A refreshed men's cross country team will be running at the five-team Bronco Invitational in Kalamazoo, Mich.,on Friday.
Ball State, after having last weekend off, will be competing with host (and Mid-American Conference foe) Western Michigan. They will also run against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, IPFW and Notre Dame.
"The off week's been nice," assistant coach Jim Trautmann said. "We've seen real good progress (from the team), and I'm anxious to see them race with a new confidence. Jesse Davis, Steve Samuel, Steve Schilling, Aaron Hoover, Terry Goodspeed.....they're all ready to go."
In addition to being refreshed, the Cardinals will benefit from the return of junior Sal Impelliterri, who has yet to race this year due to a leg injury.
"Sal has great talent," Trautmann said. "He's had solid practices and should be able to step right in and lead. He's a top-five contender for sure.
"You want the (team members) to push each other, and he makes the other guys run faster."
The Bronco Invitational will feature a different format from any other meet the Cards will compete in this year. There will be two races, instead of just one, measuring 8,000 and 4,000 meters. Each team will have different runners in the two races, and the scores from both races will be combined.
"This is something they're experimenting with here at the collegiate level," head coach Jim Sprecher said. "It's a similar format to what's done internationally. They have 12K and 8K races.
"The 4K will be good for the guys who started out in middle distance. It's more geared towards them."
Whether it is one race or two, both coaches feel the team needs to improve from what was a sub-par showing at the Iona Meet of Champions two weeks ago.
"The 4K is pretty new to collegiate cross country, so it'll be exciting," Trautmann said. "Each meet is an attempt to move a step forward and improve.
"Western Michigan has been a perennial power in the MAC, so it will be good to see how we stack up against that team."
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