Men's, women's cross country toe line first in Indiana Open

The IU men’s and women’s cross country teams opened the 2010 season with a pair of first-place finishes in the Indiana Open on Saturday at the IU Cross Country Course.

IU senior Sarah Pease took the top spot for the women, finishing nearly 10 seconds ahead of teammates junior Chelsea Blanchard and sophomore Samantha Ginther, who finished second and third, respectively. Pease ran the first two kilometers of the 5-kilometer race at a planned slower-than-normal pace, passing seven runners en route
to victory.

IU junior Ben Hubers was the first athlete to toe the finish line in the men’s race. He was followed by five more Hoosiers within 2.13 seconds. Freshman Andy Bayer and sophomore Andrew Poore earned second and third place, respectively, finishing less than a second after Hubers.

Although Hubers was the first college athlete to finish, he was not the first Hoosier. Sean Jefferson, a former IU runner and now a professional triathlete, raced in the event and finished ahead of Hubers.

After starting the season with what IU coach Ron Helmer described as a “very low-key meet,” the team looks to take another step at the Indiana Intercollegiate on Friday, Sept. 17th, in West Lafayette.

-Michael Norman