Ball State University Athletics
Track & Field Returns To Action Saturday at Bowling Green Opener
January 06, 2016 | Track & Field
MUNCIE, Ind. - - While it's been a little over a month season the Ball State indoor track & field team made its debut under head coach Brian Etelman, the program will look to build upon a positive showing from its first outing when it returns to action Saturday at the Bowling Green Opener.
Competition in Saturday's meet held in BGSU's Perry Field House is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. with field events, while track events are slated to start at 1 p.m.
“We are looking forward to competing at Bowling Green this weekend as we return from winter break and knock off the rust,” Etelman said. “The goals remain the same and are simple: Keep getting better every meet and building competitive momentum as we get closer and closer to the MAC Championship in February. We opened well in December, and are excited to continue our progress as we officially kick off the bulk of our indoor season.”
Highlighting Ball State's performance at the Mastodon Opener (Dec. 5) was senior thrower Marie Lumpkin (Losantville, Ind./Union). Lumpkin was named the Mid-American Conference Women's Field Athlete of the Week after posting a school-record mark of 18.55m (60'-10”) to win the weight throw. An elementary education major with a 3.687 grade-point average, Lumpkin's effort currently leads the MAC and ranks 15th on the NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Performance List.
Lumpkin set the tone early in her senior season with her school record toss which was .07m further than the previous mark 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 (60'-3”) set at last season's Ball State Open (Feb. 20, 2015).
But Lumpkin's record was not the only standout performance from opening weekend, as freshman sprinter Peyton Stewart (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) won in the 60m dash with a time of 7.65. The effort currently ranks second in the MAC and was just two seconds shy of the MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying mark. It was also Ball State's fastest time in the 60m dash since the 2009 season.
Two other freshman started out their Ball State careers with individual victories as well, with Amber McGee (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) winning the 300m dash (41.01) and Jazmin Smith (Cincinnati, Ohio/North College Hill) capturing the 60m hurdles (8.92) title. McGee would later team up with senior Danielle Dahl (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea), 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.
Freshman Regan Lewis (Greenfield, Ind./Greenfield-Central) also turned in a solid performance in the high jump in her collegiate debut, placing second overall by successfully clearing 1.68m (5'-6”). The effort was .01m shy of the MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying mark of 1.69m (5'-6.5”).
Overall, the Cardinals opened the 2015-16 season with eight event victories, 15 career-best performances and five team wins at the Mastodon Opener. Ball State scored team wins over IPFW (85-49), Butler (90-28), Miami (77-50), Oakland (85-59) and Xavier (82-37) at the six-team meet.
Visit BallStateSports.com Saturday for complete results from the Bowling Green Opener. In addition, fans can get the most up-to-date news on Ball State track & field by following the team on Twitter: @BallStateSports, @BallStateTFXC and @CoachE_BSU.
- BallStateSports.com -
