CROSS COUNTRY: Talhelm finds unexpected success off the track

From the beginning Christine Talhelm was given a choice.

Growing up in a family of runners, she had always been around track and cross country. Talhelm competed in both sports from fifth grade up until high school. Upon entering Ball State University, Talhelm decided to pursue track and field, giving up cross country altogether. Little did she know, the latter is where she would end up making her splash.

"Coming off the track season last year my confidence was low," Talhelm said. "I didn't have my mileage times from high school because I wasn't at my best endurance."

To get into shape, Talhelm and the coaches decided to get her back onto the course and back into cross country. Rededicating herself over the summer, Talhelm trained hard to regain her high-school form.

"In college, you need to be more independent in your training," Talhelm said. "You do the running on your own and it's only what you make of it. "

Coming into the season, Talhelm and the coaches weren't expecting much out of the redshirt freshman.

"To be honest, I didn't expect her to come in and have such an impact," assistant cross country coach Claudia Borlee said. "I saw the potential and the steady improvement over last year, but I never expected this."

Talhelm quickly pushed all doubts to the side once the season began. With senior Lisa Arrowsmith battling nagging injuries for most of the year, Talhelm has placed top three on the team in each of the last four races.

"My first priority is to compete with runners from the other teams," Talhelm said. "Where I fall on our team doesn't matter. I just let it happen."

That kind of attitude has stuck out to the coaches as one of Talhelm's trademarks.

"Christine truly wants what is best for her teammates," Borlee said. "When she comes to work in practice her passion shines through and it shows she really cares about the other girls."

According to coaches, Talhelm has just one more hoop to jump through to reach her potential.

"Christine is very resilient," Borlee said. "She doesn't get injured, so all she needs to do is get her mental game together."

With only the NCAA Regionals left in the season, the Cardinals hope to see that confidence start to shine through.

"What we really want is for Christine to transfer her confidence she shows in practice to the meets," Borlee said. "Because when she comes to run on practice days everybody sees it. She is on fire."