IU heads to Terre Haute for Pre-NCAAs

This team could use a little bit of luck.\nHeading into the NCAA Pre-Nationals meet without two of its top five runners is the newest incident in what IU coach Judy Wilson calls a "trying" season. Sophomore Stephanie Greer and freshman Kellee Lemcke will both sit out of this weekend's meet with ankle injuries as the team runs against some of the top teams in the nation.\nThe IU women's cross country team will run in Terre Haute Saturday against most teams ranked on the coaches' poll, Wilson said. Throughout the season, the Hoosiers have battled several minor injuries but have not had a meet in which two of their top five runners were out at the same time. Though the loss of Greer and Lemcke may be detrimental to the race, Wilson said other runners will be able to gain some experience.\n"We've had some things that are bothersome enough where we can't push it really hard," Wilson said. "Not having Kelly (Lemcke) and Steph (Greer) at 100 percent doesn't help us going into this meet, but in the past, it's helped the people behind them develop, so in a way that's a good thing." \nIn their meet two weeks ago, the Hoosiers finished seventh at the Bill Dellinger Invitational in Oregon against three top-10 teams. Since then, the Hoosiers have been dropped from the coaches' poll, though that doesn't discourage the team, senior Lindsay Hattendorf said.\n"You learn after being here for awhile that the polls mean nothing," Hattendorf said. "You can never be ranked, and all of a sudden, you make Nationals, and you finish top-10 in the country."\nWilson agreed with Hattendorf, though she believes the Hoosiers are good enough to be a top-20 team.\n"Every year, we've had a situation where our motto is 'we need this - we need this race,'" Wilson said. "Somehow, it does materialize for us. I don't know if we get a little bit better or some teams stay where they are."\nThough the team did not fare well against the rest of the field at the Bill Dellinger Invitational, Wilson said the problem was not with how the Hoosiers started or finished the race.\n"We need to be more focused in the middle of the race," Wilson said. "We need to go out, get in position and then we need to get focused in the race."\nThis weekend, the team will compete in a field of more than 90 teams, Wilson said. Due to the large number of teams, there will be two races. Wilson said IU needs a strong effort from its top three runners and needs to have the fourth and fifth runners finish in the top 100.\n"We're just going to have to step it up," sophomore Ashley Sommer said. "We're not really going to be concerned with time; it will be mostly concerned with how we place against other teams."\nSept. 15, the Hoosiers ran at the Indiana Intercollegiates -- which the team won -- and this weekend's meet will be partially on the same course. However, while the Indiana Intercollegiates course was somewhat flat, the Pre-Nationals race will be a little hillier and can surprise some teams, Hattendorf said.\nSaturday's competition will begin with the 6K Blue race at 11 a.m., followed by the 6K White race at 11:35 a.m.