Freshmen adapt to college

In August, thousands of freshmen moved to Bloomington to start their college careers. Many were filled with anxiety about the upcoming year and began to adjust to college life, particularly those playing sports.\n"You like to see everyone have a smooth transition into college, but it doesn't always happen," said women's cross country coach Judy Bogenschutz.\nFreshman Laura Helhowski said the hardest part is scheduling around her classes. "I never had to do that before," Helhowski said. "I always had a set time for classes. Classes are at random times, and I'm not used to that."\nMany of the freshmen runners realize that finding the time to do everything can be overwhelming. Some understand there is a lack of time to do class work.\n"The hardest thing is time management," said freshman Mindy Peterson. "Every minute that I'm not running, eating, or sleeping I'm doing homework."\nAmber Miller, also a freshman, agrees with Peterson.\n"There isn't a lot of free time to do things," she said. "You have do do everything on your own."\nBogenschutz said it's the little things that can disrupt a freshman's first year of college.\n"The more lifestyle changes they make, the worse off they are," she said. "It's simple things like changes in diet, sleeping patterns, and social life."\nThe training runners go through is more rigorous than they had realized.\n"The workouts are harder and the mileage has increased a lot," Peterson said.\nBogenschutz said she likes to ease the women into the training.\n"They have no idea what to expect in races," Bogenschutz said. "Freshman year is more of a learning experience. Some do well. Others don't."\nPeterson seems to think that the training is working.\n"I'm in the best shape I've ever been in," she said. "The workouts give me confidence." \nHelhowski concurs with Peterson.\n"(Coach Bogenschutz) gives us all individual attention. That helps," she said.\nMany are used to being one of the best runners at their school and in their state, but don't perform at the collegiate level as well as they'd like.\n"One thing you have to ask is, 'can they handle getting beat after being head duck?'" Bogenschutz said. "Their reaction is important when they realize that they are in the middle of the pack instead the front like their used to. Their success depends on their reaction"