Women win Intercollegiate title

On Friday afternoon, the IU women's cross country team proved just how strong it is. Even without their top runner, junior Jessica Gall, the Hoosiers won the Indiana Intercollegiate meet in convincing fashion. The team placed four runners in the top 20 en route to the victory. \nThe Hoosier women began the race by remaining in a pack and staying just off of the pace. \n"We really wanted to pack as many of us together through 3 kilometers and then really start picking people off in the last (two), and make some moves to get us in better position," said senior Larra Overton.\nThe Hoosiers followed through with this strategy. At the 3k mark, several runners made their surge. Senior Kelly Siefker and freshman Wendi Robinson broke away from the IU pack and began running the leaders down. Overton followed suit shortly after.\nRobinson and Siefker, working as a team, managed to pass more than a half dozen competitors in the last few kilometers. Down the stretch, Robinson surged to a 5th-place finish in a time of 18:16 while Siefker finished in 18:23 for a 7th-place finish.\n"I am very happy with my time," said Robinson, who ran a career best. "I wasn't expecting to run that fast on our course, but the weather was perfect for racing."\nOverton finished third for the Hoosiers and 11th overall. Trailing her two teammates by a considerable distance at one point, Overton closed the gap during the last part of the race. The senior finished in 11th place with a personal best time for the course of 18:30.\n"In our training we put a lot of emphasis on being strong at the end of the races and making moves through the last thousand meters," she said. "We focus a lot on strength and speed to give us a powerful kick in the last part of the race."\nJunior Lindsay Hattendorf also demonstrated this strong team kick down the stretch rounding out the Hoosiers' quartet in the top 20 with a 14th-place finish. Junior Kristin Whitezell came across the line in 26th to complete the scoring for the Hoosiers, who totaled 63 points.