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(04/25/03 5:52am)
The No. 12 women's track and field team is back in action Friday and Saturday as several of its top athletes will compete at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., or the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. \nCoach Randy Heisler said this weekend is important to the team's progress as the best teams from across the country will be competing. \n"It's a big weekend for us all to have good performances," he said. "We can move up on lists, whether it's Big Ten lists, regionals or nationals."\nSenior Rachelle Boone said the level of competition at the Penn Relays will drive her to do well in the 100-meter dash as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.\n"Everybody's there," she said. \n"Everybody" includes top-ranked schools like Louisiana State University and Miami. Last year at the meet, Boone's 4x200 relay team finished in second place and the 4x100 team finished third. \nSenior Rose Richmond, whose accomplishments include finishing second at the indoor national championships in the long jump, will concentrate her efforts on the 4x100. She said she anticipates a good performance from herself and her teammates in the event. \n"If we go out and run a good time, we can be in the top three again," she said. \nIn addition to Boone and Richmond, the 4x100 relay also includes senior Danielle Carruthers and sophomore Ara Towns. Carruthers was named last week's Big Ten Athlete of the Week for her 100-meter hurdle performance at the Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif. Her time is the second-fastest in the nation so far this season. \nLike Heisler and Boone, Richmond said the top-notch opponents at the Penn Relays will be beneficial to the team.\n"It will motivate everyone to step it up a notch because we know there's going to be stiff competition," she said. \nBoone said she is satisfied with the progress the team has made during the first few meets of the season. \n"Everyone's getting better and stepping up for their part," she said. \nHeisler said he is especially pleased with Boone, Carruthers and junior Lauren Chesnut for their efforts last weekend at Mt. Sac. Boone and Carruthers recorded season bests and Chesnut set a new school record in the triple jump. \nHeisler added that he expects his athletes to continue making positive steps forward during this weekend's meets.\n"If they're going to run fast, this is the time to do it," he said. "It's an opportunity to grow"
(04/11/03 5:27am)
After several NCAA Regional qualifying performances at season-opening meets, the No. 9 women's track and field team plays host to its first outdoor meet this Saturday at noon against Central Michigan and Indiana State.\nThe team will be home after facing tough competition at the Florida Relays, Stanford Invitational and Purdue Invitational on March 28 and 29 and the Texas Relays on April 4 and 5. Saturday's meet will be the first in which sprinters will be able to compete in their individual events. \nSenior Danielle Carruthers said the sprinters have benefitted from competing against high-ranking opponents from LSU and Texas. \n"It helps to start out with hard meets," she said. "It's motivational."\nCarruthers is a member of the 4x100-meter relay team, along with sophomore Ara Towns and seniors Rachelle Boone and Rose Richmond, who posted regional qualifying times at both the Florida and Texas Relays. \nCarruthers said she expects many of her teammates to qualify for the NCAA Regional meet, which she added will "get them something to build off of."\nAs the first regular meet for the team this season, Carruthers said she is looking forward to Saturday because it won't be a pressure-filled meet.\nSophomore pole vaulter Emily Tharpe has been unable to compete thus far in the season because of cold weather, and said she is looking forward to competing on Saturday.\n"I expect for myself to have a solid meet," she said.\nTharpe said her goal for the weekend is to qualify for the regional meet. One challenge she must face is the adjustment to competing outdoors and being subject to the elements. \nTharpe said she expects the team as a whole to take advantage of being at home. \nCoach Randy Heisler said he is looking forward to the home meet this weekend, so long as inclement weather doesn't strike.\n"We only have two home meets, so I hope the weather is good," he said.
