Soccer player runs toward goal in cross country

Most student-athletes participated in their respective collegiate sport in high school. However, sophomore cross country runner Kelly Siefker is one of the exceptions.\nIn the state of Ohio, the women's high school soccer season takes place in the fall, coinciding with the women's cross country season. During this period, Siefker played soccer and never participated in cross country prior to coming to IU.\nSiefker and her mom came to visit IU in October of her senior year to tour the campus and she met with Coach Judy Wilson. However, Wilson said she could walk on the team if she chose to attend IU.\nNevertheless, Siefker ran high school track in the spring and in her senior year, finished seventh at the Ohio High School State Championship in the mile, and was a member of the sixth-place 3,200-meter relay team. A native of Vandalia, Ohio, Siefker holds Vandalia Butler High School's records for the mile (5:07.78) and the two-mile run (11:04.4). \nWhen Wilson found out from Siefker's high school coach that she had produced these times, Wilson became much more interested.\n"I said 'Hey, if you want to come, I think we can help you out a little bit,'" Wilson said. "When I went to see her run, I was very impressed that she ran just with her form and she's kind of a run up on your toes runner, and I thought 'Wow, this girl could be really good.'"\nSiefker, who has no regrets about leaving soccer, said cross country is something you can work on yourself, where as soccer is a team sport.\n"I knew that this is what I wanted to do and I'm just glad to be part of it," Siefker said. "I'm really lucky to be here."\nSiefker, who ran a collegiate-personal record 19:03.1 at the 2002 Big Ten Championships, said she hopes to improve her running this season by cracking the top five and improving her time.\n"I want to get my 5k time down so I can run a better 3k," Siefker said.\nThis past summer, Siefker competed in the U.S.A. Track and Field Championships and ran a 6:42.42 in the junior 2,000m steeplechase, good for a second place finish. Senior Audrey Giesler, who set the Big Ten 3,000m steeplechase record this past track season by running a 10:14.19, said she believes Siefker gained confidence this past track season by running the steeplechase.\n"It definitely helped me when I started in the steeplechase and I think she is seeing the same effects," Giesler said. "I think that she is making the transition very well and I think that with each meet she runs, we're going to see bigger and bigger steps forward, because experience is so much in this sport."\n-- Contact staff writer Steve Slivka at smslivka@indiana.edu.