Patricia Soman again paced the women's track and field, breaking two school records at Saturday's Smith Barney Invitational in Indianapolis.
The Ball State senior toppled her own indoor standards to win both the long jump and triple jump. In the long jump, Soman jumped 20-10 1/2, six inches better than the mark she had in the first week, and also set a new meet record.
In the triple jump, her distance of 42-6 1/4 smashed her previous best 5 1/2 inches. She also placed second in the 60-meter dash (7.72).
Soman is now ranked first in the long jump in the entire country, head coach Sue Parks said. She is also ranked first in the MAC in the triple jump.
"(Soman) was pretty incredible," Park said. "She sent a message to the rest of the conference. She's definitely secured her spot in the national championships."
In the non-scoring meet, the other Cardinal first came from the 4x400 team (4:00.55). Christy Velgersdyk tied for second in the long jump. Her jump of 5-6 tied a Ball State season high.
Thirds came from Katie Nowak in the 5000 (17:46.62) and Julia Kidd in the weight throw (47-1). Taking fourth were Jennifer Dennie in the 200 (25.55) and Keisha Pedigo in the 400 (58.56).
"We moved a lot of people around for training purposes," Parks said. "We need strong performances from all event areas at the same time. That's something we've not hit on yet."
The Cardinals' next meet comes this weekend at Kent State. Parks said the meet is important because it is on the same track as the MAC Championships in May.
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