Ball State will face three MAC opponents at the Kent State Invitational Saturday, including Marshall and Akron, but Sprecher feels the host will be their biggest challenge.
"With Kent hosting it and them being one of the better teams in MAC, it gives us an opportunity to test ourselves against them," Sprecher said.
Ball State has relied on upperclassmen this year to lead the team, but has found support in several younger athletes on the team. Seniors such as Scott Allen and Victor Johnson have stepped up for the Cards this year.
Allen has positioned himself as one of the top 400-meter runners in the conference. Johnson participates in up to four events every meet including the long jump, triple jump, 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash.
Junior Paul Panning is undefeated in the pole vault, even beating some professional athletes at the Smith Barney Invitational.
"When you get past those three (Johnson, Allen and Panning), you look at guys like Ben Daniel, Jesse Davis and Steve Schilling. These are guys contributing to the program at an early age," Sprecher said. "We have a lot of youth stepping up.
"We started the season fairly inexperienced, and I still believe every time we step on the track it's a learning experience," Sprecher said. "I've been really pleased with the performances of the program, and as we head toward the MAC Championship, we need to see our performances get better."
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