(04/01/03 4:46am)
Rose Richmond isn't satisfied with second place. The senior finished as the national runner-up in the long jump, but remains reluctant to accept anything other than first place.\n"If she doesn't win she knows there's something she needs to do to win," assistant coach Wayne Pate said. \nRichmond, along with teammates and fellow seniors Danielle Carruthers and Rachelle Boone, traveled to the NCAA Indoor National Championships in mid-March. Carruthers finished second in the 60-meter hurdles, and Boone finished third in the 200 and ninth in the 60.\n"They did fantastic by anyone's standards but their own," Pate said of the trios national performances.\n"I'm not satisfied, but I'm happy," Richmond said of her second place finish. \nRichmond, who is the indoor Big Ten champion in the long jump, said she considers her solid indoor season to be a stepping stone as the outdoor season gets under way by boosting her confidence in her abilities.\nAfter the first outdoor meet of the season, Richmond is already in stride for a landmark season. Her jump of more than 21 feet at the Florida Relays last weekend was good for first place, qualified her for the NCAA Regional Championships and marked the second best outdoor jump in her career. \n"She's only going to get better," coach Randy Heisler said.\nPate said he is most encouraged to see Richmond do so well while in the midst of intense start-of-the-season training which consists of heavy lifting and more running than usual.\n"It's really nice for her to have a good first meet under her belt," Pate said.\nRichmond said that she too was impressed by her performance despite having sore and tired muscles.\n"It's better than what I thought I'd do," she said.\nRichmond said that, because of the training, she would have been happy with jumping 20 feet. She jumped over one foot further than she expected.\nShe said her goal for the season is to beat her personal record set at last year's outdoor Big Ten Championships by jumping a high 22 feet "but 23 (feet) would be nice," she said.\nPate said he thinks this is a realistic goal for Richmond because she has continued to improve year after year.\n"I've never coached a person who has improved every year," he said. "She hasn't peaked yet."\nRichmond and her teammates will travel to Austin, Texas, this weekend for the Texas Relays.
(03/03/03 5:45am)
After two days of intense competition, the IU women's track and field team conceded defeat to a strong Michigan squad at the Big Ten Championships in the Gladstein Fieldhouse. The two teams battled for control of the meet both Saturday and Sunday, and the title was up for grabs until the last individual event, the 5000-meter run, in which the Wolverines proved their depth by scoring 13 points, making it impossible for the Hoosiers to come back with only the 4x400 relay left to be run. \nThough disappointing, coach Randy Heisler said the second place finish is "nothing to be ashamed of." Heisler said he knew going into the meet that the defending conference champs would be tough to beat, but he said he's proud that the team exceeded even his expectations of keeping the score close up until the final events. Michigan finished with 129.5 points and IU had 115. Penn State finished third with 87. \n"I wouldn't say we lost, they just had more points," he said. "(Our team) did everything they could have done. They gave everything they could. I am really, really proud of them."\nIU was behind Michigan by only a half-point because of several strong showings in the field events Saturday evening after day one of competition. Senior Rose Richmond led the Hoosier domination of the long jump as the team placed four jumpers within the top seven. Richmond's personal best jump of 6.48 meters took first place in addition to breaking the Fieldhouse record. Senior Tandra Foster, junior Jennifer Cobbina and freshman Michelle Smith took fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, to total a 21 point contribution from the long jumpers.\nFreshman Andrea Dalla Rosa also had a personal best performance this weekend in the shot put, which was good for fourth place. \nHeisler said he was especially impressed with IU's performances in the 60-, 200- and 400-meter dashes as well as the 60-meter hurdles. Senior Rachelle Boone finished first in both the 60 and the 200, and senior Danielle Carruthers was close behind to finish second in the 60 and third in the 200. Sophomore Ara Towns rounded off the sweep of the 60 with her third place finish in the event, running a personal best time in the process. Carruthers also finished second in the hurdles. Another sprinting standout was junior Chioma Ndubisi who took first place in the 400-meter dash. \nBoone, who set a Big Ten record in the semifinals of the 60, said she's proud of the way the Hoosiers stepped up against such a strong Michigan team.\n"I'm glad everyone gave it all they could," Boone said. \nCarruthers said she too knew that Michigan's depth would be difficult to overcome. "I'm not disappointed at all," she said.
