IU prepares to step up for championship

With the Big Ten Championship meet just a week away, the IU women's track and field team showed that they're on the right track Saturday at the Hoosier Hills Open. \n"We can win (the Big Tens) but we need to step up across the board," coach Randy Heisler said. \nThough team scores weren't kept, IU showed its progress by producing several personal and season bests.\n"We had some really, really good performances," Heisler said. \nSophomore Ara Towns qualified provisionally for the NCAA Championships in the 60-meter dash, running a personal best time of 7.43. \nAlso achieving personal records were junior Allyson Hammond and first place finisher sophomore Julie Shields, both in the mile. \nSenior Rose Richmond, who sat out the first three meets of the season due to injury, won the long jump with an NCAA provisional distance. \n"That shows that she's getting back, getting better," Heisler said of Richmond's performance. \nSenior Tandra Foster and junior Jennifer Cobbina took second and third in the event, respectively, showing "solid efforts," Heisler said. \nSenior Danielle Carruthers ran a season best time in the 60-meter hurdles, improving upon the automatic qualifying time she ran in Illinois. Though Carruthers welcomes the improvement, she said she's not completely satisfied with her progress.\n"I would like to be going into Big Tens faster," she said. \nCarruthers said she is confident about the team's performance going into the conference championships, and is especially encouraged by the progress that the sprinters are making. \n"They were using the meet to pull themselves together," she said. \nHeisler said he had hoped the Hoosier throwers would step up against the competition of the University of Florida. The school brought eight throwers who finished first through eighth place in the weight throw and had four of the top six finishes in the shot put. \n"I was a little disappointed from the standpoint that this was the best competition yet this year," Heisler said. "They didn't do bad, but we need them to be getting better."\nFreshman Jessica Gall finished first in the 3000-meter, followed by juniors Becky Obrecht and Audrey Geisler who took second and third, respectively. \nGall said that a team pep talk, in which Heisler outlined exactly what the team needs to do to win the conference title, has helped to motivate her for Big Tens. \n"Everyone is working hard and we know what we have to do," she said. "I'm excited for next week."\nThe Hoosiers will host the Big Ten Championships next Saturday and Sunday in the Gladstein Fieldhouse.