IU takes seventh place, Gall tops Big Ten career with top-10 finish

The IU women's cross country team had grand expectations of a top-three finish entering the Big Ten Championships on Sunday. By the end of the race, the Hoosiers' expressions told a different story.\nDefending their home course, IU finished seventh in the meet and watched its hopes of capturing the Big Ten title for the first time since 1990 slip away as the Michigan captured its fifth straight championship. The race marked the first time since 2001 that the Hoosiers did not finish in the top five. Last season, IU finished fourth.\n"It was a little on the disappointing side," IU assistant coach Sandy Tecklenburg said. "We were kind of hoping to be in the top five, but to be honest, the top six teams are all nationally ranked in the top 25 in the country. That's a pretty tall order."\nThe Hoosiers were led by a 10th-place finish from senior All-American Jessica Gall, who crossed the line in a time of 21:03. For Gall and senior Lindsay Hattendorf, emotions ran high in their last Big Ten race.\n"I've been running on this course for eight years now -- since I was a freshman in high school," Hattendorf said. "It kind of hasn't hit me yet, but I'm glad that the Big Tens were on this course. It's kind of like a sending off as the last Big Ten race as a senior."\nIU planned to run the first half of the course conservatively to save energy for the hills, but Gall said the team might have gone out too conservative, preventing the runners from gaining ground late in the race.\nAfter Gall, Hattendorf finished 19th overall (21:20) and sophomore Wendi Robinson finished 29th with a time of 21:59. The Hoosiers also scored points with freshman Kellee Lemcke (47th) and sophomore Ashley Sommer (53rd).\nThe meet was the first for Lemcke since mid-September, when she was sidelined with an ankle injury. Tecklenburg said having Lemcke was a major asset and thinks she will only get better as the season goes on. \nSophomore Stephanie Greer was slated to participate in the meet but could not race because of an illness. Gall said she also experienced health issues throughout the race and had trouble breathing toward the end.\n"Anytime you're out there, it's how much pain you can endure," Gall said. "I didn't have as much as I would have liked to, but hopefully that will be motivation for the next time."\nIn two weeks, IU will participate in the Great Lakes Regional meet against several of the teams it raced in the Big Ten, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Purdue. The Hoosiers said they are not discouraged going into regionals Nov. 11. \n"I think we're ready to be there," Robinson said. "We just need to keep our heads up, keep training and know that we're better than how we raced today"