(02/21/03 6:23am)
IU women's track and field coach Randy Heisler said he is looking for big performances from all of his athletes this Saturday as the team hosts the Hoosier Hills Open. \n"It would send us into the conference on a high note if we have a good performance," he said. \nThe No. 8 squad will remain at IU March 1 and 2 for the Big Ten Championships, and Heisler said being at home should help the team both this Saturday and next weekend. At the Indiana Invitational, the last home meet, the athletes achieved 31 season bests.\n"I'm hopeful of the same atmosphere (for this weekend)," Heisler said. "The team needs the whole team to step up this week, so next week we can be even better."\nSenior Danielle Carruthers said she acknowledges that, at this point in the season, the focus shifts from personal performance to team performance.\n"Now I have to put myself out there for the team," she said. \nSo far in the season, Carruthers has done her part for the team by being a major point-scorer in the 60-meter hurdles as well as the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Carruthers has also qualified automatically for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the 60-meter hurdles and provisionally for the 60-meter dash. \nHer teammate, senior Rachelle Boone, has also made significant contributions to the team as one of the leading sprinters in the country. Boone has qualified automatically for both the 60- and 200- meter dashes. Her time in the 60 is the fourth fastest in the nation, and her 200 time is the eighth best in the nation.\nHeisler emphasized the importance of the distance runners stepping up and filling the gap that has existed this season. \n"We need four or five of the distance girls to be in scoring position," Heisler said, specifically mentioning sophomore Mindy Peterson, juniors Audrey Geisler and Becky Obrecht and freshman Jessica Gall.\nSophomore Larra Overton, an 800-meter runner, said the distance runners are on the right track for stepping up to fill the gap. \n"Everyone individually has done well," she said. "It's just a matter of everyone coming out and performing well on the same day."\nOverton said running at home this weekend will prove beneficial in preparing for the conference meet.\n"It will be really nice to run on our track before Big Tens, especially because we are hosting it," she said. \nThe Hoosier Hills Open will begin at noon Saturday in the Gladstein Fieldhouse.
(02/20/03 6:24am)
Senior sprinter Danielle Carruthers has assembled an impressive resume in her four years of running for the IU track team. \nDuring last year's outdoor Big Ten Championships, Carruthers won the 100m hurdle title with a time of 12.68, making her the owner of the fastest time in the world. Carruthers was the runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 60-meter hurdles. She won the 60-meter dash at the Big Ten Championship meet and in the process set an IU and meet record. \nSo far this season, Carruthers hasn't shown signs of slowing down. \n"She's running just fine," said coach Randy Heisler, pointing out that she currently has the second fastest collegiate hurdling time in the United States. "But to her that's not fast enough." \nCarruthers said she isn't satisfied with her performances this year.\n"I haven't been running bad, but I haven't been running well," she said. \nHeisler said he admires Carruthers' "desire to always be better." He mentioned last year's outdoor Big Ten Championships, in which Carruthers proved she was the world's fastest hurdler at that time. Carruthers would not allow herself to enjoy the accomplishment, Heisler said.\n"She was trying to figure out ways to get faster," he said. \nHeisler emphasized that Carruthers' refusal to settle on even her best performances makes her an extraordinary competitor. \n"She's her worst critic," he said. "That's what makes her good and causes her to have anxiety when it comes to competition."\nSprint coach Ed Beathea said he appreciates Carruthers' desire to be critical of her own progress.\n"(Coaching her) is rewarding in a lot of ways because she's very self-motivated," he said. \nCarruthers' self-criticism helps her to keep her world-ranked performances in perspective, he said.\nCarruthers plans to continue her track career after graduating, she said. \nShe got a taste of a professional running career last summer when she was included in the Track World Cup as a member of the relay pool for the 4 x 100m relay. Carruthers said in the future she hopes to compete in the Olympics.\nUntil then Carruthers will continue to leave her mark on IU track. Carruthers said she is glad that she, along with fellow senior Rachelle Boone, who is undefeated this season in the 60-meter dash, have established a strong reputation for IU sprinters. \nThis season is special for Carruthers because it is her senior season, she said.\n"It's a season of trying to find out what I can do," she said. \nCarruthers and the women's track team will host the Hoosier Hills meet this Saturday in the Gladstein Fieldhouse.
