Redshirt sophomore makes leap from Division-III school

Running cross country at IU was one of the last things on Kristina Trcka's mind.\nTwo years ago, the redshirt sophomore was running cross country at Earlham College, a Division-III school in Richmond, Ind. After finding her teammates didn't quite have the level of competition or excitement that she did, Trcka opted to transfer to IU after her freshman year.\nHowever, running at IU wasn't why Trcka transferred. Never having reached her state meet in high school, she chose IU for the academic potential it offered. She decided to walk on and eventually landed a spot on the Hoosier roster.\n"When I was transferring to IU and I mentioned that I might walk on, my coach at Earlham said they wouldn't give me the time of day and that I wouldn't be able to do it," Trcka said. "That gave me a little extra incentive."\nLike Trcka, IU coach Judy Wilson walked onto IU's roster when she ran for the Hoosiers in the mid-80s. Trcka said Wilson's story encouraged her to work harder while on the team.\nIn her first year racing competitively throughout the season, Trcka has filled the void left in the team's fourth and fifth spots due to injuries of sophomore Stephanie Greer and freshman Kellee Lemcke. At the NCAA Pre-Nationals race Oct. 14, Trcka posted a career best time of 22:15 on the 6K course in Terre Haute and finished 168th. The race impressed her head coach. Now that Greer and Lemcke are back from injury, Trcka will still compete as part of the team's top seven.\n"I think sometimes people come out of high school, and they have no idea how fast they could have run in high school," Wilson said. "Whether they just didn't have that strong of a team or you just get a little bit older and make this conscious decision to take it more seriously. Kristina could be one of these girls that could make that leap."\nTrcka attributes her success this year to running on a competitive team and putting in more miles. After making the jump to IU, Trcka struggled through last season's workouts because it took awhile to get used to them, she said.\n"When you're training with better people, you're going to get better, whereas if you're somewhere else and you're their best person, you don't have anyone to push you," Trcka said. "It just pushes me to that next level to have people that are as dedicated to the sport as you are."\nLooking toward the Big Ten Championships Sunday, Wilson thinks Trcka can place in the top 40. She said if Trcka had run in the race last year, she would have finished in the top 80.\n"That might not sound like much to some people, but when you've got Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State in the top 13 in the country, you're talking about running with some really good people," Wilson said.\nWilson said the addition of Trcka has not only added to the team's depth, but her hard word has been an inspiration for the team.\n"It's just been great to see her develop," Wilson said. "I give her a lot of credit for sticking with it and coming back this year because I feel like you've got to earn it to be coached. She had to come in and make it through the year to prove herself. What she's done now should motivate a lot of people"