The women's track and field sets out for West Lafayette this weekend to compete in the Purdue Open. Ball State is looking to improve on last weekend's great start, when it won 10 of 15 events at the Ball State Open. Head coach Sue Parks is hoping to do just as well against Purdue and other area universities.
"We just have to keep improving on the marks that we set for ourselves," Parks said. "The level of competition will be higher this weekend than last. Purdue will be a tough team."
Although Parks was happy with the way her team performed last week, she still sees areas that need improvement. "All areas need to consistently improve," says coach Parks. "We just need to get into scoring position and then we have to finish it off."
The Cardinals will look to this week's Mid-American Conference Athlete of the Week, Patricia Soman, for leadership. Last week Soman took first place in two individual events (triple jump, long jump) and was a member of the winning 4x200 team.
"It was good to see Patricia get off to a good start," Parks said. "I hope she continues to improve every week."
Ball State will need more than just senior leadership to guide it past Purdue. The team is looking for strong performances from Crystal Winfrey and Bridgett Coleman. "I was really happy with the freshmen who stepped up this week. It was good to see Crystal Winfrey and Bridgett Coleman get some early wins."
Another aspect Parks would like to see improved is the team's depth.
"We need to work on our depth," she said. "We can't depend on the same people every meet. We need to get everyone involved."-á
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