(02/17/03 5:19am)
After 31 season best performances at the Indiana Invitational, IU women's track and field coach Randy Heisler said he was looking for more stellar performances from his athletes over the weekend at the Canon IV Classic in Plainfield, Ind.\nAlthough the Hoosiers weren't as solid across the board as they were last weekend, Heisler said his athletes benefited from the meet, which was held on an indoor track within a 12-acre warehouse.\n"It gave our athletes a chance to compete in an adverse situation," he said. "I think we all grew up a little bit."\nTo prepare his team for the facilities, Heisler took his team to Indianapolis to practice on Wednesday, and he said this helped to downgrade the shock of seeing the facilities for the first time. \n"I'm glad we went up last week," he said. "I'm glad we got it out of the way."\nOverall, Heisler said the team competed well for being in such a "tough situation."\n"They did a pretty good job," he said. \nHeisler said freshman Andrea Dalla Rosa's first place finish in the shot put was impressive. Dalla Rosa recorded the second best throw of her life. \nDalla Rosa said she's not completely satisfied with her performance.\n"I felt I could've done better," she said. \nHeisler said he was pleased with her efforts this weekend. \n"She stepped in and did what she needed to do," he said. \nSenior Kelley McKinney, who finished third in the weight throw Friday, said she's disappointed that she didn't achieve her goal of qualifying provisionally for the NCAA Indoor Championships this weekend. But, she added she is now looking toward next weekend's meet in hopes of achieving her goal before Big Ten Championships March 1-2. \n"I wanted to get that done before then," she said. \nOther notable field event performances came from seniors Rose Richmond and Tandra Foster, who finished second and third in the long jump, respectively. \nSenior Danielle Carruthers had another opportunity to compete against the defending 60-meter hurdle champion Perdita Felicien of Illinois. Carruthers, despite hitting the second hurdle, finished just one-hundredth of a second behind Felicien. Carruthers also finished third in the 200-meter dash. \nSenior Rachelle Boone turned in yet another first place finish in the 200, and remains unbeaten in the event this season.\nA few distance runners also stepped up the pace this weekend. Freshman Jessica Gall finished with a personal record in the 3000-meter run, which was good for fourth place. Sophomore Mindy Peterson and junior Audrey Geisler both ran season bests in the mile, placing fifth and eighth, respectively. \nGeisler said that the race was a positive step forward toward Big Tens, and the progress will be beneficial to them mentally.\n"It wasn't the time I was hoping for, but it was a good confidence boost," she said. "Times are finally starting to come down"
(02/14/03 5:40am)
When IU women's track and field coach Randy Heisler visited Bloomington North to recruit new athletes, he didn't plan on discovering current senior thrower Kelley McKinney.\nHeisler happened upon McKinney during her senior year in high school, which was actually the first season that the former softball player chose to join the track team. Heisler said he was impressed by the fact that she'd just learned the skill of throwing and was still competitive. \nMcKinney walked on to the IU team her freshman year, and Heisler immediately knew that he had something special. \n"It became apparent right away that she's a good athlete," he said. "You always wish you had a student like that just walk in."\nMcKinney said starting out as a walk-on was tough at first, but made her work harder. \n"When I came in as a freshman, I was (kind of) nothing and I'm a really competitive person," she said. \nAfter trying javelin and shot put, McKinney finally found her niche in the weight and hammer throws. She has consistently improved each season and finished fourth in the conference in the weight throw last year. \nHeisler said the beginning of the season was a bit shaky for McKinney, but she has stepped up her performances lately, starting two weeks ago in the meet against Illinois. In that meet, McKinney threw her season best, winning the 20 pound weight throw. \n"She decided 'OK -- it's time to throw,'" he said. \nMcKinney said she plans to continue to improve her throws and prove her skills by winning the weight throw at the Big Ten Championships and qualifying for Nationals. \n"I really want to get on that nationals list," she said. \nHeisler said he believes McKinney's goals are well within reach.\n"I'm excited for her," he said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she placed first at Big Tens."\nAs a senior, McKinney said she is particularly motivated to do well.\n"It hit me all at once when meets started," she said. "It's my last chance to be an athlete. After this, there's no more."\nFreshman thrower Andrea Dalla Rosa said she realizes she can learn a lot from McKinney.\n"She's been there and done that, so I can learn from what she's been through," she said. "I look up to her a lot." \nDalla Rosa said McKinney has been a great inspiration for the team because "her presence is very positive."\nShe added that McKinney's leadership is integral to the team.\n"She shows leadership, and not everyone can pull that off," she said. "She's a great leader for us"
(02/14/03 5:32am)
