Track & Field Heads To Bloomington For Weekend Action

Friday, January 24

Bloomington, IN

TBA

Ball State University

Gladstein Invitational

Photo by: Ball State University Creative Services

Track & Field Heads To Bloomington For Weekend Action

January 23, 2020 | Track & Field

MUNCIE, Ind. - - After spending last week focusing on training, the Ball State indoor track & field team returns to action Friday, when it opens competition in the two-day Gladstein Invitational hosted by Indiana at Gladstein Fieldhouse.

It will be the third meet of the indoor season for the Cardinals, who enter the week holding 16 spots inside the top 10 on the Mid-American Conference Indoor performance list.

Friday's action for Ball State gets underway at 3:30 p.m. with competition in the weight throw. Overall, the Cardinals will compete in seven events on the opening day of the competition, capped off with the 5,000m run at 8:10 p.m.

Saturday's session will be a quick one, with the program set to compete in eight events in a little over two hours. The high jump will kick off the day at 10:45 a.m., while it will conclude with the 4x400m relay at 12:55 p.m.

MEET SCHEDULE

MEET INFORMATION

LIVE RESULTS

The Gladstein Invitational is the second of five meets for the Cardinals in 2020, leading up to the MAC Indoor Championships hosted by Akron (Feb. 28-29).

Teams expected to join the Cardinals and host Hoosiers this weekend include; Bethel, Butler, Dayton, Grand Valley State, Hanover, Huntington, Lipscomb, Miami (Ohio), Northwood (Mich.), Southern Indiana, St. Norbert College and Taylor

Ball State Entries in the Gladstein Invitational (career-best performance)
Friday, January 24^th
Weight Throw (3:30 p.m.) - Megan Graves (17.43m / 57'-2.25"), Kelsey Walters (16.25m / 53'-3.75"), Jada Caldwell (14.94m / 49'-00.25")
3000m Run (4:20 p.m.) - Vivian Van Eck (10:13.93), Hannah Cummings (11:06.51)
60m Hurdles (5:30 p.m.) - Anasja Troutman (8.73), Kennedy Batts (8.88), Karlie Zumbro (9.15)
60m Dash (5:50 p.m.) - Bryeana Byrdsong (7.53), Michelle Lehmann (7.68), Ivy McKee (7.73)
400m Dash (6:05 p.m.) - Amber Jones (56.58), Dejah Johnson (57.48), MaQuila Norman (57.67)
Mile Run (7:45 p.m.) - Peyton Kneadler (5:03.72), Juliana Stogsdill (5:09.86), Grace Dean (5:23.03)
5000m Run (8:10 p.m.) - Maritza Rodriguez (17:10.45), Cayla Eckenroth (18:18.38)

Saturday January 25^th
High Jump (10:45 a.m.) - Charity Griffith (1.58m / 5'-2.25")
200m Dash (11 a.m.) - Ivy McKee (25.22), Amber Jones (25.27), MaQuila Norman (25.41)
Shot Put (11 a.m.) - Kelsey Walters (14.37m / 47'-1.75"), Jada Caldwell (13.61m / 44'-8.00")
Long Jump (11:45 a.m.) - Michelle Lehmann (5.62m / 18'-5.25")
800m Run (11:55 a.m.) - Madison Kiser (2:19.18)
600m Dash (12:10 p.m.) - Karlie Zumbro (1:35.97)
4x800m Relay (12:25 p.m.) - Peyton Kneadler, Vivian Van Eck, Juliana Stogsdill, Grace Dean
4x400m Relay (12:55 p.m.) - Dejah Johnson, