Cross country schedule features 3 home meets

This fall’s cross country schedule was released by the Athletic Department on Monday and includes three home meets for the Hoosiers.

IU will bookend its regular season with home meets, including the season-opening Indiana Open on Sept. 10 and the Indiana Intercollegiates on Sept. 16. The season ends in Bloomington as well with the Hoosier Invitational on Nov. 4.

Between those events, IU will travel to a number of meets around the Midwest, including Madison, Wis., on Oct. 14 for the adidas Invitational where the men’s team will try to defend last year’s  first-place finish in the event.

“In terms of early season meets, I think that the adidas (Invitational) in Wisconsin and the Pre-National meet both will be important tests,” sophomore Lyndsey Wall said. “The other meets are more just a chance to get our act together and start rolling.”

IU will compete for a conference crown Oct. 30 in Champaign, Ill., then try for a spot at the national meet at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet in Toledo, Ohio.

“The Big Ten Championship is obviously very important to the team,” Wall said. “We are a part of a difficult athletic conference, and it is always good to prove ourselves in it.

The regional meet is also extremely important because that is our chance to go to the national meet.”

Wall expects the men’s team to be a major contender nationally.

“I think the outlook for the men’s team is fantastic,” Wall said. “They placed seventh in nationals last year and with all their varsity runners returning, plus the addition of a few new great runners, the men are very fired up and prepared for a great year.”

The women’s team looks to rebound from the graduation of Sarah Pease and make the national meet.

“I think that the main goal is to advance to the national meet, and then once we are there, see what we can do,” Wall said.

-Max McCombs

2011 Indiana Cross Country Schedule

Sept. 10 Indiana Open, Bloomington, Ind.

Sept.16 Indiana Intercollegiates, Bloomington, Ind.

Oct. 1 Cowboy Jamboree, Stillwater, Okla.

Oct. 14 Adidas Invitational, Madison, Wis.

Oct. 16 Pre-Nationals, Terre Haute, Ind.

Oct. 30 Big Ten Championships,
Champaign, Ill.

Nov. 4 Hoosier Invitational, Bloomington, Ind.

Nov. 12  NCAA Great Lakes Regional, Toledo, Ohio

Nov. 21  NCAA Championships, Terre
Haute, Ind.