IU women's track and field coach Randy Heisler put forth an extra effort Wednesday to ensure a solid performance from his team this Friday and Saturday as the team travels to Indianapolis for the Canon IV Classic. \nHeisler took his athletes to Indianapolis for practice on Wednesday to get the experience of running on the banked track as well as to give the field event athletes the opportunity to see the facilities that they will be competing in. Heisler said the banked track is one of the major reasons that he chose to have his team participate in the meet this weekend. The track will be especially beneficial to athletes running the 200- and 400-meter dashes. \n"I'm especially looking forward to the mile and the 200," Heisler said, but added that he's looking for big performances from everyone. \n"We've got to go up there and be better than we were last week," he said.\nLast weekend at the Indiana Invitational, the Hoosiers finished with 31 season bests, and Heisler said the team needs another similar weekend in order to be on the right track for a strong showing at the Big Ten Championships March 1-2.\n"We're taking 27 athletes this weekend, and I want half of them to get season bests," he said. \nHeisler said he expects seniors Rachelle Boone and Danielle Carruthers to improve on their already exceptional times this weekend. \nThis week, Boone was named the Big Ten women's track and field Athlete of the Week for her impressive performances last weekend in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Boone ran an NCAA qualifying time of 7.26 in the 60-meter dash, and qualified provisionally for the 200. Boone currently owns the third fastest time in the nation in the 60 and the fifth best in the 200. \nFreshman thrower Andrea Dalla Rosa said seeing the less-than-stellar facilities ahead of time will help her this weekend.\n"It would have been a big surprise," she said. "Not knowing that I had to adjust would've thrown me off."\nDalla Rosa, who finished first place last weekend in the shot put with a throw that beat her personal record by two feet, said that the mental block she struggled with at the beginning of the season has dissipated but some anxiety still remains during competition. \n"Now I'm using (the anxiety) to help me," she said. \nSenior thrower Kelley McKinney, who also threw a personal best in the weight throw last weekend, said her goal is to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Championships. \n"My goal for the day is to throw 18.50 (meters)," she said.
(02/10/03 5:54am)
The IU women's track and field team proved that it is taking the right steps toward a successful season Friday and Saturday at the Indiana Invitational. Though team scores weren't recorded, coach Randy Heisler said he was very encouraged by the efforts put forth by the team.\n"It was a great weekend for us," he said. \nLast week, Heisler said he considered the Indiana Invitational a "practice run" for the Big Ten Championships. Saturday, after six first place performances from the Hoosiers as well as several personal records and season-bests, Heisler said he is a bit more at ease with his team's progress.\n"I feel better about Big Tens than I did Friday," he said. \nThe sprinters continued their impressive season, led by senior Rachelle Boone with first place finishes in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Boone, who has yet to be beaten this year in either event, finished with NCAA automatic qualifying times both Friday and Saturday and set a Gladstein Fieldhouse record for the 60 Friday with a time of 7.26. Boone also qualified provisionally for the 200.\nBoone said she is satisfied with her performances this weekend and, though pleased, she did not expect to run such good times so consistently at this point in the season. \n"God has let me run some ridiculously good times," she said. \nBoone noted that her best competition comes from teammate senior Danielle Carruthers, who finished second in the 60 and also improved her time. \nHeisler said he considers himself "fortunate to have them."\n"They feed off of each other," he said. "It's very healthy."\nBoone said she is particularly proud of sophomores Ara Towns and Karla Marshall, who set personal records in the 60 and 200, respectively. \nBoth Boone and Heisler said they were impressed by sophomore Charlene Maddox's performance in the 4x400 relay. Maddox, who competed for the first time this season on Saturday, contributed to the season-best time in the relay. \nAlso competing for the first time this year because of injuries were seniors Rose Richmond and Tandra Foster. Richmond placed first in the long jump, and Foster took second. The two only took three of six jumps so as not to aggravate their injuries.\n"It's great to have them back," Heisler said of Maddox, Richmond and Foster.\nThe strong finish in the long jump marked only one of several solid field event performances. Junior Lauren Chesnut won the triple jump, and freshman Andrea Dalla Rosa placed first in the shot put. Both Dalla Rosa and junior Jaclyn Taylor set personal records in the shot put by over two feet. Senior Kelley McKinney also had a strong performance in the weight throw with a season-best throw and a first place finish.\nThe mid-distance and distance squads complemented the impressive efforts in the sprints and field events with a few exceptional performances of their own. Distance events were highlighted by freshman Lindsay Hattendorf and her first place finish in the 5000-meter run. Freshman Jessica Gall finished second in the mile, and Chioma Ndubisi was the runner-up in the 400-meter dash with an indoor career-best time. \nSophomore Mindy Peterson added a second place finish in the 800 -- one of the few events that the Hoosiers have yet to dominate. Peterson said she was "happy, but not satisfied" with her performance, but impressed by the overall results of the meet.\n"Everyone performed a lot better than what we have been," she said. \nPeterson said she believes the team is on the "right track" for a successful appearance at Big Tens, which is less than a month away and will be hosted by IU. \nPeterson said she considers her efforts this weekend as a "little step forward" and is eager to compete again next week.\nThe Hoosiers will travel to Indianapolis for the Canon IV Classic next Friday and Saturday.
