Lumpkin?s School Record Leads Track & Field at Mastodon Opener

Saturday, December 5

Fort Wayne, Ind.

TBA

Ball State University

Mastodon Opener

Lumpkin?s School Record Leads Track & Field at Mastodon Opener

December 06, 2015 | Track & Field

By: Ball State Athletics

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - - The new era for the Ball State track & field program started with a bang, as senior Marie Lumpkin (Losantville, Ind./Union) opened Saturday's Mastodon Opener with a school record in the weight throw and helped the Cardinals pick up five team victories the first indoor meet of the 2015-16 season.

In Saturday's meet, which featured six teams and was held at the IPFW Athletics Center Field House, the Cardinals picked up head-to-head victories over host IPFW (85 to 49), Butler (90 to 28), Mid-American Conference rival Miami (77 to 50), Oakland (85 to 59) and Xavier (82 to 37). In all, Ball State's student-athletes collected overall victories in eight of the 12 events they competed in, while earning 15 career-best performances.

“I could not be more pleased with how we competed today,” first-year head coach Brian Etelman said. “It was all that we hoped it to be, and then some. It was a perfect way to lay the competitive foundation for track season. All of our athletes have been waiting patiently since September to represent our program and our university. They were determined to give us something we could all be proud of and they certainly delivered. The positive energy we fed off of with all of the great performances and wins culminated in a successful meet in all event areas.”

Lumpkin set the tone early in her senior season for the Cardinals, opening the meet with a school record toss of 18.55m in the weight throw, which was .07m further than the previous school record of 18.48m set by Janee Langhorne in 2002 and later tied by Cara Collins in 2008. Lumpkin entered the meet ranked third in program history with a mark of 18.36m set at last season's Ball State Open (Feb. 20).

“Marie Lumpkin was outstanding,” Etelman said of his senior thrower. “Not only did she beat our school record in the weight throw, but to do it this early in the season is an indicator that there is plenty more to come from her.”

Danielle Dahl (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) also opened her senior season by taking top billing in the 600m run with a career-best effort of 1:35.42. Classmate Zenée Gadson (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) added a first-place showing in the triple jump with a distance of 11.19m.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ball State freshmen Amber McGee (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop), Peyton Stewart (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) and Jazmin Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill) opened their careers in winning fashion by taking home top honors in the 300m dash (41.01), 60m dash (7.65) and 60m hurdles (8.92), respectively. McGee would later team up with Dahl, sophomore Gabby Sims (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) and junior Makelle Skelton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) to close the meet with the top prize in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:59.76.

“Peyton Stewart's 60m final was super quick and also a foreshadowing of what is to come,” Etelman added. “We had wins from multiple seniors and freshmen, showing our unique blend of experience and youth.”

Ball State's other overall event victory came from junior Jordan Timmons (Bargersville, Ind./Center Grove) in the mile run (5:29.46).

The Ball State indoor track & field program turns its attention back to training for the next few weeks, before opening the second semester and the main portion of the season at the Bowling Green Opener Jan. 9.

“We will take the remaining weeks of the first semester to focus on finals and shifting our training forward to a full slate of indoor meets when we return from winter break,” Etelman said. “We were awesome today, but we must keep pressing forward, and I am 100% confident that we will do just that.”

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

Ball State Individual Performances at Mastodon Opener

Weight Throw
1st - Marie Lumpkin (18.55m* / School Record)

Shot Put
5th - Michaela Hull (12.28m)
6th - Adrienne Mayfield (10.64m)

High Jump
2nd - Regan Lewis (1.68m*)

Long Jump
3rd - Makelle Skelton (5.18m)
7th - Zenée Gadson (4.70m)

Triple Jump
1st - Zenée Gadson (11.19m)
2nd - Gabrielle Perryman (11.18m)

60m Hurdles
1st - Jazmin Smith (8.92*)
6th - Olivia Ashba (9.34)
DQ - Anna-Kay West

60m Dash
1st - Peyton Stewart (7.65*)
5th - Anna-Kay West (7.95*)

Mile Run
1st - Jordan Timmons (5:29.46)
11th - Mary Momper (6:16.26*)

300m Dash
1st - Amber McGee (41.01*)
2nd - Olivia Ashba (41.56*)
3rd - Makelle Skelton (42.25*)
4th - Ariel Hune (42.57*)
6th - Peyton Stewart (44.86*)

3000m Dash
2nd - Ericka Rinehart (10:49.79*)
3rd - Rachel Bales (10:56.79*)
7th - Jessica Bryzek (11:10.27)
10th - Emma Manchess (11:37.05)