By The Numbers: Cross Country at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After spending a majority of the last three week training, the Ball State cross country program returns to racing Saturday (Oct. 5) when it competes in the 18th Annual Live in Lou Cross Country Classic.

The Cardinals are one of 40 teams set to compete in the 5K women's gold race scheduled for 10:15 a.m. at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Fans not able to travel to Louisville for the race can:

Watch live on FloTrack at: http://bit.ly/31MVOZ2
Follow live results at: http://www.rtspt.com/events/2019/lc/

Ball State fans can also find out a little more about some of their favorite runners every month courtesy of Ball State Sports Link. This month they caught up with Maddie Aul for a feature in Every Athlete Matters:

Below is a breakdown of what to expect Saturday by the numbers:
40 - - A total of 40 teams are schedule to compete in Saturday's 5K race, which will be the largest field the Cardinals will face this season … Joining Ball State from the Mid-American Conference are Bowling Green and Ohio.

14 - - After a stellar run at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 13), the Cardinals enter Saturday's Live in Lou Cross Country Classic ranked 14th in the Great Lakes Region in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll … Ball State has been ranked 14th in each of the past three polls.

22 - - When Ball State toes the line Saturday in Louisville, it will be 22 days since the team last competed … The last time out, Ball State placed third among 25 teams at the Spartan Invitational hosted by Michigan State on Sept. 13 … On that day, the Cardinals finished one spot ahead of Bowling Green (4th place) and four places in front of Western Michigan (7th place).

7 - - Saturday will mark the seventh time the Cardinals have competed in the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic … BSU's best team finish in the Gold Race came last season, when the squad placed 21st … Ball State's best individual time on the 5K E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park course is 18:12.5 set by Maritza Rodriguez also in last season's race … The time is still a 5K personal best for Rodriguez.

8 - - The Cardinals will be sending eight runners to Saturday's Gold Race in the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic: Maddie Aul, Karleigh Conner, Emma Cunningham, Meghan Hedrick, Peyton Kneadler, Maritza Rodriguez, Juliana Stogsdill and Vivian Van Eck.

22:09.7 - - Maritza Rodriguez turned in a career-fast 6K time of 22:09.7 to place 17th out of 291 runners and lead the Cardinals to a third-place team finish at the Spartan Invitational (Sept. 13) … It was Ball State's fastest 6K time since a then-senior MaryKate Mellen ran a 22:09.0 to place 93rd at the 2012 NCAA Great Lakes Regional hosted by Wisconsin at the Thomas Zimmer Championship course.

18:24.7 - - Freshman Vivian Van Eck led the Cardinals to the finish line at the IWU Twilight Classic (Sept. 6) with a career-fast 5K time of 18:24.7 … It's the fastest 5K time for a Ball State runner so far this season.

15 - - Ball State's runners have set 15 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) and six coming at the 6K Spartan Invitational (Sept. 13).

61 - - The expected weather for tomorrow's run is 61 degrees and sunny at race time. Winds will be light out of the east at six miles per hour.

By The Numbers: Cross Country at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maddie Aul

Karleigh Conner

Emma Cunningham

Meghan Hedrick

Peyton Kneadler

Maritza Rodriguez

Juliana Stogsdill

Vivian Van Eck

By The Numbers: Cross Country at the Live in Lou Cross Country Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maddie Aul

Karleigh Conner

Emma Cunningham

Meghan Hedrick

Peyton Kneadler

Maritza Rodriguez

Juliana Stogsdill

Vivian Van Eck

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