The Ball State men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday to compete in the Pre-NCAA meet, which will feature some of the most-skilled players in the country.
The women's team has had two weeks off since its last meet. Before the break, the team raced four meets in four weeks, and the team was ready for the rest.
"We've gotten in some good workouts and gotten rest in when we need to," head coach Sue Parks said.
The race will be divided into two divisions: the gold and the purple. Ball State will compete in the gold division with 34 other teams. The Cardinals will face 11 of the top-30 teams in the country, including three top-ten teams. Stanford, the No. 2 team; North Carolina State, the No. 6 team; and Colorado, the No. 7 team, will line up with the Cardinals. MAC schools Kent State and Miami (Ohio) are also competing.
Two weeks ago, the team finished 11th in the Notre Dame Invitational. Sophomore Nicole Hartford ran her personal best, and she should help the Cardinals form a solid top five this week, Parks said.
"We just want to have a solid team and have a good confidence builder going into the MAC meet," Parks said.
The men's team is also coming off a two-week break, and student-assistant Michael Johnson said the team had great runs last Thursday and Wednesday.
Johnson is also excited that the seniors have led runs in practices lately. Johnson said he will look to seniors Aaron Hoover, Sal Impellitteri and Steve Samuel to have a strong race on Saturday.
The men will run in the purple division, which has 37 teams. They will also face 11 of the top-30 teams in the country, including No. 1 Stanford. Other top-10 teams they will run against will be Bringham Young University, who is ranked fourth, and MAC opponent Central Michigan, who is ranked sixth. The Cardinals will also face Miami (Ohio) Saturday.
"I'm really excited about what's going to happen this weekend," Johnson said.
Both teams won't compete again until MAC Championship on Nov. 1.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
