Track & Field Closes Regular Season Friday with Ball State Tune-Up

February 17, 2016 | Track & Field

By: Ball State Athletics

LIVE RESULTS | SCHEDULE OF EVENTS | HEAT SHEETS

MUNCIE, Ind. - - For its final competition before the 2016 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, the Ball State track & field team hosts the Ball State Tune-Up at 5 p.m. Friday in the Field Sports Building.

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

The Cardinals are the defending Ball State Tune-Up Champions, winning the meet by a 120 to 114 margin over Western Michigan last season. IPFW is making its second-straight appearance at the meet after finishing third last season with 45 points. Wright State will be competing in the event for the first time.

Ball State is coming off a solid showing at last weekend's Grand Valley State University Big Meet, in which freshman sprinter Peyton Stewart (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) won the 60m dash with a career-fast time of 7.58. The effort currently ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference and is only 0.15 off the top time in the league.

Overall, Ball State's student-athletes recorded 11 career-best performances and 10 top 10 finishes over the two days of competition at GVSU's Kelly Family Sports Center.

NEWS & NOTES:

- Senior thrower Marie Lumpkin enters the week ranked fifth in the Mid-American Conference with a career-best and school-record weight throw of 18.55m (60'-10.5”) at the Mastodon Opener (Dec. 5) … She was the first Ball State student-athlete to earn a Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship automatic qualifying mark this season and her effort currently ranks 81st on the NCAA Division I performance list.

- Freshman sprinter Peyton Stewart became the second Ball State student-athlete to earn a MAC Indoor Championship automatic qualifying mark when she crossed the finish line of the 60m dash in 7.61 at the Bowling Green Opener (Jan. 9) … Stewart ran a career-fast time of 7.58 in the finals of the 60m at the GVSU Big Meet last Saturday (Feb. 13), which is the fastest time for a Ball State sprinter since Amber Williams won the 60m dash at the 2009 MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 7.44 … Her effort currently ranks sixth on the MAC's indoor performance list.

- Ball State's 4x400m relay of freshman Amber McGee (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop), junior Olivia Ashba (Ellettsville, Ind./Edgewood), senior Danielle Dahl (Chelsea, Mich./Chelsea) and sophomore Gabby Sims (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) enter the weekend with the seventh-best time in the MAC this season at 3:48.89 set at the Meyo Invitational (Feb. 6) … McGee led off the relay in 57.2, followed by Ashba (57.1), Dahl (58.3) and Sims (55.9) … Their time of 3:48.89 is the fastest for a Ball State indoor 4x400m relay since an effort of 3:42.81 at the Iowa State Classic Feb. 11, 2006.

- Through the first six meets of the 2015-16 indoor season, Ball State's student-athletes have collected 10 individual victories, one relay win and 45 career-best performances.

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.

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