The Ball State women's cross country team may have qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history, but by no means are the Cardinals satisfied. The team wants to defy the rankings yet again.
Ball State is tabbed No. 25 out of 31 teams participating in today's NCAA meet in Terre Haute. BSU was ranked ninth in the Great Lakes region before taking fifth at regionals. Head coach Sue Parks said her goal this week in the 7,000-meter race is the top 20.
"It's definitely reasonable if we have a good day," she said. "Everyone's excited, and we're continuing to improve.
"We need to do the same thing that's worked, and maybe we'll have an even better race. It's a bigger stage, so we need to step up more."
What the Cardinals have been doing is running tight pack. At regionals, the top five finished just 14 spots and 14 seconds apart.
Seniors Stacey Ritz and Katie Nowak, who have qualified for NCAAs as individuals before, led the way by taking 21st (22:01.4) and 23rd (22:02.1), respectively. Next was junior Crystal Meeks (28th in 22:09.1), followed by sophomores Sarah Huddleston (29th in 22:10.1) and Jill Scully (35th in 22:15.1). Also running were sophomore Aubrey Gaffer (75th in 23:05.6) and freshman Nicole Hartford (105th in 23:33.9).
"We need to run like to have been and keep a tight pack," Parks said. "You don't see (something that tight) often. If you can pack it within 14 seconds, you're in great shape."
Parks added that with the step up in competition from regionals, it will be harder to stay tight.
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