Purcell excels in tough situations

The men's cross country team has an important meet this weekend in Terre Haute at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. So far this season, the Hoosiers have not been able to put together a team effort where each member runs well. But one sophomore, Nathan Purcell, has been able to consistently turn out good races at big meets.\nIn his first year at IU, Purcell was red-shirted, but that was the least of his obstacles. One day he was leaving class for home with a teammate in front of Woodburn where the two had ridden their bikes to class that day. As they were leaving, Purcell was struck by a car on Seventh Street. He was not injured severely, but he did have to spend the night in the hospital.\n"I am lucky (that) I am still running, it could have been a lot worse," Purcell said. "It was sort of a wake up call. It gave me a new outlook."\n Despite that accident, he was able to contribute to the success the Hoosiers had last season. Early in that season, Purcell ran in several of the smaller races. He struggled with tendonitis over that summer and was not in the best shape. As the season progressed he improved and actually scored for the IU at the NCAA Championships. \n "Last year, he stepped up for the team and finished fourth in Nationals," sophomore Rob DeWitte said. "He will have to do it again (this weekend) for the team to make it to Nationals this year."\nHead coach Robert Chapman believes he has the ability to run well in big meets for a two reasons.\n"One is that Nathan tends to progress with training each week to a major peak at the end of the season, so he is ready to go for the championship meets," he said. "Second, I think Nathan is one of those rare people who has the ability to find a little something extra when things really matter."\nPurcell said his training is right where it needs to be and will help him this weekend as the length of the race increases from 8K to 10K. \n"Right now I am training better than I ever have," he said. "I am a little excited about that heading into districts." \nPurcell also said he is a team player and will do anything the team needs him to do. While the team is deep and has several talented freshmen who can contribute, he said he will run in several events but mostly the steeplechase.