Maritza Rodriguez Leads Cross Country at Illinois State Invite

NORMAL, Ill. - - Sophomore Maritza Rodriguez shaved nearly 15 seconds off her previous career-best time to lead the Ball State cross country team at Friday's Illinois State University Country Financial Invitational ran at the Weibring Golf Club in Normal, Illinois.

Ma. Rodriguez crossed the finish line in 18:29.2 to place 22nd among scored runners in the 90-competitor field. The effort was nearly 15 seconds faster than her previous career-best performance of 18:44.10 set at last season's Cardinal Duals.

Last weekend's top three finishers at the Butler Twilight were next to cross the finish line for the Cardinals, with sophomore Hannah Cummings placing 29th (18:40.4) and freshman Cayla Eckenroth earning 30th (18:43.5) among scored runners in the field.

Rounding out Ball State's top five finishers Friday evening were sophomore Brooke Talhelm in 34th (18:43.5) and redshirt sophomore Stephanie McElhaney in 44th (19:09.3) among scored runners.

Overall, Ball State's five scored runners combined for an average time of 18:48 and finished with 159 points to place sixth among the nine team field.

Toledo won the event with 19 points, while Northern Illinois was second at 74. Rounding out the top five were Loyola (87), Illinois State (87) and Wisconsin (148). Ball State finished ahead of UIC (7th / 205), Western Illinois (8th / 213) and SIUE (9th / 218).

The Ball State cross country team will go for its third consecutive Friday run when it competes in next week's Indiana Intercollegiate hosted by Purdue at the Purdue University Cross Country Course in West Lafayette, Indiana. The women's 6K championship race is currently set for a 3:30 p.m. start.

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

Ball State's Individual Results at the Illinois State Invite

Place (Scored)	Runner	Time (5K)
23rd (22nd)	Maritza Rodriguez	18:29.2*
32nd (29th)	Hannah Cummings	18:40.4
33rd (30th)	Cayla Eckenroth	18:43.5
39th (34th)	Brooke Talhelm	18:53.2
51st (44th)	Stephanie McElhaney	19:09.3
56th (48th)	Emmalyne Tarsa	19:14.9*
60th (51st)	Jessica Bryzek	19:19.1
64th (DNS)	Jordan Timmons	19:31.3
65th (DNS)	Kitty Taylor	19:31.9
69th (DNS)	Meliza Rodriguez	19:47.2
77th (DNS)	Peyton Kneadler	20:15.2
85th (DNS)	Kaylor Hoover	20:53.3*
89th (DNS)	Emma Maddelein	21:19.9

* denotes career-best 5K time

- BallStateSports.com -

Maritza Rodriguez Leads Cross Country at Illinois State Invite

Players Mentioned

Jessica Bryzek

Hannah Cummings

Cayla Eckenroth

Kaylor Hoover

Peyton Kneadler

Emma Maddelein

Stephanie McElhaney

Maritza Rodriguez

Meliza Rodriguez

Brooke Talhelm

Emmalyne Tarsa

Kitty Taylor

Jordan Timmons