BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - - The Ball State women's track and field team opened the 2009 indoor season with a third-place finish at the Bowling Green State University Challenge Saturday.
Fifth-year senior Amber Williams (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran H.S.) led the Cardinals with 18 of their 84.5 points in her first meet back after redshirting in 2008. Williams posted one of two BSU first-place finishes winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.45. The 2007 All-American also took second place in the 200-meter dash clocking in at 25.28.
Junior Ali Bishel (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton H.S.), who redshirted during the cross country season due to injury, claimed the Cardinals' other first-place finish by winning the 5,000-meter run (16:55.46).
In her Ball State debut, freshman Janae Taylor (Richmond, Ind./Richmond H.S.) recorded two top five finishes. Taylor placed fourth in the 60-meter dash (7.76) and fifth in the 200-meter dash (25.71), one of BSU's top events in the meet.
Aside from Williams and Taylor earning points in the 200-meter dash, junior Katie Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Harrison H.S.) tallied an eighth-place finish with a time of 25.58. Johnson also notched a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles (8.74), BSU's highest point producing event with 19. Sophomore Ra'Jae Marable (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer H.S.) took eighth place (9.01).
The Cardinals also fared well in the 400-meter dash. Junior Jenna Schmitmeyer (Celina, Ohio/Celina H.S.) ran a time of 59.71 while coming in second. Freshman Kelsey Stephens (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop H.S.) earned an eighth-place finish (1:01.56).
In the triple jump, sophomores Jerrica Edmonds (Milwaukee, Wis./Franklin H.S.) and Brandi Robinson (Chicago, Ill./Morgan Park H.S.) finished fifth and sixth, respectively. Edmonds tallied a leap of 34-9 3/4, while Robinson recorded a jump of 33-11 1/4.
Also earning points for the Cardinals were senior Lauren McNichols (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central H.S.), junior Brittany Ade (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Dwenger H.S.), and sophomores Lindsay Bangert (Milwaukee, Wis./Homestead H.S.) and Megan Bevans (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown H.S.).
McNichols placed fifth in the pole vault (10-11 3/4) and tied for sixth in the high jump (5-0) while Ade clocked in at 5:16.09 to finish seventh in the mile run.
Bangert leaped a distance of 17-8 1/4 in the long jump to finish seventh, while Bevans ran the 600-meter run in 1:39.60 to finish fifth.
BSU's 4x400 relay squad recorded a third-place time of 4:03.91.
Cincinnati (157 points) won the BGSU Challenge, while Mid-American Conference foe Miami (121 points) and BSU rounded out the top three. Four other MAC schools competed in the event, with Eastern Michigan, Bowling Green State, Ohio and Toledo comprising finishers four through seven. Non-conference participants Oakland and IPFW placed eighth and ninth, respectively.
The Cardinals will return to action January 23-24, when they travel to Bloomington, Ind. for the Gladstine Invitational.
