By The Numbers: Cross Country at MAC Championships Saturday

MUNCIE, Ind. - - So far, 2019 has been a breakout season for the Ball State cross country program.

The Cardinals look to continue that trend Saturday, when it travels to DeKalb, Illinois, for the biggest race of the year; the 2019 Mid-American Conference Championships.

The women's 6K race, which features all 12 league programs, gets underway at 1 p.m. ET / Noon CT at the NIU North 40 Championship Cross Country Course.

Fans unable to attend Saturday's meet can follow the action with live results at the following link: https://results.flotrack.org/XC-PTT.html?mid=1852

Below is a breakdown of what to expect Saturday by the numbers:
12 -- All 12 league programs will battle out for the title of MAC Champion Saturday afternoon in DeKalb … Joining the Cardinals will be Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.

6 -- Six of the 12 MAC programs enter the meet ranked in their respective regions in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll released Oct. 21 … Leading the way in the Great Lakes Region is Toledo (9th), followed by Akron (11th), Eastern Michigan (12th), Ball State (13th) and Central Michigan (14th) … Northern Illinois enters the meet ranked 10th in the Midwest Region.

13 -- As stated above, the Cardinals enter Saturday's meet ranked 13th in the Great Lakes Region in the latest USTFCCCA poll … Ball State entered the rankings at No. 14 on Sept. 16, and maintained the spot in both the Sept. 23 and Sept. 30 polls … After briefly falling to 15th in the Oct. 7 poll, the Cardinals jump up two spots to 13th after winning the Cardinal Classic (Oct. 18).

9 -- The Cardinals will send a full contingent on nine runners to the MAC Championships; Karleigh Conner, Hannah Cummings, Emma Cunningham, Cayla Eckenroth, Meghan Hedrick, Peyton Kneadler, Maritza Rodriguez, Juliana Stogsdill and Vivian Van Eck.

10 -- Ball State has its sights set on a big finish at this weekend's MAC Championships … Since 2008, the Cardinals have only finished in the top 10 at the league's premier meet on four occasions; 8th in 2011 and 10th in 2010, 2012 and 2016 … Ball State's best individual finisher in the span was a fourth-place effort from Ali Bishel at the 2009 league championship race hosted by Ohio.

15 -- The last time out, Ball State scored a perfect 15 points on its way to running away with the Cardinal Classic (Oct. 18) title … Junior Cayla Eckenroth led BSU to the finish line and picked up her first collegiate race victory.

21:36.2 -- Junior Cayla Eckenroth crossed the finish line in a career-fast 21:36.2 at the Cardinals Classic (Oct. 18), shaving nearly a minute off her previous collegiate-best 6K time of 22:35.3 … It was Ball State's fastest run at the distance since a 21:04.07 clocked by Bishel on Nov. 23, 2009 at the NCAA Championships.

22:00.0 -- Entering the Cardinal Classic (Oct. 18), Ball State had not had a cross country runner break the 22-minute barrier in a 6K race since Ali Bishel clocked in at 21:47.59 on Nov. 14, 2010 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional … In just the third 6K race held at the Muncie Elks Country Club, three Ball State runners took advantage of the great weather and speedy course to undercut the mark; junior Cayla Eckenroth (21:36.2), freshman Vivian Van Eck (21:44.0) and senior Maritza Rodriguez (21:50.2).

17:33.0 -- Senior Maritza Rodriguez owns Ball State's fastest 5K time this season, clocking in at a career-fast 17:33.0 to place 16th at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic (Oct. 5) … It was the fastest 5K time for a Ball State cross country runner since Ali Bishel won the Women's Big State Race at the Indiana Intercollegiate with a time of 17:28.28 on Sept. 18, 2009.

29 -- Ball State's runners have set 29 career-best marks so far this season, with five coming at the season-opening 5K Butler Twilight (Aug. 30), four coming at the 5K IWU Twilight Classic (Sept. 6), six coming at the 6K Spartan Invitational (Sept. 13), six coming at the 5K Live in Lou Cross Country Classic (Oct. 5) and eight coming at the 6K Cardinal Classic (Oct. 18).

33 -- The expected weather in DeKalb for the 2019 MAC Championships is 33 degrees and partly cloudy at race time. Winds are expected to be brisk, coming out of the west at 14 miles per hour.

By The Numbers: Cross Country at MAC Championships Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Karleigh Conner

Hannah Cummings

Emma Cunningham

Cayla Eckenroth

Meghan Hedrick

Peyton Kneadler

Maritza Rodriguez

Juliana Stogsdill

Vivian Van Eck