It doesn't make any difference to Karmen Mabry that she is a freshman. She is just glad to help the team in any way she can.
"Coming in and contributing to the team is the best part about it," Mabry said.
At the women's track and field's most recent meet at Notre Dame, Mabry took first place honors in the shot put with a mark of 41-8 3/4. Freshman teammate Stephanie Hamer took fourth place in the event at 40-4.
Mabry's throw was a 3-7 1/4 improvement over her first performance at the Purdue Open, the team's first meet of the indoor season, where she finished seventh at 38-1 1/2.
"I think (the improvement) was because I did so bad at Purdue that my coaches helped me to step up and be more disciplined at it," Mabry said.
Along with the shot put, the throwing team put up a strong performance in the weight throw, where sophomore Julia Kidd and junior Holly Flittner took second and third with throws of 48-1 1/4 and 47-11 3/4, respectively.
Sophomore Crystal Winfrey captured first place in the 400-meter dash while freshman Amanda Ponsot took first place in the 800-meter run. Winfrey clocked a time of 55.80 and Ponsot finished in 2:13.67.
However, head coach Sue Parks is not satisfied with the performance of the sprinters and distance runners.
"We had some people doing some good things in those areas," Parks said. "But we do have people capable of getting up there and contributing, they're just not doing it at this point."
The pole vault featured a second place finish from sophomore Candace Sielschott, with a mark of 8-6 1/4.
Sielschott recovered from a no height at the Purdue Open, unable to clear the first bar the first two attempts and forgetting to knock the pole back on the third attempting, thereby, knocking the bar over.
"I wasn't really happy with the height I got, but I fulfilled some of (my expectations) by not letting the pressure get to me," Sielschott said.
Freshman Arika Winsett cleared the 8 foot bar in the pole vault to take third place, right behind Sielschott.
"I was very excited about our freshman turnout. It was the first height she's ever cleared," Sielschott said. "It was just so cool to have the whole team cheering us on."
Taking a two week break from competition, the Cardinals will return to action Feb. 6-7 for the Meyo Invitational in South Bend.
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