IU ready for return home after meet

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"