Track & Field Hosts Ball State Open Friday

Track & Field Opens Indoor Season Saturday at UIndy

February 18, 2015 | Track & Field

By: Ball State Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. - - For its final tune-up before the 2015 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, the Ball State track & field team will host the Ball State Open at 5 p.m. Friday in the Field Sports Building.

Action begins with the field events, followed by track events starting at 6:15 p.m. In addition to the Cardinals, Western Michigan and IPFW are slated to compete in this season's annual home meet.

The Cardinals are coming off a solid showing at last weekend's Fred Wilt Invitational hosted by Purdue, in which senior Rebecca Lomax (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) won the pentathlon with the second-best individual score in program history. Overall, the Cardinals tallied 13 top 10 finishes and 10 personal-best marks over the course of the two-day meet.

QUICK HITS:

- So far this season, four Cardinals have posted MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying marks; Rebecca Lomax in the high jump (1.73m), Christina Crawford (Belleville, Mich./Romulus) in the long jump (5.76m), Makelle Skelton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) in the long jump (5.75m) and Marie Lumpkin (Losantville, Ind./Union) in the weight throw (17.73m).

- Senior Rebecca Lomax finished the pentathlon at the Fred Wilt Invitational (Feb. 13) with a career-best score of 3747 points, which is the second-best individual effort in program history … Lomax's performance included wins in the high jump (1.70m / 5-7) and shot put (13.40m / 43-11.75), while she placed second among pentathlon participants in the 60m hurdles (9.20), 800m run (2:31.29) and long jump (5.12m / 16-9.75) … Her time in the 800m run and mark in the shot put where both personal-best efforts … Lomax currently ranks third in the MAC in the pentathlon.

- Junior Marie Lumpkin was one of two event winners at the Wildcat Invitational (Jan. 31), taking top honors in the weight throw with a season-best toss of 17.73m (58-2) … The effort is a MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying mark and currently has Lumpkin ranked seventh in the league in the event.

- Sophomore pole vaulter Elizabeth Eversole (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) cleared the bar at a career-best height of 3.71m at the Gladstein Invitational (Jan. 23), which is the second-best individual effort in program history … Eversole's mark placed 10th in the meet and was just 0.04m shy of the school-record mark of 3.75m set by senior Hannah Ciasto-Poor (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) at the Illini Classic (Jan. 17) … Ciasto-Poor's mark currently ranks 15th in the MAC, while Eversole's effort is 17th.

- Junior Christina Crawford and sophomore Makelle Skelton enter the week ranked eighth (5.76m) and ninth (5.75m), respectively, in the Mid-American Conference rankings in the long jump … Both efforts are MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying marks … Crawford also ranks 10th in the 60m dash (7.70).

- After her first-place showing in the 800m run at the BG Opener (Jan. 10), junior Danielle Dahl (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) ranks 16th in the MAC in the event with a converted time of 2:14.89# … Dahl was Ball State's other event winner at the Wildcat Invitational (Jan. 31), taking home top billing in the 600m run with a time of 1:37.26.

- Ball State's success in the jumps has carried over to the triple jump, with junior Zenée Gadson (Glassboro, N.J./Glassboro) and sophomore Gabrielle Perryman (Beachwood, Ohio/Beachwood) ranking 14th (11.37m) and 19th (11.12m), respectively, on the MAC's 2014-15 indoor performance list.

- Ball State's student-athletes have posted one school record, 13 individual event wins and 61 career-best efforts through the first seven meets of the season.

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(#) denotes Track Size Venue Conversion for MAC ranking purposes

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