(02/07/03 6:18am)
IU women's track and field coach Randy Heisler said that he expects his entire team to step it up a notch this weekend when the No. 8 Hoosiers host the Indiana Invitational.\n"We need everyone to come together," he said. "Everyone in every event needs to do what they're supposed to do."\nHeisler said that this meet is particularly important because it is a "practice run" for the Big Ten Championship meet. With 700-800 athletes from 25 teams inside the Gladstein Fieldhouse, the atmosphere will be similar to the loud, somewhat hectic atmosphere of the Big Ten meet. The Indiana Invitational begins at 4 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday. \nThough not completely satisfied with his team's overall performance thus far, Heisler said that he is pleased that the team seems to be getting closer to realizing its full potential. \n"We're getting there," he said. \nLast weekend the team turned in several impressive performances, including a personal record and first place finish from thrower senior Kelley McKinney in the weight throw, an automatic NCAA Championship qualifying time from senior Danielle Carruthers in the 60-meter hurdles and two first place finishes from senior Rachelle Boone in the 60 and 200 meter dashes. \n"The team's very solid actually across the board," said Heisler. \nBoone also said she thinks that the team is coming together and is especially encouraged by the performances of some of the freshmen runners. \n"They're really running well for freshmen," Boone said. \nAreas Heisler said he is still looking for improvement from the 600 and 800-meter runs. He said that he has placed eight or nine runners in those two events, and he expects at least two or three to step up to the Big Ten level.\nJunior Jennifer Cobbina, who finished first in the long jump at last weekend's meet, said that she's jumping farther than she was at this point last year so she is on track for achieving her goal of a 6.0 meter jump. Last weekend Cobbina jumped 5.7m and her furthest jump in competition thus far in the season has been 5.73m in the season-opener. \nCobbina said that not having to travel to the meet this weekend will make a difference in the way the Hoosiers will compete.\nWhen the team is on the road "it's hard to P.R. (personal record)," Cobbina said. "I'm looking forward to this weekend because it's a home meet."\nTwenty-five teams will be present at the meet, including Purdue, Indiana State and the University of Indianapolis.
