Indiana Open provides home advantages

The IU women's cross country team kicks off its 2004 season tonight at the Indiana Open. The meet will be held at IU's home course at 6:45 p.m.\nEven though Hoosier coach Judy Wilson is treating this meet as a low-key tune-up, she said she still recognizes the importance the meet holds for her entire squad. \n"It's basically an open race for all and is just a season opener, but it gives the younger runners a chance to get out there," Wilson said. "I really want to see people run consistently, and I really want to see negative splits. I'm watching mainly what happens between the 3K and the 5K. (I'm) giving people a chance to show me what they can do."\nAnd because this meet is more of an open and freely-run meet, every runner who is capable usually gets the opportunity to participate.\n"This meet gives my middle-distance runners a chance, too," Wilson said. "This is a year-round sport for most of them. They run indoor (track) in the winter and outdoor (track) in the spring."\nThe team's normal frontrunners, senior Mindy Peterson, junior Kelly Siefker and sophomore Kristin Whitezell, will not be running tonight due to scheduling constraints with an upcoming meet. In light of their absence, sophomore Jessica Gall, who has made impressive strides in her training this summer, is expected to lead the pack. Gall redshirted last season, and tonight's meet will be her first since her freshman year.\n"I'm really more excited than anything," Gall said. "It's been a while since I raced. I'm just excited to get going again." \nFreshmen Maura Ratcliff, Lauren Keefe and Nikki Peterson all will be running in their first collegiate race. \nMindy Peterson, who is now a veteran of the race, competed in the Indiana Open her freshman, sophomore and junior years and has placed in the top five all three times. Peterson said she believes having the first meet of the year at home has its advantages for the younger runners on the squad.\n"That's where you've been practicing, and it's hard to travel sometimes," Peterson said. "It's more low-key, and that's all an advantage." \nTraditionally, the meet has not had a large number of other schools participating and has been fairly open to any team that is willing to participate. Last year, the Hoosiers invited four other teams to the meet and placed ahead of all of them. When the meet has actually been scored, IU has been the winner consistently. Competition usually varies greatly, and IU has played host to a wide assortment of teams over the years, ranging from IUPUI to South Florida.\n-- Contact staff writer Andy Romey at aromey@indiana.edu.