As the Penn women's cross country team heads to another meet this weekend, not only will they be competing to place, but also to familiarize itself with the course where this year's National Championships will be held.
The Quakers travel west this Saturday to Terre Haute, Ind., for the Indiana State Invitational. Not only will the new course be a challenge for them, but also the scores of other teams attending are among the best in the nation all looking for ways to improve their performance at nationals.
Penn will race five runners this weekend. This will give the Quakers a chance to get a team score. At the La Salle Invitational two weeks ago, the Red and Blue only raced four runners, and so they did not qualify for a team score.
Among them is senior Kristen Koch, who optimistically looks forward to the invite this weekend.
"We will be competing against some of the best teams in the country this weekend," Koch said. "And I think we're ready to give it all we've got.
"This will be a great opportunity to get a feel for what the competition will be like at nationals this year."
Koch along with fellow teammates Abbi Gleeson, Lainie Lord, Christine Myers and Claire Duncan, anticipate a challenge this weekend, but feel the tougher, more grueling practices they have endured this year have prepared them well for meets like this.
The Quakers have had ample time off since their last invitational, and so they have been on a training regiment the past two weekends.
Myers, Duncan, Koch and Courtney Epps were the only four to compete in the La Salle Invitational at Belmont Plateau meet due to a few team injuries. Koch led the team with a 17th place finish and Myers finished 18th only three seconds later.
The Red and Blue's current mental and physical state should be a strong base for them to show their athletic prowess this weekend. With the NCAA District II Championships only two weeks away, the team is hoping to place well.
"We're excited and ready for the meet," Koch said. "Though we don't have our whole team out there competing, we should do well if we stay focused."
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