Hoosiers disappointed in 15th-place Invite finish

Going into this weekend's Roy Griak Invitational in Minnesota, the IU women's cross country team had strong expectations of a top five finish. However, the team fell considerably short of its goal. Out of 31 teams, the Hoosiers finished in the No. 15 position. \nJunior Lindsay Hattendorf, who finished 60th in a time of 22:26 in the 6-kilometer course, knows the team could have fared much better. \n"(The race) is not what we expected," Hattendorf said. "After looking at the results, we should have been in the top two".\nThe top two finishers in the race were the high-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils and Big Ten rival Minnesota Golden Gophers. Baylor University, Oklahoma State and Princeton rounded out the top five.\nDespite the disappointing finish, the Hoosiers still have the majority of their season ahead of them. Junior runner Jessica Gall returned to the squad for the first time this season after an injury. She finished 35th with a time of 22:03. \n"Lucky for us, the whole season isn't based on the Roy Griak Invitational," Gall said.\nThere were, however, several good things the Hoosiers took away from the meet, including another strong performance by freshman Wendi Robinson. Robinson finished in a time of 22:34, just behind Hattendorf. Although she performed well, Robinson understands how disappointments can occur. \n"Sometimes you're not mentally there and can't put all the pieces together," Robinson said.\nEven though all the pieces were not quite there, the team felt the invitational is no indicator of what is to come. In fact, the Hoosiers will attempt to use the race as a proverbial launching pad. \n"This race is just more motivation to show people what the Hoosiers are all about," Hattendorf said. \nBeside the added motivation, the women's cross country team will not deviate from its typical routine. With a week to prepare for the Notre Dame Invitational, it will be business as usual for the Hoosiers.\n"(We) will go about our training plan," Gall said. "We train to peak at the end of the season."\nWith the end of this young season a month and half away and the veteran core of runners training hard and sticking to the schedule, the Hoosiers viewed this weekend as merely a bump in the road.