Track & Field Earns Three More MAC Auto Marks Saturday

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Ball State track & field team continued to show its strength in the sprints and hurdles Saturday, earning three more Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying marks on the second and final day of the Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational.

"Our sprint/hurdle group knows they have a job to do," head coach Brian Etelman said. "They love to compete and they love to represent our program at a high level. They did a great job of that this weekend."

Leading the way Saturday at the Vanderbilt Track & Field Complex was senior Jazmin Smith who earned her second MAC Outdoor Championship automatic qualifying mark on the weekend by placing second in the 100m hurdles with a career-fast time of 13.65.

Not only was the time over a third-of-a-second faster than the MAC auto mark of 13.99, it also tied as the third-best individual performance in program history. On Friday, Smith also locked her spot into the MAC Outdoor Championships in the 200m with a time of 24.17.

The Cardinals also had a pair of league automatic qualifiers in the 100m dash Saturday, starting with junior Bryeana Byrdsong who crossed the line in fourth place at 11.79. It was also her second MAC auto mark of the weekend, as she clocked in at 23.88 in the 200m Friday.

Senior Peyton Stewart also guaranteed her spot at the league outdoor championships in the 100m, placing seventh overall in 11.87.

In addition to the strong individual performances, Stewart, Byrdsong and Smith combined with redshirt freshman Michelle Lehmann to turn in a near record-setting performance in the 4x100.

The four sprinters combined to place third overall with a time of 45.30, which is just shy of the program record of 45.28 set last season.

"The 4x1 ran really well today," Etelman said. "We haven't had the time to really prepare for the race appropriately with it being as early as it is. We will run faster and there is a lot of room for growth as the season moves on."

Overall, the Cardinals finished the two-day meet with five MAC Outdoor Championship automatic qualifying marks, 17 top 10 finishes and 20 career-best performances.

"If you go through all of our event areas this weekend, you'll find a limitless amount of personal bests, seasons bests and best March marks ever," Etelman concluded. "We handled the challenge of taking advantage of a great opportunity this weekend and look to build on that as April nears."

Select members of the Ball State track & field program will return to action next weekend at the two-day Raleigh Relays. Action in the meet begins Friday at 9:55 a.m. with the first section of the women's 5000m.

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

Ball State Individual Results on Day 2 of Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational

4x100m Relay
School Record: 45.28 by Jazmin Smith, Bryeana Byrdsong, Jasmine Harris, Peyton Stewart in 2018
3rd - Peyton Stewart, Bryeana Byrdsong, Jazmin Smith, Michelle Lehmann - 45.30

2000m Steeple
6th - Emmalyne Tarsa - 7:11.46*

100m Hurdles
MAC Qualifying Standard: 13.99 / Program Record: 13.18 by Amber Williams in 2007
2nd - Jazmin Smith - 13.65* - MAC Auto
T-6th - Jasmine Harris - 14.31
T-6th - Anasja Troutman - 14.31*

400m Dash
MAC Qualifying Standard: 55.33 / Program Record: 53.68 by Yvonne Ferguson in 2006
5th - MaQuila Norman - 56.16*
14th - Dejah Johnson - 57.78
27th - Wambui Watene - 1:00.25*

100m Dash
MAC Qualifying Standard: 11.87 / Program Record: 11.08 by LaTasha Jenkins in 1999
4th - Bryeana Byrdsong - 11.79 - MAC Auto
7th - Peyton Stewart - 11.87 - MAC Auto
12th - Michelle Lehmann - 12.13*
16th - Ivy McKee - 12.27*

800m Run
MAC Qualifying Standard: 2:11.09 / Program Record: 2:06.40 by Angie Stewart in 1997
40th - Madison Kiser - 2:23.18*
44th - Meghan Hedrick - 2:24.25*

400m Hurdles
MAC Qualifying Standard: 1:01.77 / Program Record: 57.82 by Linise Gordon in 2000
10th - Karlie Zumbro - 1:05.29*
13th - Anasja Troutman - 1:06.14*

3000m Run
10th - Maritza Rodriguez - 9:50.24*
35th - Meliza Rodriguez - 10:35.84*
42nd - Emma Cunningham - 10:48.08*

4x400m Relay
School Record: 3:38.05 by Jada Phelps, Angka Morris, Patricia Soman and Linise Gordon in 2001
3rd - Dejah Johnson, Karlie Zumbro, Bryeana Byrdsong, MaQuila Norman - 3:50.88

Javelin
MAC Qualifying Standard: 41.21m/135-02.5 / Program Record: 42.78m/140-04.5 by Kim Woodhouse in 1982
10th - Abby Denham - 36.06m

High Jump
MAC Qualifying Standard: 1.69m/5-6.5 / Program Record: 1.84m/6-05 by Bonita Harrington in 1984
T-10th - Hailley Peters - 1.61m

Long Jump
MAC Qualifying Standard: 5.92m/19-5.25 / Program Record: 6.60m/21-08 by Patricia Soman in 2003
Foul - Michelle Lehmann

Discus
MAC Qualifying Standard: 47.93m/157-3 / Program Record: 47.82m/156-11 by Christy Richart in 1995
Foul - Princess Carter

Ball State Individual Results on Day 1 of Vanderbilt Black & Gold Invitational

Hammer
MAC Qualifying Standard: 54.80m/ 179-9.5 / Program Record: 56.33m/184-10 by Sarah Martin in 2001
17th - Megan Graves - 42.49m

Shot Put
MAC Qualifying Standard: 14.84m/48-08.25 / Program Record: 14.77m/48-05.5 by Kelsey Walters in 2018
9th - Kelsey Walters - 13.18m

200m Dash
MAC Qualifying Standard: 24.25 / Program Record: 22.29 by LaTasha Jenkins in 1999
5th - Bryeana Byrdsong - 23.88 - MAC Auto
6th - Jazmin Smith - 24.17* - MAC Auto
12th - MaQuila Norman - 24.60*
20th - Ivy McKee - 24.85*
31st - Michelle Lehmann - 25.23*
42nd - Dejah Johnson - 25.84

1500m Run
MAC Qualifying Standard: 4:29.34 / Program Record: 4:25.67 by Katie Nowak in 2002
28th - Karleigh Conner - 4:38.10*

5000m Run
MAC Qualifying Standard: 16:46.02 / Program Record: 16:15.29 by Katie Nowak in 2003
4th - Cayla Eckenroth - 17:44.41*

* = career-best performance

Track & Field Earns Three More MAC Auto Marks Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Bryeana Byrdsong

Princess Carter

Karleigh Conner

Emma Cunningham

Abby Denham

Cayla Eckenroth

Megan Graves

Jasmine Harris

Meghan Hedrick

Dejah Johnson

Madison Kiser

Michelle Lehmann

Ivy McKee

MaQuila Norman

Hailley Peters

Maritza Rodriguez

Meliza Rodriguez

Jazmin Smith

Peyton Stewart

Emmalyne Tarsa

Anasja Troutman

Kelsey Walters

Wambui Watene

Karlie Zumbro