Chloe Garcia Grafing admits there isn't much different about her preparation for running when comparing being in high school to college.

Except for one thing.

Garcia Grafing will lead the No. 1 Iowa Central women's cross country team into the NJCAA Div. I Championships this Saturday in Richmond, Va. She is coming off a runner-up showing at regionals that helped the Tritons secure their 18th consecutive team title. 

"As far as adjustments that I've made from high school to the colligate level, it's not too different," she said. "If I'm being fully honest when I compare my high school training to training that I do now it's not too different except for the 14-mile long runs we did this season. The moral of the story is that when I decided to run in college, and I was fortunate enough to get a scholarship, I decided to take it seriously all around.

"I take my eating seriously, my sleep seriously, keep my grades up, and of course take my training seriously. That's the true difference between my running in high school and my running in college is that now I focus on more than just the running, and somehow that's made me a better athlete."  

Garcia Grafing's time of 18:13 that she produced at regionals places her 19th all-time in school history. 

With the expectations of the No. 1 ranking, the Tritons are taking this experience as a business trip. 

"As for nationals, I'm ready," she said. "I don't think I've ever been in better shape and I really think my team and I are gonna do great. I'm definitely gonna go out there with a positive mindset and run the best that I can.

"I'd say the season has been pretty exciting. It was super fun to see where we started and what our times were like when we started racing compared to now. We trusted our training and I'm happy to say the whole team has been seeing results. The boys have been ranked No. 1 in the nation for a while now so when the woman's team was also ranked first, it was really exciting."

-By Dana Becker