Meet showcases top U.S. talent

The east coast has plenty of competition. There's the Yankee-Red Sox rivalry or a Duke University-Univeristy of North Carolina men's hoops match-up. When the IU women's cross country team toes the line today in the Great American Cross-Country Festival in Cary, N.C., it'll witness firsthand the east-coast competitiveness. \nThe meet features a plethora of talented and top-ranked teams from the high school and collegiate ranks in 32 different races. The women's 6-kilometer race begins at 4:45 p.m. today. Normally at this point in the season, the Hoosiers run in the Notre Dame Invitational. \n"We wanted to try something different this year," said junior Jessica Gall, a two-time recipient of the Big Ten Women's Cross-Country Female Athlete of the Week award this season. "With this meet and how the schedule worked out, we don't have two meets in a row so we have more time to train."\nHopefully, the team's extra training has paid off. The Hoosiers will face some of the top teams in the nation this afternoon. \nNo. 2 Brigham Young University, No. 4 North Carolina State University, No. 9 North Carolina and No. 18 Duke will be in attendance to give the IU runners some excellent competition.\n"Those are four pretty good teams," IU coach Judy Wilson said. "As a team, we are going for a top five finish."\nMost of the 22 squads the Hoosiers face today represent states out east. The only exceptions are Northern Arizona University, Adams State College, University of New Mexico and Brigham Young. \nThe Hoosiers will get an added bonus from junior Lindsay Hattendorf who will be competing in her first major race of the season.\n"Lindsay has done really well so far and I expect her to be in our top five," Wilson said.\nSenior Mindy Peterson shares coach Wilson's excitement. "Her presence is a boost for team morale," Peterson said. "It's a whole different dynamic and she will help a lot."\nA squad of nine will represent the team in North Carolina.\nLast year, N.C. State won the festival with 45 points. In 2002, BYU came out victorious with a total of 50 points. The meet will be held both today and Saturday. All collegiate races will be completed today. Saturday's schedule of events will feature some of the top high school teams in the U.S.\n"It's good experience to run against some of the top teams in the nation," Peterson said. "The meet is a good jump start for getting into some of our tougher meets this season."\n-- Contact staff writer Ryan Corazza at rcorazza@indiana.edu.