IU faces Buckeyes, Salukis

As tomorrow\'s three-way meet versus Ohio State and Southern Illinois approaches, head coach Randy Heisler and his staff have been drilling the women\'s track team. \n\"Southern Illinois is very strong in jumps, and Ohio State is strong in throws, so it will be important to put up points in many areas,\" said junior All-American Rachelle Boone.\nBoone was this week\'s Co-Big Ten Athlete of the Week after she posted an NCAA provisional time of 7.44 in the 60-meter dash and was instrumental in the team\'s defeat of the Michigan Wolverines last weekend. Her sprinting capabilities also made her a national runner-up last year in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.30. \nAlthough Boone has been in the spotlight as of late, the secret to the team\'s success lies in its balance. \n\"We are fortunate to have five athletes on this team who have All-American or All-Big Ten honors in addition to a strong freshman class,\" said Coach Heisler.\nHeisler is a former Olympic discus thrower, and he used his expertise to help many of his athletes. His knowledge will be crucial this weekend, as the Hoosiers face stiff field competition from Ohio State. \nOSU boasts the second-ranked weight thrower in the country and another athlete who is ranked No. 5 nationally in the shot put. The shot put has typically been an Indiana strength, Heisler said he feels confident that his team can rise to the challenge once again.\n\"This weekend will be very competitive in some areas, but we just try to use every meet as a stepping stone to both the Big Ten and NCAA tourneys,\" said Heisler. \nThe Hoosiers will host the Buckeyes and the Salukis this weekend at home in the Harry Gladstein Fieldhouse. IU has lost once in the fieldhouse in the past three years. \nFor this new season, a new scoring option has been implemented.\nAll meets are tallied using international scoring, where two athletes from each school will place for a score regardless of where they finish in the event. For instance, in a three-way meet, although one team\'s competitors may finish in last place, they are still awarded points for a fifth and sixth place finish. \n\"The international scoring system was instituted in order to guard against blowouts and to encourage coaches to balance their team\'s depth in all events,\" said Coach Heisler.\nBalance is certainly not a foreign concept to the Hoosier lineup. In addition to Boone, IU also features senior Danielle Carruthers, one of the premier hurdler sprinters in the country, and senior Heather Colyer, who qualified for the NCAA championship for throws.\nThey are joined by senior Tia Trent, a qualifier in for the NCAA and USA Championships in the 400 meter dash; and junior Tandra Foster, a Big-Ten champion and All-American long jumper.\n\"Last weekend (against Michigan), I started out a little rough, but I\'m looking to clean up a few loose ends come Saturday,\" said Foster.