Record distances, times not sufficient

In hopes of sending more athletes to the NCAA Championships, the IU women's track and field team sent eight of its finest to last chance meets this weekend. The meets allowed athletes who have not yet qualified for the championships to do so. Although no Hoosiers received automatic bids to the championships, many of the athletes ran personal bests or received provisional times.\nTraveling to Notre Dame for the Alex Wilson Invitational were senior Kelley McKinney, junior Ellison Tipton and sophomores Ara Towns and Abigail Paul. \nMcKinney, who competed in the weight throw, finished eleventh in the event. Paul and Tipton both competed in the pole vault and finished ninth and 15th, respectively. Paul tied her personal-best mark which she met both in a meet against Illinois earlier this season and at the conference championships last weekend. Towns finished third in the 60-meter dash with a provisionally qualifying time. \nFour athletes went to Iowa State to compete in their last chance meet. Seniors Rose Richmond and Tandra Foster both competed in the long jump and finished fourth and sixth, respectively. Richmond recorded a provisionally qualifying jump in the process. Junior Lauren Chesnut finished eighth in the triple jump and freshman Jean Schaffer's high jump performance was good for fourteenth place. \nNext weekend, IU will send two of its top athletes to Fayetteville, Ark., to compete in the NCAA Championships. Seniors Rachelle Boone and Danielle Carruthers will travel to the meet and continue their impressive season. Boone was named the Big Ten Athlete of the Year and the Athlete of the Championship for her performances last weekend at the Big Tens. Boone won both the 60- and 200-meter dashes and will compete in both events next weekend. Carruthers placed second in both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles, and will compete in them again next weekend.