In its final tune-up before the Mid-American Conference Champion-ships in two weeks, the women's cross country team placed 14th out of 38 teams at Saturday's Pre-NCAA meet in Terre Haute.
Ball State competed in the Blue Race, one of the two races for seeded teams. In totaling 417 points, the Cardinals finished ahead of MAC teams Miami (18th), Kent State (19th) and Central Michigan (24th). Toledo was 12th in the White Race with 411 points.
"This was our best meet as a team, but we're still not firing on all cylinders," head coach Sue Parks said. "It was a step in the right direction."
Stacey Ritz (34th in 21:21), Katie Nowak (64th, 21:45) and Crystal Meeks (66th, 21:47) all finished with season-best times to lead the Cards' effort. Sarah Huddleston (118th, 22:15) and Jill Scully (135th, 22:22) rounded out the scorers. Aubrey Gaffer (172nd, 22:48) and Linda Stebbins (243rd, 23:45) ran with the top seven, while Nicole Hartford, Lindsay Keazer, Natasha Lothery and Meagan Curtis competed in the open race.
"It was great to see Stacey and Katie up front," Parks said. "Jill and Sarah didn't have their best runs, but at least we had more of a punch up front.
"I think we have even more in us. Stacey and Katie still have some room for improvement. We know we can be better and we're still beating good teams."
Overall, Parks likes the look of her team as is it heads into the homestretch of the schedule.
"We started off slow this year, but what you do at the end of the is what matters," she said. "Our goal is to do well in the MAC and regionals.
"We didn't get to see Toledo (at the meet), but I'd rather wait two weeks to see them," she said. "We've beaten all other contenders. It's good knowing we're not at 100 percent and we're still beating good teams."
In the coaches' bi-weekly poll released Monday, Ball State made it's first appearance. The Cardinals are ranked 33rd in the nation and eighth in the region. Toledo is 26th in the nation.
Parks said, "This really shows the strength of our region and conference, and the type of competition we face."
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