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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

sports cross-country

Teams lead massive in-state field in home invite

Sophomore Sarah Pease leads teammate senior Kristina Trcka in the 27th Annual Indiana Intercollegiates meet Friday at the IU course. Pease and Trcka finished 5th and 8th respectively to help the team to a second place finish.

The IU cross country teams set a pace for the long haul after hosting the Indiana Intercollegiates on Friday.

The Hoosiers had strong showings from both the men’s and women’s teams as the athletes kicked the dust off their shoes and ran in their first scored meet.

The women’s team came in second place with 57 points, outdone by only Purdue, who finished with 45.

The men began the season strong as well, claiming first place with 33 points in the field of 21 teams.

Senior Brennon Plotner paced the men’s field, coming in first overall with a time of 25:03 in the men’s 8-kilometer race, while freshman Andrew Poore was close behind, finishing second 7 seconds later.

“Brennon and Andrew ran really well,” IU coach Ron Helmer said. “When you are going through a period where your training is high, it’s hard. We grouped it up fairly well.”

The rest of the men’s team also fared well, including sophomore Cole Hardacre, who ran 25:34 for fifth place. The pack was rounded out by freshman Andy Weatherford, who crossed the finish line in 10th with a time of 25:46, and senior Timothy McLeod, who posted a 26:03 for 15th place.

“I want to help the seniors do the best we can.” Hardacre said. “If I’m the first or fifth runner, I’ll be happy if the team does well.”

On the women’s side, junior Wendi Robinson posted a career best when she finished the race in 17:57, nabbing second place.

“Any meet I’m in, I want to compete with the best runners possible,” Robinson said.
Her time was the 12th best a Hoosier has ever earned at their home 5K course. Sophomore Sarah Pease was the next Hoosier to cross the finish line at 18:24, good enough for fifth place. Pease was followed by senior Kristina Trcka, who finished eighth, while freshman Chelsea Blanchard was 12th.

“I’m pleased with the way we ran up and down the line,” Helmer said. “Our women are so much improved, I couldn’t have been happier with the second years running this well. This can be a very good team. We need to be patient and put things into place.”

After enjoying the success of their first race, the Hoosiers will need to divert their attention to the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree on Oct. 4 in Stillwater, Okla.

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