Cross Country Runs Strong at Joe Piane Invitational

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - - Seven of Ball State cross country's nine runners turned in career-best times Friday afternoon to help the team place 17th out of 28 teams in the Women's 5K Gold Race at the prestigious Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.

Freshman Emily Tromp (Hibbing, Minn./Hibbing) led the Cardinals to the finish line for the second consecutive meet placing 68th among scored runners with a career-fast time of 18:17.0. The effort was the fastest 5K for the Cardinals since Oct. 3, 2014 when then-senior Courtney Edon clocked in at 18:02.0 at the Notre Dame Invitational.

Junior Jessica Bryzek (Brownsburg, Ind./Indiana Academy) was Ball State's second-best runner Friday, placing 83rd among scored runners with a career-fast effort of 18:24.8. The time was over a minute faster than Bryzek's previous career-best mark of 19:30.60 set at the 2014 Notre Dame Invitational.

Ball State's final three scored runners also turned in career-best performance and finished within 1.1 seconds of each other to help the Cardinals post a combined time of 1:32.53 and a team score of 433 which edged out Mid-American Conference rival Western Michigan who placed 18th at 464.

Redshirt freshman Stephanie McElhaney (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) led the group and placed 92nd with a time of 18:30.4. Freshman Brooke Talhelm (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) was next in 94th (18:30.9), while redshirt junior Jordan Timmons (Bargersville, Ind./Center Grove) rounded out Ball State's scored runners in 96th (18:31.5).

The Ball State cross country team will have one more tune-up before the 2016 MAC Championships, when it travels to Peoria, Ill., for the Bradley Pink Classic on Oct. 14.

For the most up-to-date news on Ball State cross country, follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateTFXC and @CoachE_BSU.

Ball State Times at Joe Piane Invitational

69th / 68th	Emily Tromp	18:17.0*
85th / 83rd	Jessica Bryzek	18:24.8*
94th / 92nd	Stephanie McElhaney	18:30.4*
96th / 94th	Brooke Talhelm	18:30.9*
98th / 96th	Jordan Timmons	18:31.5*
121st / 119th	Hannah Cummings	18:49.2*
132nd / 126th	Lauren Whitehouse	18:56.5
154th	Maritza Rodriguez	19:06.6
157th	Ericka Rinehart	19:09.6*
* Denotes Career-Best 5K Time

- BallStateSports.com -

Cross Country Runs Strong at Joe Piane Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Jessica Bryzek

Hannah Cummings

Stephanie McElhaney

Ericka Rinehart

Maritza Rodriguez

Brooke Talhelm

Jordan Timmons

Emily Tromp

Lauren Whitehouse