Despite six first-place finishes, the women's track and field finished a distant second to Miami (253-169) at Saturday's Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.
Senior Patricia Soman was again the leader for the Cardinals, winning the 200-meter dash (24.32) and long jump (24-4 1/4). She also teamed with Angka Morris, Kelly Kirby and Jennifer Dennie to win the 4x100 in a meet-record 45.94. The time and Soman's winning long jump were also NCAA Regional qualifiers.
Also winning were Dennie in the 100 (12.08), Crystal Winfrey in the 400 (54.72) and Ashley Gilles in the high jump (5-7). Winfrey and Gilles qualified for regionals.
"Crystal ran really great in the 400, the 400 relay looked really good," head coach Sue Parks said. "I think we should've been able to compete with Miami. The difference was they've taken three trips down South, so they were sharper. No excuses, though, Miami was the better team on that particular day."
Runner-up finishes came from Katie Nowak in the 1500 (4:37.27), Ashlie Coleman in the high jump (regional qualifying 5-7), Dennie in the long jump (17-10 1/4) and Soman in the triple jump (regional qualifying 40-7 3/4).
Taking third were Morris in the 100, Nowak in the 3000, Ashley Gilles in the triple jump, Shauna Hart in the discus, Holly Flittner in the hammer throw and the 4x400 team.
Three distance runners -- Sarah Huddleston, Crystal Meeks and Stacey Ritz -- competed in the SeaRay Relays in Knoxville, Tennessee and were absent from Oxford. All three posted personal bests. Parks said they would've helped at Miami, but not enough for the team to win. Also, she felt the experience would help the team as a whole down the road.
"I saw some good things," Parks said of the weekend. "We just need to continue improving as a team."
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