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The UCLA women’s cross-country team may have just returned from the Notre Dame Invitational, but the state of Indiana will not stray far from the squad’s thoughts.

Last Friday’s meet marked the first of three anticipated trips to Indiana, where the Bruin women are scheduled to compete in the Pre-National Invitational in Terra Haute on Oct. 16, as well as the NCAA Championship race on Nov. 22.

Although unhappy with their seventh place finish behind three lower ranked teams, the No. 12 Bruins feel it is too early in the season to worry about the lackluster result.

“We were definitely disappointed by our performance,” sophomore Ashley Caldwell said, “But not discouraged.”

In an increasingly familiar scoring order, the women were led by sophomore Alison Costello and junior Jenna Timinsky, with Caldwell and juniors Allison Hall and Alejandra Barrientos rounding out the top five.

Top-ranked Stanford claimed first place, with No. 6 Michigan and No. 4 Notre Dame finishing second and third respectively. Missouri (No. 23), Michigan State (No. 22) and William and Mary (No. 24) all turned in impressive performances to finish ahead of UCLA.

But running best marks when the championship race is still six weeks away is not the primary goal of the Bruins at this point in time.

“Our training schedule is geared more to peak later in the season,” Caldwell explained. “What you can accomplish in four weeks is tremendous.”

Proof of the team’s tried and true method of training was evident in its 2003 seventh place national finish. Until the championship meet, UCLA was unranked in national polls. But that didn’t deter the team, as it posted its best national finish since placing sixth in 1985.

“I think nationals was a surprise for a lot of people,” Caldwell said, “But we trained to peak at the end.”

Avoiding over-training in the beginning stages of the season not only created the opportunity for a great performance when it counted most, but also minimized the risk of injuries that often result from over-training. No one on the 2003 scoring squad succumbed to injuries that prevented their participation in nationals.

The early wake-up call gives the women an added incentive to silence critics who feel the team is overrated and can not duplicate last year’s national performance.

“We have more to work for now,” Caldwell said.

“We want to go out and prove everyone wrong again,” she added.