The Ball State men's track team has changed its workouts, but its goal remains the same: to finish as high as possible at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
With a season-long process that builds toward reaching peaks at the MAC, head coach Jermaine Jones has shortened the workouts but increased the intensity.
"Our workout is kind of changing gears. We should start seeing some times drop and seeing some distances get a little longer," Jones said. "Instead of looking for volume, we're looking for quality."
The Cardinals continue their outdoor season this weekend when they send split squads to the Big Ten Preview Invitational, hosted by Purdue, and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Drake Relays will provide the team's 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams a chance to lower their times by putting the athletes strictly in their respective relay event to keep them fresh.
Freshman Kurt Kinkead and senior Paul Panning will participate in the only open events for the team.
Kinkead will attempt to lower his time in the 400-meter hurdles, an event in which he has already qualified for the NCAA Regionals.
Panning, who also qualified for the NCAA Regionals, will attempt his fourth pole vault win in five meets. However, that win will not come easy as the field at Drake will include Olympic-level athletes in a highly competitive midseason meet.
Meanwhile, the majority of the team will be participating in the Big Ten Preview Invitational, which despite its name will not feature all the Big Ten schools.
"For the team at Purdue, I'm hoping that we can put up a few better marks than what we had at Indiana State," Jones said.
At Indiana State, the team finished behind the first-place host Sycamores by a 99-point margin.
Those participating in the Big Ten Preview are set to begin today and wrap up Saturday. The Drake Relays take place on today and Saturday.
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