Leading by example

Leadership is a key ingredient in all aspects of sport, and to juniors Becky Obrecht and Audrey Giesler of the women's cross country team, leadership is something that comes with experience. "In the last two years I've felt more comfortable stepping forward to voice my opinion and hopefully push my teammates in practice,"Giesler said. Obrecht agrees with her teammate and thinks that their time as leaders of the team has arrived. "Although we sometimes joke about not feeling like we're upperclassmen yet, I know we both have the desire to see IU succeed and become a powerhouse in the Big Ten," Obrecht said.

Obrecht and Giesler have had a close bond since they arrived at IU as freshmen. Since this time, they have spent a great deal of time together and that has really developed the cohesiveness they possess. "Audrey and I have been roommates since our dorm days freshman year, and we stayed around Bloomington this summer training on our home course and taking classes," Obrecht said. "During that time we were really able to encourage each other in training and stay focused on our running." This is the type of leadership that is needed after a tough season like the Hoosiers had last year when they finished 9th overall in the Big Ten. Last year, the Hoosiers needed someone to step to the forefront and take control. This season along with Giesler and Obrecht the Hoosiers have sophomore Mindy Peterson, who believes she leads like many others on the team. "There are many of the girls that all have great leadership, but most of them like me just try to lead by example," Peterson said. When a team has such a strong belief in leadership this usually brings about strong team camaraderie Peterson said. "Running as a pack motivates all of us to run well and also develops our mental toughness. There is no competition between any of our athletes," Peterson said. "We all compete together and just try to run up to our potential. To tell the truth the last meet that we ran really does not show exactly where all of us are at. On any given day I think that any one of the top 5 could win." This new and improved leadership has the team thinking big. In the last year Giesler believes the team has had a complete change in mentality. "We've only had one meet so far, but my mentality going into the (Indiana) Open was completely different from any cross country meet I ran in last year. I think we have transitioned from a team with hopes and aspirations to a team with realistic expectations," Giesler said. These expectations aren't just Giesler's thoughts as Peterson states, "I don't really think that the first meet has any indication of what any of us are capable of. We have all been having really good workouts and running together really helps all of us. We are looking forward to the Big Ten's, Regionals, and qualifying for nationals. Those are the meets that count and that is what we are aiming for."