3 Hoosier runners place in top 13

Friday, the men's cross country team kicked off the season at home with the Indiana Open. Although only five members ran, the Hoosiers placed three athletes in the top 13. Another, senior Josh Trisler, was running well before he chose to withdraw because of problems with his shoe.\nFreshman Tom Burns finished third Friday with a time of 22:43 minutes, good enough to cross the line first for the Hoosiers. \n"We did not really think of it as a race going into the race, but more like a tempo run," Burns said. "Our motivation was the team goals that we have set for ourselves."\nSophomore Rob DeWitte said his objective was to catch and pass all the men head coach Rob Chapman told him to. \nThat motivation led him to a ninth-place finish, second overall for the Hoosiers in a time of 23:27 minutes. DeWitte said he was encouraged by his finish at the meet.\n "At the 3,000-meter mark, I felt good and I went," DeWitte said. "I struggled on the sixth kilometer, but was able to finish strong."\n Junior Doug Paley finished 13th and was the third man to finish for IU. His time of 23:44 minutes was a personal record by 40 seconds. \n Mike Skiles, a redshirt freshman, finished 25th. Trisler was running alongside Burns until the 5,000 meter mark, where problems with his shoe forced him to dropout of the race. \n The meet helped display the Hoosiers' depth as they continue their search for a conference title.\n"We only ran five guys, but we have another 10 to 15 who could run with or better than the five who ran on Friday," Burns said. \nChapman said the hard work put forth by DeWitte, Paley and Skiles in training paid off over the weekend event. Before Trisler left the race, he and Burns were competing with two opponents who finished in the top 25 in the district last year. They are also fighting to make it as one of the teams top seven runners, Chapman said. \n"What we wanted to do was give our supporting cast a chance to race and really see what they could do," Chapman said.\n"I'm really enthused after this (race) that when we put everyone together, we are definitely going to have a better season than last (year) as long as everyone is healthy and we keep working hard"