Ball State University Athletics
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Ball State Open
Track & Field Earns Ball State Open Title
February 21, 2015 | Track & Field
MUNCIE, Ind. - - The Ball State track & field program broke a decade long streak Friday evening in the Field Sports Building by capturing the Ball State Open title in a down-to-the-wire finish in the final tune-up before the 2015 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships.
In a meet filled with 17 personal-best performances, and one school record, the Cardinals held a one-point lead entering the final two events. That is when senior Caitlynn Edon (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) and freshman Jessica Bryzek (Brownsburg, Ind./Indiana Academy) turned in a 1-2 finish in the 3000m run to give the Cardinals control of the meet.
Ball State's 4x400m relay of sophomore Makelle Skelton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop), freshman Gabby Sims (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North), sophomore Olivia Ashba (Ellettsville, Ind./Edgewood) and senior Rebecca Lomax (Indianapolis, Ind./Southport) sealed the victory with a second-place and Ball State season-best time of 3:57.33.
“This is a big win for our program,” Ball State head coach Randy Heisler said. “Western Michigan had won this meet 10 years in a row, and to pull out the victory is huge for us. We started the meet with a lot of personal-best performances in the field events and it just carried over the rest of the night. I could not be happier for our team, as it has been a long battle to get them to believe we have the talent to be able to do this.”
Overall, the Cardinals finished the meet with 120 total points and captured the top spot in eight of the 14 events. Western Michigan, the 10-time defending meet champion, finished second with 114 points and was followed by IPFW in third at 45.
Ball State's top individual effort came in the pole vault when sophomore Elizabeth Eversole (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) cleared the bar at a school-record height of 3.77m (12-4.5). She topped the previous mark of 3.75m set by senior Hannah Ciasto-Poor (Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) earlier in the year at the Illini Classic (Jan. 17).
“Our success in the pole vault is a credit to the dedication coach Shannon Eversole shows our team,” Heisler said. “He drives down to Muncie from Mishawaka three times a week and is at all our meets. Both his daughter Elizabeth and Hannah respect that and understand the sacrifices he is making for them. That respect is shown by the fact both have broken the school record this season.”
Junior Marie Lumpkin (Losantville, Ind./Union) also came close to a school-record performance in the weight throw, with a career-best mark of 18.36m (60-3). The toss is the third-best individual effort in program history, trailing only the distance of 18.48m (60-7.75) set by both Cara Collins in 2008 and Janee Longhorne in 2002.
Junior Christina Crawford (Belleville, Mich./Romulus) was a two-event winner for the Cardinals, with a career-best leap of 6.08m (19-11.5) in the long jump and a career-fast time of 7.68 in the 60m dash.
Another strong performance came from Lomax, who not only anchored the 4x400m relay, but also won the high jump by clearing a career-best height of 1.76m (5-9.25), which is also the third-best individual performance in program history. She also scored for the Cardinals in the 60m hurdles and the shot put.
“The team feeds off Rebecca,” Heisler added. “With all she has been through the last two years, she is a true inspiration. They see her competitiveness and what she does, and it makes it easier for our team.”
The Ball State track & field team concludes the indoor campaign next weekend at the MAC Indoor Championships hosted by Central Michigan (Feb. 27-28). Check BallStateSports.com early next week for a list of Ball State student-athletes who qualified for the meet.
For the most up-to-date news on Ball State track & field, follow @BallStateSports and @BallStateTrack on Twitter.
Ball State Individual Results At The Ball State Open
60m Dash
1st - Christina Crawford (7.68* - 7 pts)
6th - Christa Hammond (8.05 - 3 pts)
60m Hurdles
2nd - Anna-Kay West (9.21 F / 9.17* P - 5 pts)
5th - Rebecca Lomax (9.46 F / 9.07* P - 3 pts)
200m Dash
4th - Christina Crawford (25.89* - 4 pts)
5th - Anna-Kay West (26.74* - 3 pts)
6th - Christa Hammond (27.04)
400m Dash
3rd - Olivia Ashba (59.17 – 4 pts)
4th - Makelle Skelton (59.53 – 3 pts)
5th - Gabby Sims (1:00.17)
6th - Ariel Hune (1:00.17*)
11th - Natalia Boykin (1:04.21*)
800m Run
2nd - Danielle Dahl (2:14.88 - 5 pts)
5th - Becca Kropf (2:23.56 - 2 pts)
8th - Jordan Jenkins (2:27.62*)
Mile Run
3rd - Ericka Rinehart (5:22.92* - 4 pts)
5th - Emma Manchess (5:34.40* - 2 pts)
6th - Courtney Edon (5:38.17)
3000m Run
1st - Caitlynn Edon (10:31.02 - 7 pts)
2nd - Jessica Bryzek (10:40.22* - 5 pts)
4th - Ericka Rinehart (11:02.57)
7th - Emma Manchess (11:11.15)
4x400m Relay
2nd - Makelle Skelton, Gabby Sims, Olivia Ashba, Rebecca Lomax (3:57.33 - 5 pts)
Weight Throw
1st - Marie Lumpkin (18.36m / 60-3* - 1 pts)
5th - Adrienne Mayfield (14.67m / 48-1.75* - 3 pts)
6th - Michaela Hull (14.53m / 47-8)
Shot Put
1st - Michaela Hull (13.25m / 43-5.75 – 7 pts)
3rd - Rebecca Lomax (13.10m / 42-11.75 – 3 pts)
Pole Vault
1st - Elizabeth Eversole (3.77m / 12-4.5* - 7 pts) - School Record
3rd - Hannah Ciasto-Poor (3.67m / 12-0.5 - 4 pts)
Long Jump
1st - Christina Crawford (6.08m / 19-11.5* - 7 pts)
2nd - Rebecca Lomax (5.69m / 18-8 - 5 pts)
3rd - Makelle Skelton (5.48m / 17-11.75)
Triple Jump
1st - Gabrielle Perryman (11.25m / 36-11* - 7 pts)
High Jump
1st - Rebecca Lomax (1.76m / 5-9.25* - 7 pts)
* denotes career-best performance
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