IU seeks 4th straight Indiana Intercollegiate title

The IU women's cross country team has won the Indiana Intercollegiates meet for the last three years. This year, the Hoosiers want to make it four.\nThe Hoosiers will compete at Indiana State's 5K course this Friday in Terre Haute against most of the Division I, II and III schools in Indiana. The race will feature more than 200 runners. \nLast season, sophomore Wendi Robinson led the Hoosiers with a fourth-place finish.\n"It kind of looks like a big meet when we get on the starting line, but in actuality our top seven probably run against the top 30 people," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "I think this year we have the type of team where we should have our top five in the top 15 to 20."\nA portion of the 5K course is part of this year's NCAA National Championships course. This will be the first scoring meet for the Hoosiers this year.\n"Obviously we want to win as a team," Robinson said. "It's not the most important meet, so we just want to get out there and have a good run since we run nationals and pre-nationals on the course."\nBecause the team has run the Terre Haute 5K course several times over the last few years, senior Lindsay Hattendorf believes the team will have an extra advantage.\n"I've run on that course since my freshman year here, so I pretty much know it," Hattendorf said. "That definitely helps you because you know what to expect,"\nSenior Jessica Gall said the Indiana Intercollegiates is a fun meet to run because of all the Indiana schools that participate. Gall also said the course differs from the IU course, which has more hills. Because of this, she said she believes the team should run faster times.\n"It's just a chance to get another racing opportunity in," Gall said, "and another chance to learn before we get to the bigger meets this season."\nTuesday, the United Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll named the Hoosiers the No. 29-ranked team in the country. The poll put Stanford University in the top spot and ranked Big Ten rival Michigan No. 3. The Hoosiers were the seventh team from the Big Ten to be ranked in the top 30.