Ball State runner competing at NCAA Championships
Sean Stevenson | Asst. Sports Editor
When Ball State University junior Jill Scully finishes her race tonight, she hopes it will be as the fifth female Cardinal to finish with All-American honors.
"If I run a good race, there is a small chance I could be an All-American," Scully said.
Scully will compete in the 10,000-meter run at the 2005 NCAA Track and Field Championships tonight in Sacramento, Calif. She qualified for the NCAA Championship by placing 11th at the Mount SAC Relays in April.
To reach All-American status, Scully must place in the top-eighth for her event.
Ball State women's track coach Sue Parks said it will be tough for Scully, but she is capable of reaching the feat.
"It's going to be a long shot, but that is her goal," Parks said. "She's been training very well, and I feel like she's ready to go."
Scully said her hope is to run a race similar to the one she ran at the Mount SAC Relays.
"I just want to try to start out comfortable and pick off people throughout the race," Scully said.
Scully has the 18th fastest time of the 27 women competing in the race, and her best time of the season is 33:58.86.
Scully has been practicing in California during the past week, spending time on the track as well as out on trails around the area.
"I've been doing a lot of long runs, and we've been doing runs on a trail," Scully said. "It takes you out of the city, and you don't even realize you're in California."
The spring track season will end for Scully after this race, and she hopes she can end the season on a good note.
"I just want to go out there, have fun and soak everything in," Scully said. "I'm just very pleased with my season so far."
Like Scully, Parks is optimistic that the championship will be a good race for Scully.
"She's looking forward to it and hopefully she'll get a good result," Parks said.
Scully enters the race after finishing first in the 10,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs at May's Mid-American Conference Championship, in which she broke the 20-year-old MAC record for the 10,000-meter run by five seconds.
Scully is the 14th women's track and field student-athlete in Ball State's history to advance to the NCAA Championships. The Ball State women's team has sent at least one representative to the NCAA Championships in eight of the past 11 seasons. This year also marks the fourth straight year Ball State has sent a competitor to the meet.
Scully was named to the All-MAC First Team during the outdoor track and cross country seasons this year and was named to the Academic All-MAC Team for the second consecutive year.
She placed 52nd at the NCAA Cross Country Championships this fall.
In 2004, Ball State was represented in the NCAA Championships by Jennifer McCoy, who placed 24th in the heptathlon.
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