Some of the nation's best competitors proved to be just a little too much for the Ball State men's and women's cross country teams this weekend at the Pre-NCAA meet in Waterloo, Iowa.
The women's team had 584 points giving them a 23rd-place finish out of the 33 teams in attendance. Stanford, ranked No. 2 in the country, won the race with 66 points. The Cardinals did beat Kent State, the only Mid-American Conference opponent, who finished 27th with 657 points.
"It wasn't as bad as it probably looked," head coach Sue Parks said. "It wasn't a good day for us at all, but it wasn't a horrible race."
In the field of 222 runners, junior Jill Scully finished in the top 50 after running a time of 21:35 in the 6K race, giving her a 49th-place finish. Senior Crystal Meeks also had a good performance with her 71st-place finish in 21:55. Freshman Rose Lehe finished 125th with a time of 22:35 to take up the team's third spot.
Junior Sarah Huddleston and sophomore Nicole Hartford rounded out the top five spots for the team with times of 23:13 and 23:15, respectively. Freshman Amanda Ponsot and junior Aubrey Gaffer were the other runners for the Cardinals, finishing with times of 23:51 and 24:56, respectively.
In the open race, Lindsay Keazer had a good finish -- 65th place with a time of 23:38. Linda Stebbins and Lindsay Moldstad also competed, earning 87th and 94th place, respectively. Stebbins finished in 24:46 and Moldstad in 25:14.
The Cardinals will take the next two weeks to prepare for the MAC Championship meet which will take place on Nov. 1 in Akron, Ohio.
Parks said the team needs to get physically and mentally prepared for the meet in those two weeks. "We have to have five people be on (in the race)," she said.
The men's team had 1,008 points, giving them 34th place out of 35 teams. Stanford, ranked No. 1 in the country, won the race with a score of 25.
Ball State was led by freshman Justin Stadt, who finished 179th in the field of 238 runners with a time of 25:45. Senior Aaron Hoover had the second-best time with a 26:04, and freshman Stephen Cohen had the third-best time with a 26:13.
In the fourth and fifth team spots were seniors Steve Samuel and Sal Impellitteri. Samuel ran the 8K race in 26:17 and Impellitteri ran it in 26:44. It was the first time this season all three seniors were in the top five for the team.
"Ideally you'd like to be led by your three seniors," student assistant Michael Johnson said.
Another positive the team took from the meet was being able to watch some of the top teams in the country compete and see how they handled themselves. The team was also able to have all the top five runners finish within one minute of each other.
"That's how you win (MAC Championship) meets, is packing everyone in," Johnson said about how the team can use that positive for the MAC Championship.
Other runners for the team included Zach Scherer who finished with a time of 26:54 and Jeff Kent who finished in 27:15. In the open race, Kyle Hinkelman led the team with his 72nd-place finish and time of 26:53. Kevin Lister and Sean Dillon also competed in the race earning 87th and 99th places, respectively. Lister ran the course in 27:27 and Dillon ran it in 28:17.
The men's team will also have two weeks off before competing in the MAC Championship.
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