Undefeated Hoosiers to compete at ISU invite

Saturday, the IU men's cross country team travels to Terre Haute to compete in the Indiana State Invitational. The team will face its most difficult opposition of the season against a field of six ranked teams.\nThis will be the second consecutive year the team has raced in the meet. They will race on the course several times later this season, including on Nov. 25 at the NCAA Championship. Members of the team said the meet will provide positive experience for Nationals and other meets at the course.\nThe Hoosiers enter the meet undefeated and ranked No. 22. Coach Robert Chapman has downplayed both of these facts, stressing to his team that later in the season is more important than the first several meets. He also said the team does not worry about the polls.\n"We don't really need twelve people who have not seen us practice or run to tell us how good we are," Chapman said. "We're confident enough in our own ability to not get validation of our ability from a poll."\nSophomore Kurtis George said the team looks forward to testing their ability Saturday. George added this weekend is an opportunity to put together a solid race and pick off some good teams.\n"The team is fit and ready to run," George said, "The wins are there; we just need to grab them."\nGeorge said the team's strength lies in their talent and depth, and that they showed that in their first two meets in which they used a solid pack and front running to win the team competitions.\nSophomore Tom Burns said he expects similar results this weekend, despite the difficult competition. He said junior Bart Phariss expects a breakout performance and freshmen twins John and Sean Jefferson should continue their success. John Jefferson has been the top Hoosier finisher at both of the Hoosier's two meets so far this season.\nBurns said he expects freshman Stephen Haas to have an impressive race.\nThe Hoosiers last competed at the Indiana Intercollegiates on Sept. 20 where they placed first but ran in pouring rain. This weekend should provide better running weather, but the ground could be wet from the possibility of rain on Friday night. \nBurns said the team is not worried about outside influences. He explained that, although the meet is important, it won't characterize the rest of the season in either a positive or negative manner. \n"This will be the first show for us," Burns said, "I would love for the team to win the meet and show the other teams that we are a legitimate top ten team"