Wilson coaches with experience

In Judy Wilson's senior season in 1987, she was consistently one of the top finishers on a team that finished second in the NCAA regional meet held in Bowling Green, Ohio. Eleven years later, Wilson would return to Bloomington to take over the head coaching position of the IU women's cross country team.\nIn Wilson's first stint with the Hoosiers, she walked on to the team in 1984 and ran with the likes of Colette Goudreau (1985 All-American), Kim Betz (1987 NCAA Regional and National Individual Champion, 1987 All-American) and Michelle Dekkers (1988 NCAA Individual National Champion, 1988 and 1989 All-American). Wilson has taken the success she experienced as a Harrier at IU, along with previous coaching stops at Bloomington South High School, University of South Florida, DePauw University and the University of Connecticut, and translated that into success at IU this season and last.\nLast year the Hoosiers entered the 2002 NCAA National Championship meet ranked No. 20 in the country, and Wilson coached the Hoosiers to a 14th place finish after finishing ninth at the 2001 Big Ten Conference Championship.\nEntering the 2003 season, the Hoosiers looked to make another run at the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA National Championship. However, due to injuries sustained to three of the Hoosiers' top seven, senior Becky Obrecht, and sophomores Lindsay Hattendorf and Jessica Gall, the Hoosiers found themselves having to re-evaluate their goals for the season.\nWilson said that one thing she learned by running at IU and under former IU cross country coaches Sam Bell and Carol Stevenson is that one has to have faith in the training program.\n"Trying to get people to see that 'Look, you know you are in shape to go do this, whether or not you do it, is going to be six inches above your shoulders,'" Wilson said. "I think with anybody that coaches, I think when you've been there and you've done it, then it should be easier for people to understand that you know how they feel."\nIn regards to her coaching methods, Wilson said she had "a very practical practicum," and that she had a very good field experience in terms of being terrible and improving by staying positive and running tough.\nSenior Audrey Giesler said coach Wilson's greatest asset is keeping the team focused and calm about workouts and races so that the team can evaluate what needs to be done the next time they compete.\n"We have a somewhat ideal situation where the girls on our team are all extremely motivated to succeed," Giesler said.\nThe women's cross country team has this coming weekend off before it travels to Iowa City, Iowa, for the Big Ten Cross Country Championship Nov. 2.\n-- Contact staff writer Steve Slivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.