Sophomore overcomes injury to pace team

If sophomore Jessica Gall were a motorized vehicle, she'd be a full-sized pick-up truck with tons of horsepower. If she were a prize fighter, she'd be Rocky Balboa. And if Gall were a brand of paper towel, she'd most definitely be Bounty. \nWhat does Gall have in common with all these aforementioned items? They all can take a beating and yet still remain as tough as they come in their respected arenas.\nGall's arena is the cross-country course and the track. Riddled with a quadricep injury at the beginning of last cross country season, Gall redshirted and focused on her track season. \nDuring the indoor campaign, Gall started out slowly. In mid-April, she tweaked her Achilles tendon and was forced to take a week off and then train lightly the following week. \nEven though she missed a significant chunk of training during an important part of the season, Gall was still able to come back strong and had two impressive finishes at last year's Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She finished fourth in the 10,000 meters in a time of 35 minutes, 14.87 seconds. In the 5,000, Gall finished third in 16:56.34.\nIU coach Judy Wilson was particularly impressed with her performance at the meet. \n"To take those two weeks almost completely off and still do as well as she did, that girl is tough as nails," Wilson said.\nWilson also has been impressed with Gall's off-season training regimen.\n"Last year around this time, we were wondering if she was even going to run. This year she is way ahead in her training," she said.\nAlthough this season is still young, Gall finished first for the Hoosiers in Friday's Indiana Open. Not everyone competed for the squad, but Gall was happy to get out on the course again.\n"I love to race, and it gave me the opportunity to get the competitive juices flowing," she said.\nGall has not only been leading the Hoosiers through her running, but also in the classroom. The women's cross country team boasts the highest cumulative grade point average of all the athletic teams at IU. Gall's 4.0 GPA certainly helps the team's overall standing. She is currently majoring in political science and plans on attending law school.\n"Jess is one of the most driven and determined girls on the team, and this is reflected in her success in the classroom and in her running," said senior teammate Mindy Peterson.\nWilson also points to the long amounts of time her athletes have to compete as another reason Gall stands out against a crowd. \n"Sometimes people don't realize how much these girls have to compete," Wilson said. "They have three seasons, cross-country and then indoor and outdoor track. That is eight to nine months of competing, not to mention offseason training. It's a lot different than any other sport."\nGall's teammates are confident they can accomplish big things this season with her healthy. \nSophomore Kristin Whitezell is one of those teammates.\n"She is one of the most supporting and focused person I've ever met," Whitezell said. "With her, we'll accomplish great things this season."\n-- Contact staff writer Ryan Corazza at rcorazza@indiana.edu.