Women's cross country moves in right direction with eighth place finish

The Hoosiers went to South Bend Friday in hopes of turning things around. They took a step in the right direction by placing eighth among the 17 teams in the event. IU was within 30 points of fourth place. \nJust ahead of the Hoosiers was Loyola-Chicago, Butler University and Miami (Ohio), while the Hoosiers were almost 100 points ahead of the rest of the field. Notre Dame won the race with a total of 58 points.\nSophomore Becky Obrecht placed 17th with a time of 18:05. Freshman Mindy Peterson was right behind her in 18th place with a time 18:11. Junior Amanda Bell ran her best race of the year and finished 28th.\n"I definitely think I'm getting back into it," Bell said. "My endurance is getting up there. I was closer to the leaders. I ran with a lot of confidence in the race. I ran the way the team needs me to run. It felt awesome."\nCoach Judy Bogenschutz was happy with the improvement.\n"We got out a little better and were more competitive," Bogenschutz said. "However, I think the struggle for the group has been real strong leadership. I've had to be more determined with this group. When I push them, I want them to push back. Cross-country isn't easy. Still, I think we are on the verge of having good performances from some people."\nObrecht has been leading the team the past couple of races, but she thinks she has room to improve.\n"I wasn't satisfied with the result," Obrecht said. "I could have been in the top 10. I got myself in the race early, but then I settled in. Hopefully by Big Ten I'll be stronger."\nThe Hoosiers are hoping to turn it on as the season progresses. Last season, the team ran well at the end of the year. Bogenschutz said last year's finish provides a sense of optimism. Obrecht said there is plenty of time to get better.\n"We're still making improvements," Obrecht said. "But we're definitely not where we want to be yet. The Big Ten meet is in three weeks so we have lots of time. We just need to keep working in practice everyday."\nBell hopes her team will take something away from her race.\n"I hope that the team can see that it is possible to turn it around quickly," Bell said. "I've done it in the last couple of races, and I think we all can too"