Hoosiers looking to dethrone Wolverines at top of Big Ten conference

In the Big Ten, coming out on top doesn't always come easy.\nFor the past four years, No. 3 Michigan has won the women's cross country Big Ten title. While the Wolverines are heavily favored to win their fifth straight title, the No. 29 IU women's cross country team is looking to make a dent in the rest of the field.\n"It's a good conference this year, and it's gotten a lot better in the past few years," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "You could possibly get six Big Ten teams at the national meet, which is pretty good."\nThe competition in the Big Ten this year is rounded out with No. 6 Illinois, No. 10 Wisconsin, No. 15 Iowa, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 23 Michigan State and the Hoosiers.\n"Behind Michigan, there's really a lot of parity in the conference," senior Jessica Gall said. "Last year, Minnesota was pretty good. Illinois has some good runners. Iowa is emerging. Michigan is really at the top, and behind them, there's this whole pack."\nThe Big Ten Championships will be held this year at the Hoosiers' home course Oct. 29.. It will be the fourth time the team has run on the course this year. Senior Lindsay Hattendorf said this year's meet will be fun because the Hoosiers know the course so well.\n"It's going to be interesting to see how teams that haven't been to our course will do, which we hope to use to our advantage," Hattendorf said. "It's going to be great competition, and if we can all stay healthy, it will definitely be a good year."\nSo far this year, the Hoosiers have already run against Michigan and Purdue at last week's Indiana Open. Though the meet was not scored, Hoosier runners placed second, fifth and seventh in a field that included last year's Big Ten champions.\nIn order to stay healthy for the Big Ten Championships, the Hoosiers are trying not to overwork themselves.\n"I know what some teams are doing, and they're really beating people up," Wilson said. "What we need to do is come on at the end of October and in November."\nGall also agreed and said while the Hoosiers are underdogs for the Big Ten title, the team has a good shot running on its home course.\n"We have some really talented and hardworking runners," Gall said. "Our main goal is to keep improving as the season goes and hopefully something special comes together that day"