(02/06/03 7:14am)
Senior Rachelle Boone hasn't always been known for her 60- and 200-meter performances. Until high school, Boone's sport of choice was soccer. Her teammates urged her to try running track, and she immediately caught the coach's attention. \n"The coach wouldn't let me leave track," she said. \nAnd understandably so. \nBoone has had an impressive indoor track career at IU, as she holds the school record for both the 60- and 200-meter dashes and is a two-time NCAA runner-up in the 200 and capturing the Big Ten Championship in the 200 last year. \nSo far this season, Boone has shown no signs of slowing down and said she is actually ahead of where she was at this point last year.\n"I didn't expect to run as fast as I did last weekend," she said. \nLast weekend in Champaign, Ill., in a meet against Illinois, Missouri and Eastern Illinois, Boone won both the 60- and 200-meter dashes, as well as anchoring the first place 4x400-meter relay team. She qualified provisionally for the NCAA Indoor Championships for the 60 and 200 and set a track record for the 60-meter dash. \nWomen's track and field coach Randy Heisler, on the other hand, said he wasn't surprised by Boone's impressive performances last weekend against the toughest competition yet this season. \n"She always runs her fastest in the biggest races," he said. "And once she gets in the lead, no one will pass her."\nSprint coach Ed Beathea said Boone's work ethic plays a large part in her success. \n"She is an easy athlete to work with because she has a strong desire to do well," he said. \nHeisler said he agrees with Beathea, but adds that Boone's tough work ethic sometimes drives her to work too hard. \n"We have to watch her carefully to make sure she doesn't do too much," Heisler said. \nBoone's strong determination became especially helpful during high school when she became pregnant with her now 5-year-old son. She said many people didn't believe that she could become competitive again, but she was motivated by wanting to provide for her son. \n"I want to give him what I didn't have growing up," she said. \nThough Boone isn't a vocal leader, Beathea said he considers her a strong example for the younger sprinters.\n"She is more of a leader by action," he said. "She's more of a motivated, determined-type leader."\nHeisler said he especially admires Boone's focus and calmness. \n"Nothing rattles her," he said. "(Her mentality is) 'Show me where the lane is and get out of the way.'" \nBoone said she tries to be a positive role model for the other runners. \n"They look up to us -- me, (sprinter) Danielle (Carruthers), (jumper/sprinter) Rose (Richmond) and (jumper) Tandra (Foster)," she said.\nBoone and the IU women's track and field team will be competing this Friday and Saturday at the Indiana Invitational in the Gladstein Fieldhouse.
(02/03/03 5:23am)
The IU women's track and field team came up with several impressive performances in Champaign, Ill., this Saturday in their win against the Illini, Missouri and Eastern Illinois. IU won the meet with 178 points. Illinois, Missouri and Eastern Illinois had 156, 154 and 54 points respectively.\nThe team had seven first place finishes overall, including two first place finishes by senior Rachelle Boone in both the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Sophomore Mindy Peterson turned in a win in the mile, as did junior Jennifer Cobbina in the long jump and sophomore Emily Tharpe in the pole vault. The 4x400 relay team of junior Jessica Comfort, sophomore Ara Towns, freshman LaDonna Ray and Boone also finished first.\nSenior Danielle Carruthers turned in an especially impressive performance on Saturday in the 60-meter hurdles.\nCarruthers, despite hitting the first hurdle, finished with the outstanding time of 8.16 seconds, which automatically qualifies her for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Carruthers knows that she'll be tough to beat when she perfects her technique.\n"I'm excited to see what I can run when I run a clean race," she said. \nIn recent practices, Carruthers has noticed that her technique has improved, and she plans to keep working on it.\n"If I keep doing what I'm doing, I have no choice but to get faster," she said. \nDanielle acknowledges that the competition at Saturday's meet played a part in pushing her to lower her time. Her main competitor, junior Perdita Felicien of the University of Illinois, is the defending indoor 60-meter hurdles champion, and Carruthers knows that prying that title away from her will be a challenge. \n"Her being there made me run faster," she said. \nBesides having a satisfaction with her own performance, Carruthers said she was also impressed by the team's performance. \n"There is no reason for us not to win Big Tens," she said. "By then we will be one big unit working together."\nFreshman thrower Andrea Dalla Rossa shares Carruthers' sentiments in that she thinks the team is really starting to show its potential.\n"I think what we're doing in practice is showing in our performances," she said.\nDalla Rossa finished first in the shot put at Saturday's meet. She said that she is usually a bit nervous for her first few throws but after she started out well she let go of her apprehensions.\n"I didn't let it get the best of me because I was getting tired of it," she said. \nIn addition to being more mentally focused, Dalla Rossa's performance was also influenced by a teammate's accomplishments. \nShe said knowing that her teammate senior Kelley McKinney threw a personal record to win the weight throw earlier in the morning helped to give her the positive energy that she transferred to her own performance. \nOverall, Dalla Rossa is pleased with the team's efforts at Saturday's meet.\n"I think the team did really well," she said. "I'm very proud of everything"
