One year after finishing in sixth place in the conference indoor championship meet, the Missouri Southern women’s indoor track and field team once again found itself competing for a conference title.

Never before had the women’s team claimed the title of the top team in the MIAA.

Although the team had won several meets throughout the season, it was considered a dark horse to win the conference championship.

“Looking back on it now, I think that the thing that you can never take away is the human factor,” said Patty Vavra, head coach.

“I think that’s a large part of the reason that we won this championship, is because of that human factor. This was a total team effort. It took better than their best efforts. They stepped up a step above what they had done all year, and it took every one of them to do that. It took a lot of heart. This is a group of young ladies that competed for two days with all the heart in the world.”

Senior hurdler/sprinter Mary Still said she “feels great” about the win.

“Going from sixth last year to first this year is quite a difference,” Still said. “In fact, one of our team goals this year was to finish higher than last season, so it exceeded all of our expectations.”

Over the course of the season, the Lions had several team members qualify to compete in the national track and field meet, Friday and Saturday, March 12-13 in Boston. Junior thrower Danee Jones, Still and sophomore jumper Sara Mueller will all make the trip to compete for national championships. It’s a trip that they are anxious to make.

“I am so excited,” Mueller said. “I couldn’t really believe it. I kept checking every night to see if I had made it. Then we pretty much knew that I was in, but I wouldn’t tell anybody, ‘Yeah, I’m going,’ because there was always that little doubt in my mind that something might happen. I’m so excited. I can’t wait to leave. I think that I might go home and pack.”

“You always go in thinking that you want to finish higher than you were seeded going into the meet,” Still said. “But, for me, indoor nationals is just the icing on the cake. I really want to be All-American for indoor track, and I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get it. It’s not the kind of pressure that I put on myself for outdoor track. It’s more of a bonus.”