Track & Field Heads to BGSU for MAC Indoor Championships

LINKS: MAC Championship Central | Live Video (Free) | Live Results | Schedule of Events | Tickets

MUNCIE, Ind. - It's championship week for the Ball State track & field program which travels to Bowling Green, Ohio, for the 2018 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships held Friday and Saturday at BGSU's Perry Field House.

The two-day event, which features athletes from all 12 MAC women's teams and all five MAC men's programs, begins at 10 a.m. Friday with the men's heptathlon. The first women's event will be the pentathlon starting at 10:30 a.m.

Field events for the women start at 12:15 p.m. Friday with the long jump, while women's action on the track begins at 2:45 p.m. with the 60m hurdles prelims. The top eight performers from each event score based on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

In the sixth season of automatic qualifying standards, the Cardinals will send 18 student-athletes to Bowling Green, with 12 competing in individual events and six entered in just relays. Under the current format, events are 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.

Ball State's top-ranked student-athlete entering the meet is junior Regan Lewis who tops the MAC performance list in the high jump after successfully clearing 1.76m at the Music City Challenge (Feb. 9). The runner-up in the high jump at the MAC indoor meet last season, Lewis will be making her third appearance in the event as she also finished 10th as a freshman.

Next on the performance list is the defending MAC Indoor 60m Hurdles Champion, junior Jazmin Smith. Smith enters her title defense ranked second on the MAC performance list at 8.40, which is a career-best effort and the second-best individual performance in program history. This will also be Smith's third appearance at the MAC indoor meet, after she placed 11th in the 60m hurdles as a freshman.

Junior Peyton Stewart enters as the fourth seed in the 60m dash with a season-fast time of 7.53, which is .01 off her career-best clocking. Stewart, who will also be making her third appearance at the MAC indoor meet, finished fourth in the event as a freshman and ninth as a sophomore.

Sophomore Bryeana Byrdsong will be the busiest Ball State student-athlete at the meet, as she is competing in both the 60m dash and 200m dash as an individual, while also running the second leg of the 4x400m relay. Byrdsong scored in all three events as a freshman, placing fourth in the 200m dash, seventh in the 60m dash and eighth in the 4x400m relay. She enters the meet ranked ninth in the 60m dash (7.67) and 10th in the 200m dash (24.73).

Another sophomore who will have a busy weekend is distance runner Maritza Rodriguez. In her first trip to the MAC Indoor Championships, Rodriguez enters as the 10th seed in Friday's 5,000m run (17:28.12) and as the 19th seed in Saturday's 3000m run (10:05.85).

The Cardinals have one more sophomore competing in a pair of events over the weekend in sprinter Amber Jones. Jones earned the 19th seed in the 400m dash (57.36) and will anchor the 4x400m relay. As a freshman, Jones placed 20th in the 200m dash and also ran on the eighth-place 4x400m relay.

Also competing in track events for the Cardinals are sophomore Jasmine Harris in the 200m dash (17th / 25.09) and senior Anna-Kay West in the 60m hurdles (19th / 8.93). As a freshman, Harris placed third in the 60m hurdles, ninth in the 200m dash and 12th in the 60m dash at the MAC indoor meet. West will be competing for the fourth time in the 60m hurdles, with her best finish being a 16th-place effort last season. She also competed in the 60m dash as a sophomore, placing 18th.

In the field events, freshman Hailley Peters will give the Cardinals a pair of entries in the high jump, joining Lewis as the 11th seed after clearing 1.65m at the IWU Invitational (Jan. 20).

Senior Adrienne Mayfield enters the MAC Indoor Championships on a high note, earning the 13th seed in the weight throw after a career-best toss of 17.18m at last weekend's Ball State Tune-Up (Feb. 16). The effort was also the fourth-best individual mark in program history. Mayfield will be making her second consecutive appearance at the MAC Indoor Championships, as she placed 17th in the weight throw last season.

The Cardinals will also have a pair of first-time MAC Indoor Championship participants in the shot put. Sophomore Kelsey Walters enters as the 11th seed at 14.13m, while freshman Jada Caldwell is the 15th seed at 13.61m. Both marks are career-best efforts.

Rounding out Ball State's MAC participants in the 4x400m relay will be freshman Dejah Johnson and MaQuila Norman. The Cardinals' distance medley relay will feature sophomores Hannah Cummings, Peyton Kneadler and Brooke Talhelm, as well as freshman Kaylor Hoover.

For more information on the 2018 MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships (including a complete event schedule, live video, live results and final results), visit MAC Championship Central at http://getsomemaction.com/tournaments/index.aspx?id=86&path=track.

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

Ball State's Friday Event Schedule

60m Hurdles Prelims - Friday at 2:45 p.m.
2nd - Jazmin Smith - 8.40
19th - Anna-Kay West - 8.93

400m Dash Prelims - Friday at 3:15 p.m.
19th - Amber Jones - 57.36

60m Dash Prelims - Friday at 3:45 p.m.
4th - Peyton Stewart - 7.53
9th - Bryeana Byrdsong - 7.67

Weight Throw Finals - Friday at 4:30 p.m.
13th - Adrienne Mayfield - 17.18m

200m Dash Prelims - Friday at 4:50 p.m.
10th - Bryeana Byrdsong - 24.73
17th - Jasmine Harris - 25.09

5000m Run Finals - Friday at 5:30 p.m.
10th - Maritza Rodriguez - 17:28.12

Distance Medley Relay - Friday at 6:15 p.m.
7th - Hannah Cummings, Peyton Kneadler, Brooke Talhelm, Kaylor Hoover - NT

Ball State's Saturday Event Schedule

Shot Put Finals - Saturday at 11 a.m.
11th - Kelsey Walters - 14.13m
15th - Jada Caldwell - 13.61m

High Jump Finals - Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
1st - Regan Lewis - 1.76m
11th - Hailley Peters - 1.65m

3000m Run Finals - Saturday at 4:10 p.m.
19th - Maritza Rodriguez - 10:05.85

4x400m Relay Finals - Saturday at 4:40 p.m.
5th - Dejah Johnson, Bryeana Byrdsong, MaQuila Norman, Amber Jones - 3:47.19

Track & Field Heads to BGSU for MAC Indoor Championships

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bryeana Byrdsong

Jada Caldwell

Hannah Cummings

Jasmine Harris

Kaylor Hoover

Dejah Johnson

Amber Jones

Peyton Kneadler

Regan Lewis

Adrienne Mayfield

MaQuila Norman

Hailley Peters

Maritza Rodriguez

Jazmin Smith

Peyton Stewart

Brooke Talhelm

Kelsey Walters

Anna-Kay West