As the Ball State University track and field team prepares to open its outdoor season Saturday at the Mike Poelein Invitational, athletes and coaches alike have been embracing the cold weather.
Ball State assistant coach Steve Rajewsky said the low temperatures have given the coaches a chance to help prepare their athletes for any conditions.
"We continually tell our student-athletes that you never know, when the big meets come up in May, it could be like this," Rajewsky said.
Sophomore Kelsey Nielsen, who will compete in the 10,000-meter run Saturday, said she also thinks practicing in cold weather will help the team.
"They've pretty much been cold and windy every day, but we think it will make us better," Nielsen said.
A week ago, Nielsen and her teammates were preparing for the Rocket Team Challenge in Toledo and what was supposed to be the Cardinals' first outdoor meet of the year. The meet was canceled the morning of March 28 after four inches of lake-effect snow covered the University of Toledo track overnight.
Rajewsky said the chance to compete against other schools did not outweigh the risk of injury from poor track conditions.
"As nice as it would have been to get the meet in, you have to look at what's best for the team and what's best for the athlete," Rajewsky said.
Nielsen said she was still saddened by the news of the cancellation.
"I was disappointed that we didn't get to go because I think we could've done really well," Nielsen said. However, she said the team instead participated in a competitive workout that she thought helped it more than the meet would have.
The Cardinals will face their first outdoor competition this weekend when they travel to Purdue University in West Lafayette for the Mike Poelein Invitational.
Rajewsky said the meet, which features both smaller Division I schools and large Division II schools, is "a good, nice-sized meet for us to open up at."
Ball State will have three distance runners active for the meet, Nielsen said.
Rajewsky said those athletes participating are more than ready to compete.
"We've had three to four weeks of just practice, and it kind of feels like November again," he said. "Once you hit that first meet, it goes fast."
PreseasonPrior to the beginning of the outdoor track and field season, the Mid-American Conference coaches voted on how they thought the league's teams would finish the season. Below are the preseason predictions:
Preseason MAC poll1. Akron2. Western Michigan3. Miami4. Ball State5. Central Michigan6. Buffalo7. Toledo8. Kent State9. Eastern Michigan10. Bowling Green11. Ohio12. Northern Illinois
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