From here on out, every meet remaining in the indoor season is increasingly important for the Ball State women's track and field team. The Cardinals have two more meets until the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships Feb. 27 in Ypsilanti, Mich.
Next for BSU is the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame, a highly competitive invite with opponents from all over the nation, including several MAC, SEC and Big Ten schools.
"The competition is going to be a step up, so we need to be prepared for that," coach Sue Parks said. "The next two meets are important for us because we need to get some momentum going for the conference meet."
The team is entering the Meyo Invitational with two weeks of rest, ensuring a healthy and rested squad.
"We got a good two-week block of uninterrupted training and didn't have to travel," Parks said. "People were able to get rested up over the weekend."
The Cards' most recent performance was at the Notre Dame Triangular, where the team took first-place honors in three events: the 400-meter run, 800-meter run and shot put.
Sophomore Crystal Winfrey was named MAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for her first- and fourth-place finishes in the 400-meter run and 200-meter dash, respectively.
Winfrey clocked a time nearly two seconds faster than the closest opponent at 55.80 seconds in the 400-meter. Her fourth-place mark of 25.07 in the 200-meter was a personal record.
"That was pretty fun because I didn't know I was named Athlete of the Week until my mother called and told me," Winfrey said. "This award tells me that I'm working hard, and hopefully that will push me to keep on working hard."
A strong freshman class highlighted the team's performance at the Notre Dame Triangular as well. Freshman Amanda Ponsot captured first in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:13.67, while classmate Karmen Mabry won the shot put at 41-8 34.
"The (young people) are practicing hard and have a good attitude. It's just staying relaxed, keeping confident and competing hard when we get to a meet day," Parks said.
The team expected a scored meet at the Notre Dame Triangular, meaning a team score would be kept for the three participating schools. However, the host school changed the format to a nonscored meet, delaying its first scored meet until the Ball State Triangular, the only home meet of the season.
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