Track & Field Splits Again for Three Days of Action

PENN RELAYS LINKS: Live Results/Schedule of Events
HILLSDALE "GINA" RELAYS LINKS: Performance List (PDF) | Schedule of Events (PDF) | Live Results | Video

MUNCIE, Ind. -- It will be another spilt week for the Ball State track & field program which will send competitors to both the Penn Relays (April 26-28) and the Hillsdale "GINA" Relays (April 26-28).

The Cardinals open competition in both meets Thursday, starting at the Penn Relays with the 4x100m Relay (1:20 p.m.) followed by the 4x400m relay (6:25 p.m.). Ball State's Thursday events at the "GINA" Relays will be the 3,000m steeplechase (6 p.m.) and the 5,000m run (6:45 p.m.).

On Friday, the Cardinals kick off the day at the "GINA" Relays with action in the shots put (1 p.m.), which will be the first of nine events on the day at Hillsdale's Ken Herrick Track. Ball State's lone event at Penn's Franklin Field Friday will be the 100m hurdles.

Saturday will see Ball State open both meets at 10 a.m. with the high jump at the Penn Relays and the discus at the "GINA" Relays. The high jump will be BSU's final event at Penn, while the Cardinals will also compete in the javelin (following 10 a.m. men's competition) and the 1,500m run at Hillsdale College.

BALL STATE NEWS & NOTES:
• Ball State track & field broke a program record for the second consecutive week when the 4x100m relay clocked in at 45.28 at the War Eagle Challenge (April 21) hosted by Auburn. Junior Jazmin Smith, sophomore Bryeana Byrdsong, redshirt freshman Jasmine Harris and junior Peyton Stewart combined for the record-setting time, undercutting the previous program record of 45.42 which had stood since the 2001 season.

• One week earlier, sophomore Kelsey Walters set the program standard in the shot put at the Ball State Challenge (April 13) with a distance of 14.77m (48'-5.5") which is a MAC auto mark, ranks ninth in the MAC and is currently 59th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying list. In addition, freshman Jada Caldwell's mark of 13.55m (44'-5.5") was the fifth-best individual performance in program history and ranks 14th in the league.

• Since Brian Etelman took over the program for the 2015-16 campaign, Ball State's student-athletes have broken four program records; the indoor high jump (Regan Lewis, 1.81m in 2017), the indoor weight throw (Marie Lumpkin, 18.55m in 2015), the outdoor shot put (Kelsey Walters, 14.77m in 2018) and the 4x100m relay (Jazmin Smith, Bryeana Byrdsong, Jasmine Harris and Peyton Stewart, 45.28 in 2018).

• Sophomore Bryeana Byrdsong has locked up her spot in a pair of events at the 2018 MAC Outdoor Championships with automatic qualifying marks in both the 100m and the 200m. Her time of 23.79 in the 200m currently ranks second on the league performance list, while her 100m time of 11.69 is third. Both times were set at the Ball State Challenge (April 13).

• Sophomore Amber Jones also had a pair of strong races at the Ball State Challenge (April 13), and enters the week ranked eighth on the MAC performance list in both the 200m (24.32) and the 400m (55.71).

• Thanks to a strong showing at the Ball State Challenge (April 13), the Cardinals own five of the top 20 spots on the league performance list in the 200m. Joining Bryeana Byrdsong (2nd at 23.79) and Amber Jones (8th at 24.34) are junior Jazmin Smith (9th at 24.35), junior Payton Stewart (16th at 24.63) and freshman MaQuila Norman (20th at 24.73).

• Junior Peyton Stewart also earned a MAC auto mark in the 100m at the Ball State Challenge (April 13) and she enters the week ranked fifth on the league performance list at 11.75. The defending MAC Outdoor Champion in the 100m, Stewart was also an NCAA East Preliminary Championship qualifier in the event last season, earning the 53rd seed with her MAC Championships winning time of 11.55.

• In the 100m hurdles, redshirt freshman Jasmine Harris locked up her place at the MAC Outdoor Championships, turning in a MAC automatic qualifying time of 14.10 to win the event at the Ball State Challenge (April 13). A bronze medalist in the 60m hurdles at the 2017 MAC Indoor Championships, Harris missed a majority of the 2017 outdoor campaign due to injury.

• In the national spotlight, junior high jumper Regan Lewis continued to move up the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying list, with her season-best clearance of 1.79m (5'-10.5") set at the War Eagle Challenge (April 21) ranking first in the league and eighth on the East list. Last season, Lewis was the seventh seed in the high jump at the NCAA East Preliminary Championships after clearing 1.82m to win the MAC outdoor title.

• Freshman Hailley Peters is not far below in the high jump, entering the week ranked sixth in the MAC and 93rd on the East Outdoor Qualifying List with her career-best mark of 1.67m (5'-5.75") set at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (March 30).

• Entering its last scheduled week of competition before the MAC Outdoor Championships (May 10-12 at Buffalo), the Cardinals have 15 student-athletes in position to qualify for individual events at the league meet. Including the relays, which rank second (4x100m) and fifth (4x400m) on the league performance list, Ball State is currently projected to score 46 points at the MAC Outdoor Championships which would be its highest point total at the MAC Championships since the 2009 season (62.5) and would potentially give the program its first top 10 finish since the 2012 campaign.

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

Track & Field Splits Again for Three Days of Action

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Players Mentioned

Bryeana Byrdsong

Jada Caldwell

Jasmine Harris

Amber Jones

Regan Lewis

MaQuila Norman

Hailley Peters

Jazmin Smith

Peyton Stewart

Kelsey Walters