Although the Mid-American Conference Championships are a month away, the Ball State University track and field team is already getting accustomed to the routine of the meet.
The Cardinals travel to Bloomington this weekend for the Indiana Invitational, a two-day event that features a preliminary round Friday and a final round Saturday.
Head coach Randy Heisler said the two-day format is identical to that of the MAC Championships.
"It's an opportunity to see what it will be like at the conference meet," Heisler said. "At the MAC [Championships], everything will have a qualifying round to get to a final on the second day to score points."
Heisler said the competition this weekend will be an increase in both size and skill level compared to Saturday's Gladstein Invitational. More than 70 teams from conferences like the Big Ten, the Southeastern Conference, the MAC and the Missouri Valley Conference will participate, Heisler said.
For this type of meet, Heisler said, only the top performers in each event will travel with the team and compete.
"We've got about 23 or 24 girls coming down, and we're always just hoping to do better than the week before and continue to improve," Heisler said.
One competitor is sophomore distance runner Brittany Ade, who said she's expecting to run in the 1-mile run, the 800-meter relay and the distance medley relay for the Cardinals this weekend.
"I'm really excited," Ade said of competing against so many teams. "This is the first time this season that we'll get to see where we really are."
In last weekend's Gladstein Invitational, Ade finished seventh in both the 800-meter run and the 1-mile invitational. She cited her teammates' support as one reason for her success.
"Track is not just individual," Ade said. "You really need your team to back you."
Ade said she and her teammates will try to benefit from this support as they face their toughest competition of the season thus far.
"I'm nervous, but that's good," Ade said. "Nervous, but not intimidated."
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