Scores can be deceiving.
The women's track team came in second place at the Miami Invitational on Saturday 73 points behind the University of Michigan.
But head coach Sue Parks said there were a lot of factors contributing to that deficit.
"They are obviously one of the top teams in the country," Parks said of the Big Ten indoor champions. "It would have been almost impossible for us to beat them, but I thought we were competitive with them in certain areas."
One of those areas was the relays. Ball State's 400- and 1,600-meter relay teams both placed high, with the 400 team winning by nearly two seconds and the 1,600 team placing second behind Michigan.
"The 4x100 is an event we can win in MAC and meets often come down to the 4x400 (the last event)," Parks said. "It is important to have both those relays doing well."
Another factor that contributed to the final score was the type of scoring. Many large invitationals only score a maximum of two athletes per event. The Miami Invitational took the top eight finishers, regardless of how many came from one school. Parks said this system favored Michigan's deep team.
"If the scoring would have been two per team, we would have had a better chance to be close," Parks said. "Considering how the scoring was and the quality of team they had, I thought we were fairly competitive with them."
Distance runner Katie Nowak set a school record in the 1,500-meter run. Nowak also set a meet record, but she finished second behind Katie Jazwinski of Michigan. Nowak's time of 4:25.67 was a second and a half slower than the NCAA provisional qualifying time.
Another athlete to perform well was freshman jumper Ashley Gillies. She won the high jump and placed seventh in the triple jump.
"The high jump is an up and down event," Parks said. "Sometimes your timing gets off and it just takes a meet or two to get it back."
The Cardinals will split the squad next weekend and race at the Indy Relays in Indianapolis and the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Ca.
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