Track & Field Claims Five Dual Wins at Mastodon Opener

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - - It was a clean sweep for the Ball State track & field team, which opened the 2017-18 indoor season with five head-to-head dual wins at the Mastodon Opener Saturday afternoon at Fort Wayne's Athletics Center Field House.

In addition to picking up team wins over host Fort Wayne (79-44), Butler (73-42), IUPUI (76-31), Northern Kentucky (73-43) and Xavier (76-55), the Cardinals won five of the 11 events they were entered in.

"I am really happy with what we accomplished today," third-year head coach Brian Etelman said. "We entered the meet with the objective of testing our competitive spirit and answering some questions about where our freshmen are from a performance standpoint. We are definitely deeper this year and that was shown by the dual scores and our freshmen led many of those efforts."

Perhaps the biggest individual performance of the day came from defending Mid-American Conference Indoor 60m Hurdles Champion junior Jazmin Smith who opened her defense of the title by clocking a first-place time of 8.65. She also finished third in the 300m dash with a career-fast time of 41.38 and was a member of the third-place 4x400m relay which clocked in at 4:06.03.

Junior Regan Lewis also opened the season strong, winning the high jump by clearing the bar at 1.73m which was just short of her program-record 1.81m set in a second-place effort at the 2017 MAC Indoor Championships.

Ball State also turned in a pair of strong performances in the throws, with senior Adrienne Mayfield winning the weight throw with a career-best toss of 16.22m and sophomore Kelsey Walters taking top honors in the shot put with a career-best distance of 13.57m. Walters also placed fourth in the weight throw with a career-best mark of 14.49m.

Freshman Dejah Johnson made her collegiate debut a memorable one, winning the 300m dash in 41.01. She also placed fifth in the 60m dash (7.99) and was a member of the third-place 4x400m relay.

"Jazmin Smith and Regan Lewis showed that they are prepared to contend for titles once again this year," Etelman said. "Adrienne Mayfield, Kelsey Walters and Dejah Johnson had really impressive season openers. We are happy with the level at which they performed today."

In addition to the five event victories, the Cardinals claimed 22 top five finishes and earned 27 career-best performances on the day.

"Now, we prepare for finals and enter the winter break with some confidence," Etelman closed. "We are looking forward to putting the uniform on again when we return in January."

The Ball State indoor track & field team will now have over a month to train and enjoy the holiday season, as they return to competition January 12-13 at the Kentucky Invitational.

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State track & field, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateTFXC.

Ball State Individual Results at Mastodon Opener
60m Dash
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 7.62 • School Record: 7.33(c) by LaTasha Jenkins in 1998
5. Paris Carver: 8.27 (7.91* in prelims)
6. Ivy McKee: 8.39 (7.90* in prelims)
6. Anna-Kay West: 8.39 (7.84 in prelims)
8. Dejah Johnson: 8.52 (7.99* in prelims)

60m Hurdles:
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 8.73 • School Record: 8.19 by Amber Williams in 2007
1. Jazmin Smith: 8.65
3. Anasja Troutman: 9.14*

300m Dash
1. Dejah Johnson: 41.01*
2. Bryeana Byrdsong: 41.04*
3. Jazmin Smith: 41.38*
4. Maquila Norman: 41.39*
5. Gabby Sims: 41.52*
8. Ivy McKee: 42.56*
9. Anasja Troutman: 42.74*
10. Paris Carver: 42.99*
11. Anna-Kay West: 43.05*

600m Dash
2. Brooke Talhelm: 1:39.69*
3. Kaylor Hoover: 1:41.42*
6. Peyton Kneadler: 1:43.78

Mile Run:
  2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 4:53.21 • School Record: 4:50.10 by MaryKate Mellen in 2013
3. Cayla Eckenroth: 5:27.31*
9. Kitty Taylor: 5:37.01
10. Emmalyne Tarsa: 5:43.02*

3000m Run:
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 9:47.13 • School Record: 9:31.43 by Jill Scully in 2006
3. Maritza Rodriguez: 10:34.84
10. Jessica Bryzek: 10:54.72
11. Stephanie McElhaney: 11:13.03
12. Lauren Whitehouse: 11:17.00

4x400m Relay:
2. West, Norman, Sims, Kneadler: 4:05.57
3. Troutman, Johnson, Smith, Hoover: 4:06.03

High Jump:
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 1.69m / 5-6.5 • School Record: 1.81m / 5-11.25 by Regan Lewis in 2017
1. Regan Lewis: 1.73m
3. Hailley Peters: 1.58m*

Long Jump:
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 5.74m / 18-10 • School Record: 6.43m / 21-1.5 by Patricia Soman in 2003
2. Anna-Kay West: 4.96m*

Shot Put:
   2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 14.82m / 48-7.5 • School Record: 14.77m / 48-5.75 by Gena Rusch in 1990
1. Kelsey Walters: 13.57m*
4. Jada Caldwell: 12.25m*

Weight Throw:
  2016-17 MAC Qualifying Standard: 17.88m / 58-8 • School Record:18.55m / 60-10 by Marie Lumpkin in 2015
1. Adrienne Mayfield: 16.22m*
4. Kelsey Walters: 14.49m*
5. Jada Caldwell: 13.37m*
6. Princess Carter: 13.01m*
7. Megan Graves: 12.72m*
9. Abby Denham: 12.52m*

- BallStateSports.com -

Track & Field Claims Five Dual Wins at Mastodon Opener

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Bryzek

Bryeana Byrdsong

Jada Caldwell

Princess Carter

Paris Carver

Abby Denham

Cayla Eckenroth

Megan Graves

Kaylor Hoover

Dejah Johnson

Peyton Kneadler

Regan Lewis

Adrienne Mayfield

Stephanie McElhaney

Ivy McKee

MaQuila Norman

Hailley Peters

Maritza Rodriguez

Gabby Sims

Jazmin Smith

Brooke Talhelm

Emmalyne Tarsa

Kitty Taylor

Anasja Troutman

Kelsey Walters

Anna-Kay West

Lauren Whitehouse