare for this race.
The IU men are ranked No. 21 in the nation and third in the Great Lakes Region ahead of the meet. The women’s side is unranked and No. 5 in the region. Both sides have suffered from not receiving an invitation to the Wisconsin Invitational.
Regardless, the men’s team is still in an ideal position to move on to the NCAA Championship meets. The top two teams from each region automatically move on to the national meet, and the third and fourth place teams could possibly be picked to advance as well.
Helmer said he has faith his team will do what’s necessary in order to advance to nationals.
“This is the test where if you don’t perform like you need to then your season is over,” Helmer said. “We haven’t accumulated enough points because of our schedule, but I’m confident that our kids can go out there and execute.”
The Hoosiers finished fifth overall on the men’s side, and the women placed seventh last year. Helmer said he is confident the team can execute better this season at regionals but wants to see more production from the bottom four runners on both teams.
The top three runners, seniors Jason Crist and Mark Chandler and freshman Ben Veatch, for the men have performed well but have been forced to carry most of the points burden this season. Helmer said he wants to see senior Mark Chandler step up after a poor, 70th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships.
On the women’s side, sophomore Katherine Receveur has had a stellar year. She placed second overall in the Big Ten Championships and received an All-Big Ten first team nod. She joins Veatch as pieces Helmer views as crucial to each team’s success.
“Our top three guys and top two girls are good, but they’re also really tough,” Helmer said. “Ben Veatch is out there not backing down to anyone even when his body starts to hurt mid-race, and same thing goes for Katherine Receveur.”
On the men’s side IU will have to jump either Wisconsin or Michigan State, two Big Ten foes that placed ahead of IU two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, if it is to clinch an automatic spot at nationals. Those two weeks should prove to be very beneficial for the Hoosiers’ stamina.
The women’s race will get underway at 1 p.m. followed by the men’s race at 2 p.m. ET in Madison, Wisconsin.
