Familiar footing

Underdogs no more, the IU men's cross country team is prepared for the Big Ten Championships Sunday morning at the IU cross country course. It looks like home will have its advantages. \nThe young and inexperienced squad has made up for lost time and is primed for its shot at the spotlight. The solution is simple: Hit the course hard and don't let up.\nAssistant coach Nathan Gooden said Sunday's 8K meet is very special because it is far and away the best distance running conference in the country. Not to mention, running on home soil places a real advantage in the Hoosiers' hands. Nevertheless, Gooden hinted that the race won't be a walk in the park. \n"We all have competitive instincts. We've prepared for this meet, and there's nothing we don't have," he said. "Excluding Wisconsin, who's won this meet seven years running. We have had the best average finish of any other team in the Big Ten. Professionally, we've excelled at this meet and we expect to go out and see how we match up to other teams."\nGooden added the team has no reason to believe it cannot beat any of the other Big Ten squads. Though they don't necessarily have any tricks up their sleeves, he said the Hoosiers just want to get out there and see where they stack up with the pack.\nSunday's meet will be the first Big Ten Championship for everyone on the team except senior Marcus Aguilar. The Martinsville native turned in a personal best of 24:43 at last year's Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis, where he took 47th place and fifth overall for IU. Also emerging from the flock to compete for the Hoosiers are junior Brennon Plotner and freshman Jordan Kyle, who volunteer assistant coach Stephen Haas considers strong leaders. Though neither have run at the Big Ten Championships before, both have made strong showings throughout the season.\n"Marcus Aguilar is the only senior. I have a feeling he's going to be ready to go on Sunday," Haas said. "Brennon Plotner has run super consistently all year, and Jordan Kyle has also been great. So those three guys are the foundation of our storm pulling front on Sunday. If those three guys are all on, then I think we're going to have a good day."\nHaas also said that although this will be a very aggressive meet, the team has made a lot of moves this year with the way it practices and competes. Among the list of recent accomplishments, the cream and crimson have added first-place honors at the Sept. 30 George Mason Invitational and 34th place at the Oct. 14 NCAA Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute.\nLast year, IU finished sixth at the championship meet behind Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan, in that order. The Hoosiers were led by then-senior Sean Jefferson who nabbed fifth place in 24:13.58. Behind him and placing second for IU was Haas in 11th (24:43.63). Aguilar finished as the fifth runner for the Hoosiers in 45th (25:53.08). Runner Simon Bairu crossed the line first for the Badgers and won the meet, clocking in at 23:31.73. \nWith the loss of several seniors and the rise of this season's young crop, there's no telling what result Sunday will bring.\nRegarding the up-and-coming Hoosier pack, Haas doesn't want anyone to count them out of Big Ten contention. Their knowledge of the course and rigorous work ethic will play to their advantage, he said.\n"Just being able to come to this meet with everybody and run shows that we've made a step in training," Haas said. "And I think if they can go out there and compete with the guys in the Big Ten and show that they're on that level, then that's very good for us. They're going to run a good race."\nMotivation does not run dry on the team. In fact, it is a privilege to race, sophomore Mark Fruin said. Though he said they usually race every other weekend, for the Hoosier runners it is actually more of an opportunity because they race less than other schools. It is not very hard to get motivated for those meets because there is always a specific and different goal for each race, he said.\nThe Hoosiers expect every team member to be ready to go this weekend, and the progress made has some comparing this group to seasons past. Gooden said he does not know if it is fair to claim that this year's group is stronger than previous ones because their training now has been different than in the previous years. In past seasons, the team has trained hard in anticipation of Nationals, he said.\nThis year, their plan from day one has been to compete at the Regional meet. \n"That's going to be our ticket to Nationals," Gooden said.\nIn the meantime there is still only one option for the team -- not stopping until the runners cross the finish line.\n"We're taking off and running as hard as we can," Haas said. "These guys have got to be able to run through some pain and push the last second half of the race. It's not going to feel good, but they've got to know they're wearing the IU jersey for a reason and that's their responsibility. As far a strategy goes, we're just trying to beat as many people as we can"