Super senior hopes for winning close

As senior Danielle Carruthers' collegiate track career draws to a close with only four meets left until the national championships, it is safe to say that most people will remember her as an outstanding hurdler. \nThis would not be incorrect. \nIn her four years as a Hoosier she has accumulated numerous titles and honors for her accomplishments in both the indoor 60-meter hurdles and outdoor 100-meter hurdles, including finishing as the national runner-up in the 60-meter hurdles at this year's indoor national championships. Last season, Carruthers established herself as a nationally-ranked hurdler after running the fastest time in the country at the Big Ten Championships.\nThough her skills as a hurdler will be sorely missed next year, they are not the only contributions she has made to the team. Carruthers is also a key member of both the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams, and will also be counted on to score points in the 100- and 200-meter dashes at the conference meet. \nDuring the past few weekends, when IU traveled to highly competitive meets such as last weekend's Penn Relays, Carruthers has had strong performances despite running multiple events. She finished second in the hurdles after a photo finish at the meet.\n"If the competition is there, I step up," she said. \nCarruthers said she is pleased with the performance, especially because it marked her fifth race of the weekend. Carruthers said she is reassured by the fact that her abilities enable her to run multiple races during a meet, but she said she also wonders what it would be like to run fewer races. \n"I'd like to see what I could do if I was fresher," she said.\nCoach Randy Heisler said that tough competition so far this season has helped Carruthers to prepare for the national championships, which will be held in June. \n"We need to get her into the situation so that when she gets to nationals, she can win the meet," he said. "She has done everything she needs to do to be where she needs to be." \nCoach Ed Beathea also said that Carruthers is on the right track to win a national championship.\n"She's where she wants to be," he said. "Running against national competition, she's done very well."\nAlong with several strong sprinters, including 4x100 teammates sophomore Ara Towns and seniors Rachelle Boone and Rose Richmond, Carruthers has helped to bring national recognition to IU's track team. However, Carruthers said she still isn't completely satisfied.\n"I want to show people that Indiana is a good overall track team, not just the sprinters," she said.