Instead of feeling comfortable having the first outdoor meet of the season under its belt, the Ball State University track and field team is troubled by a series of injuries as it enters Friday's Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio.
Head coach Randy Heisler said last weekend's Mike Poelein Invitational, held at Purdue University, brought both encouraging successes and discouraging injuries.
"We had some good performances," Heisler said. "My concern now is injuries. We'll be taking 25 to 28 girls to [the Mid-American Conference meet], and our injured list tonight had 14 names.
"The biggest injury that's going to affect us is Terri Abraham," Heisler said of this year's MAC indoor long jump champion. "She popped a hamstring at Purdue. We lost one of our biggest point producers."
Other injured Cardinals include Thekla Lorenz, who is hoping to compete with Lanae Stovall in the decathlon at the University of Kansas next week, and a handful of distance runners. Heisler said he is content to let these athletes rest.
"In track and field, to do well, you can't compete at 80 percent," Heisler said. "Every event we do is 100 percent, maximum effort every time. We're just trying to be safe and careful right now."
Sophomore sprinter and hurdler Katie Johnson said the injuries have contributed to a drop in morale among the athletes.
"Spirits on our team are down right now, but we've got a couple big meets coming up," Johnson said.
Heisler also said he was impressed by several individual performances last week. Amanda Barnhart achieved an NCAA qualifying distance in the long jump, Cara Collins set a personal best in the hammer throw and Ali Bishel moved to second all-time at Ball State in the 10,000-meter run, he said. Bishel competed individually in the Stanford University Invitational last weekend.
Johnson, too, was quick to praise Bishel and her dedication to the sport.
"Ali Bishel is an amazing runner," Johnson said. "She's very team-oriented, and she works when no one else is working."
Ball State is one of four MAC teams participating in the Miami Invitational, along with Bowling Green State University, University at Buffalo and Miami University. There are 16 total teams competing in the scored event, Heisler said.
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