Neither rain nor chilly weather hindered the Ball State University track and field team as it competed at the Dave Rankin Invitational at Purdue.
Assistant coach Steve Rajewsky said several injured Cardinals returned to action for the Saturday meet and performed nicely.
"Across the board, our kids did well," Rajewsky said. "The competition was good; DePaul had some good kids, Loyola had some good kids."
The Cardinals' best event was the 100-meter hurdles, in which Ball State placed two athletes in the top four spots. Katie Johnson finished second with a time of 14.38 seconds and RaJae Marable took fourth with a time of 14.93 seconds. Ball State senior Amber Williams, who is redshirting the season to train for the Olympic Trials in July, won the event in 13.82 seconds as an unattached athlete.
While Rajewsky said he was pleased with the high finishes in the 100-meter hurdles, he said he was more concerned with the athletes taking what they've learned in practice into the meet.
"From the standpoint of those three girls, all three are working to get to the end of the season," Rajewsky said of Williams, Johnson and Marable. "The question is, are we working on the things that are going to get us to June?"
Johnson also placed third in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.23 seconds.
Kelsey Nielsen placed second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:32.56, while the 4x100-meter relay team's time of 48.19 seconds earned it a third place finish.
In the field events, Cara Collins continued her success in the throws. She finished second in the shot put and third in the hammer throw with tosses of 42-feet-5.25-inches and 165-feet-8-inches, respectively. Amanda Barnhart also took second in the long jump with a leap of 18-feet-11.75-inches.
However, Rajewsky said he and the athletes are approaching each performance from a larger perspective.
"Every week is getting us more prepared for [the Mid-American Conference meet] four weeks from now," Rajewsky said.
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