Track & Field Heads to Kalamazoo For MAC Outdoor Championships

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MUNCIE, Ind. - - It's championship week for the Ball State track & field team which will send 18 individuals and a pair of relays to Kalamazoo, Mich., for the 2017 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships which run May 11-13 at Western Michigan's Kanley Track & Field Complex.

The Cardinals officially begin the meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, with freshman Maritza Rodriguez and redshirt freshman Stephanie McElhaney set to run in the meet's longest event, the 10,000m run.

Friday will hold the bulk of the preliminary action for Ball State, who will be battling for spots in Saturday finals in seven events. In addition, finals for the shot put (Kelsey Walters) and 3000m Steeplechase (Ericka Rinehart) are also scheduled for Friday.

The Cardinals enter Friday's prelims poised to score big in the 100m dash, which has sophomore Peyton Stewart entering the 1:30 p.m. race as the second seed with a career-fast time of 11.69. Freshman Bryeana Byrdsong and junior Anna-Kay West are also set to compete in the 100m dash, entering as the seventh (11.94) and 12th (12.00) seeds, respectively.

Byrdsong also enters the day as the sixth seed in Friday's 4:25 p.m. 400m dash with a time of 24.55. Earlier in the day, 2017 MAC Indoor 60m Hurdles champion sophomore Jazmin Smith will look to sweep the short hurdles as she enters the 1:30 p.m. 100m hurdles race as the 11th seed with a time of 14.16. Overall, 14 different Ball State student-athletes are slated to compete on Friday.

Saturday's action is set to begin at noon with sophomore Adrienne Mayfield set to enter the discus ring.

The Cardinals also have sophomore Regan Lewis entered as the third seed (1.76m) in the high jump Saturday at 1:30 p.m. At last season's MAC Outdoor Championships, Lewis battled through poor weather conditions to turn in a bronze medal finish by clearing the bar at 1.66m on her first attempt.

With the effort, Lewis became the first medalist for the Cardinals at the MAC Outdoor Championships since Thekla Lorenz won the heptathlon in 2012. Lewis also placed second in the high jump at the 2017 MAC Indoor Championships by clearing the bar at a program-record height of 1.81m.

Ball State will also run in the 4x100m and 4x400m relays on Saturday, as well as any finals heats its student-athletes advance to from Saturday.

In the fifth season of automatic qualifying standards, each event is capped at 20 participants. If 20 student-athletes did not earn automatic marks in an event, entrants are selected going down the conference's performance list. The top eight performers from each event will be scored based on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale, with 10 points going to the event winner.

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

Ball State's Entries in Thursday's Events at the MAC Outdoor Championships
10000m Run (Thursday, 7:30 p.m.)
12th - Maritza Rodriguez - NT
18th - Stephanie McElhaney - NT

Ball State's Entries in Friday's Events at the MAC Outdoor Championships
1500m Run (Friday, 12:50 p.m.)
12th - Brooke Talhelm - 4:35.09
20th - Peyton Kneadler - 4:42.56

100m Hurdles (Friday, 1:30 p.m.)
11th - Jazmin Smith - 14.16
15th - Anna-Kay West - 14.39

400m Dash (Friday, 2 p.m.)
20th - Gabby Sims - 57.30

100m Dash (Friday, 2:35 p.m.)
2nd - Peyton Stewart - 11.69
7th - Bryeana Byrdsong - 11.94
12th - Anna-Kay West - 12.00

Shot Put (Friday, 3 p.m.)
13th - Kelsey Walters - 13.69m

800m Run (Friday, 3:10 p.m.)
15th - Emily Tromp - 2:14.30
16th - Danielle Dahl - 2:14.32
20th - Peyton Kneadler - 2:15.53

400m Hurdles (Friday, 3:50 p.m.)
11th - Kassidy Swenson - 1:01.81
16th - Olivia Ashba - 1:02.77

200m Dash (Friday, 4:25 p.m.)
6th Bryeana Byrdsong - 24.55
20th - Amber Jones - 25.18

3000m Steeplechase (Friday, 5:05 p.m.)
20th - Ericka Rinehart - 11:31.59

Ball State's Entries in Saturday's Events at the MAC Outdoor Championships
Discus (Saturday, Noon)
19th - Adrienne Mayfield - 42.50m

4x100m Relay (Saturday, 1:10 p.m.)
6th - Peyton Stewart, Bryeana Byrdsong, Amber Jones, Anna-Kay West - 46.47

High Jump (Saturday, 1:30 p.m.)
4th - Regan Lewis - 1.76m

4x400m Relay (Saturday, 5 p.m.)
10th - Olivia Ashba, Amber Jones, Bryeana Byrdsong, Danielle Dahl - 3:49.00

- BallStateSports.com –

Track & Field Heads to Kalamazoo For MAC Outdoor Championships

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Players Mentioned

Olivia Ashba

Bryeana Byrdsong

Danielle Dahl

Amber Jones

Peyton Kneadler

Regan Lewis

Adrienne Mayfield

Stephanie McElhaney

Ericka Rinehart

Maritza Rodriguez

Gabby Sims

Jazmin Smith

Peyton Stewart

Kassidy Swenson

Brooke Talhelm

Emily Tromp

Kelsey Walters

Anna-Kay West