Runner steps up in big meet

At the Big Ten Cross Country Championships Nov. 2, the unranked women's cross country team finished fourth, edging then-No. 18 Wisconsin, and finishing behind then-No. 10 Michigan, No. 6 Michigan State, and No. 19 Penn State, which finished first through third, respectively.\nHowever, it was sophomore Larra Overton who finished fourth for IU in the Big Ten Championship, after IU coach Judy Wilson said, before the race, that she did not believe the team could finish higher than fifth.\nOverton entered the Big Ten Cross Country Championship with no prior experience running in this meet. She competed in two meets this season: the 5K Indiana Intercollegiates Sept. 19 finishing in a time of 18:44, and the 6K Roy Griak Invitation Sept. 27 with a finishing time 23:00.\nIn her freshman season, Overton competed in four meets and finished second for IU in the Purdue Open with a 5K time of 19:26.6.\nIn the two meets Overton competed in during the 2003 season, she was consistently the team's sixth runner. \nThe top seven runners on the team compete in the varsity race, with the top five determining the team score, and the six and seven runners determining the tie-breaker score.\nOverton said going from IU's sixth runner to IU's fourth runner allows her the unique privilege of not only pulling the second pack along and racing together, but also pushing the leaders to move up in the race.\n"We have a pack that practices together everyday," Overton said. "So when one of us has a good race, it is motivation for the rest of the pack to go out with that runner and really see what we can accomplish for the team in the next race."\nWilson said in the Big Ten Championship, Overton figured out how to race and is much more prepared for the NCAA Regional Meet Nov. 15. Overton e-mailed Wilson an assessment of what is the ideal race for her.\n"She went out a little more conservative, and then she kind of started working on people," Wilson said.\nOverton said although cross country is seen as an individual sport, the Big Ten race is so small and so personal, that there's no longer a goal of self-fulfillment, but a goal of team excellence.\n"That factor makes the Big Ten meet so significant that I feel it is really the crucial time to put it all on the line for the team," Overton said. "Running well at the Big Ten meet gives us a boost of confidence going into the (NCAA) Regional (Meet)."\nThe IU women's cross country team travels to Terre Haute Saturday for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Meet at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course. The women's 6K race begins at 12:15 p.m.\n-- Contact staff writer Steve Slivka at\nsmslivka@indiana.edu.