IU heads to West Lafayette for meet against Indiana colleges

A full field of competition will meet the IU men’s and women’s cross country teams at the Indiana Intercollegiates, at 3:30 p.m. Friday in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers will compete against Indiana colleges of all sizes and athletic associations, including the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and the National Junior College Athletic Association.\nIU coach Ron Helmer said he views this weekend’s meet as a journey. \n“(This competition) is another step along the way,” Helmer said. “I do not care if we finish first or last as nothing matters until postseason play.” \nHelmer is referring to the fact that every team in the country is eligible for postseason play in the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Regionals. The elimination of teams begins afterward when two teams from each region are selected to compete for the national championship. \nLooking ahead to this weekend, junior Lauren Keefe, who placed fifth on the team and 25th overall last weekend at the Indiana Invitational, said she has a plan to improve her time Friday.\n“I definitely need to work on the middle four (kilometers) of the race,” Keefe said. “If I can run well at the beginning and have a strong finish, I feel good.” \nSophomore Jordan Kyle who won last week’s race against limited competition said the Hoosiers have a different strategy for running against a fuller field this weekend.\n“When you have more competition, it means running your own race,” Kyle said. “You cannot go after other people and you cannot run too fast too early.” \nHelmer still wants IU to run hard even though he hopes the best is yet to come. \n“There are more important things down the road and this (meet) is not really our focus,” Helmer said. “However, we still need to be the best we can be this weekend.”