IU looks toward nationals

This weekend the NCAA will try to bring some excitement to Terre Haute by hosting the cross country Great Lakes Regional. In this meet IU will try to earn a trip to the NCAA Championships in Greenville, SC.\n"We will have to earn it this weekend," sophomore Bart Phariss said. "We are looking to beat as many teams as possible."\nThere will be a number of tough teams for the Hoosiers to beat. The race again includes four ranked Big Ten teams. Wisconsin at number four is the highest. Michigan and Michigan State are ranked 11th and 19th respectively. IU rounds out the group ranked 25th in the nation. Notre Dame (fifth) and Eastern Michigan (16th) also look to lead the field. Butler University might surprise some with a pair of runners who look to finish up front. \nWith this many quality teams, IU will need the entire team to run well to qualify for nationals. The team must finish third to guarantee a trip to Greenville. To do this the team will need to beat several ranked opponents.\n"We need to beat Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State," head coach Robert Chapman said. "Whomever gets third in our district goes, so we\'re aiming for that. If we finish fourth then are chances are slim." \nThe distance for all regional and national competition races is 10,000 meters. This is an increase of 2,000 meters over the distance run during the regular season. With the training the team has been doing all season, they should be able to turn the difference into an advantage.\n"We are a 10K type of team," junior Chris Powers said. "We are a distance team and we have been doing the miles. A team like Michigan has more milers that try to stretch to 10K."\nThe team went to Terre Haute last weekend not only to familiarize themselves with the course, but also to become more focused on the race itself, instead of just the course.\n"I think it will help," Phariss said. "We just went out there Saturday and got a feel of the course."\nThe pressure is on now for the IU to finish in the top three to advance. With Wisconsin and Notre Dame head and shoulders above the field, their sights must be set on third. \n"We knew the rules (for advancing) coming into the season and we have just not run well when we needed too," Chapman said.\nThe team is now starting to get into the right frame of mind. This will help them focus on the race.\n"We were a little over confident in the beginning of the season" Powers said. "Now we are ready to beat some people"