(01/31/03 5:55am)
Despite last Saturday's win against Big Ten opponents Purdue and Ohio State, women's track and field coach Randy Heisler remains convinced that the team's best performances are yet to come.\n"We had seven or eight performances that were pretty good," Heisler said. "The downside of that is that there were 50 performances that were not good. If we want a chance to win the Big Ten, we need to set P.R. (personal records) every weekend."\nThis Saturday's meet in Champaign, Ill. against No. 16 Illinois, Missouri and Eastern Illinois will give Heisler's squad the opportunity to apply their talents, as they will be competing against teams they normally don't get to compete against. This weekend, like last weekend, Heisler will be taking more athletes than usual to be sure that each has ample opportunities to prove and develop her talents. \nHeisler said that he is looking for a number of field event athletes to improve their performances this weekend, including sophomore pole vaulter Emily Tharpe, freshman high jumper Jean Schaffer and freshman throwers Andrea Dalla Rossa and senior Kelley McKinney.\nJunior Lauren Chesnut, who has yet to be beaten this year in the triple jump, said she believes that she is on the right track for a successful year. \n"I've never jumped this far so early in the season," she said. \nLast Saturday, Chesnut was short of the NCAA provisional jump length by just five centimeters. She said that her main goal for Saturday is to win the triple jump and to qualify provisionally for the NCAA Indoor Championships. \nAlong with high expectations for the jumpers and throwers, Heisler also expects the distance runners to have a more solid performance this weekend, led by sophomore Mindy Peterson and junior Audrey Geisler. \n"If they go in to win the race, they ought to P.R.," Heisler said. \nBoth Peterson and Geisler remained in Bloomington last weekend rather than competing against Purdue and Ohio State to better prepare themselves for Saturday's meet. \nPeterson said that the time off has been very helpful.\n"We're definitely prepared for this weekend," she said.\nPeterson is especially eager to run this weekend because of the intense competition.\n"I know there will be good competition in the mile and the 800," she said. "It will be nice to see what I can actually do"
(01/17/03 6:08am)
After an encouraging 2002 season in which the women's track and field team finished eighth at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the squad is poised and ready to make 2003 even more memorable.\nThey'll have a chance do so this weekend, when their indoor season begins this Saturday against Michigan, Michigan State and Kent State in Ann Arbor, Mich.\nTrackwire's Preseason Top 25 poll has the Hoosier's ranked eighth -- higher than any Big Ten team in the poll.\nCoach Randy Heisler has slightly higher aspirations for the team, as he said he would like to see them finish in the top three at the NCAA Indoor Championships. With virtually all of his leading scorers back for at least another year, Heisler is optimistic for the season.\n"I'd like to see a half dozen of the girls win national titles, then another four or five place high at the national level," said Heisler, making specific reference to senior All-Americans Rachelle Boone, Danielle Carruthers and Rose Richmond.\n"I don't want to see the seniors leave without a few more rings on their fingers," he said. \nBoone, who holds the indoor school records for both the 200-meter and the 60-meter, said she hopes to contribute to the team's success by shaving time off of her personal best 7.25 second 60-meter performance.\nBoone added she sees each new season as an opportunity to build off of the previous year's accomplishments. \n"I passed the goals I set last year by far," she said. \nBut, Boone said she readily acknowledges much work remains to be done in order to ensure her last season as a Hoosier is a successful one. \nLike Heisler, Boone has high, yet realistic goals for this season. She said she expects her team to win indoor and outdoor Big Ten championships.\nCarruthers, who holds the outdoor school and Big Ten records for the 100-meter hurdles, will spend the season working out the kinks in her hurdle technique that kept her from winning national titles last year. \nOverall, Carruthers said she believes the depth of the team will contribute to its success.\n"We're a really well-rounded team, and I'm proud of how things are looking," Carruthers said.\nBoth Boone and Carruthers have trained for this season a bit differently than seasons past. This year, they have slightly altered their eating habits and have become a bit more nutrition-conscious. \nCarruthers touched on the importance of utilizing home team advantages, which the Hoosiers will have the opportunity to do on March 1-2 when they host the Big Ten Women's Indoor Championships.