Hoosiers establish dominance over satellite campuses

The women's cross country team opened its season Friday with victories against IU-Purdue University at Indianapolis and IU-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. IU-Bloomington dominated the entire race. \nAt the halfway point there was a sea of red jerseys with few white ones from IUPUI mixed in. The rest of the team was not far behind. The pack stuck together to the finish. The Hoosiers took 13 of the top 14 places. All top five finishers were Hoosiers. \nLeading the way was sophomore Audrey Giesler. Giesler won her first collegiate race with a time of 19:16.70. Freshman Mindy Peterson took second in her first race. Sophomore Lauren Weddell took third. Senior Erin Womble and sophomore Becky Obrecht rounded out the top five.\n"It feels pretty good to win, but it was unexpected. But it's better that way," Giesler said.\nPeterson was also happy with her performance. \n"I just tried to stay up with the rest of the pack," she said. "It tells me how well the training has been so far."\nAlthough the times were not as fast as the runner's potential, Weddell was not concerned. "This was about going out and giving it your all, and not worrying about times because we're shooting for three months from now."\nCoach Judy Bogenschutz was happy.\n"It was a good start for us," she said. "They weren't totally tired. We ran the race a little cautious."\nBogenschutz is also impressed with the unity the team is showing.\n"We have the best chemistry that we've had since I've been here. The older girls are really interested in what the younger ones are doing and their ability and that leads to a solid team effort."\nEven though the race was considered low key, Bogenschutz was glad the team participated in the event.\n"It was a chance for our girls to get out and run a 5K on our own course and be able to race again since some of them have not raced since last season. The girls really worked hard this summer and today it showed."\nBogenschutz is looking further down the road.\n"With the group we have now we do not need one person leading the pack, but would rather have five in the Top 25 at Big Tens and that would put us up in the Regionals."\nGiesler is also looking ahead.\n"We're shooting for bigger and better things," she said. "This was more just to go out and get a race under our belts"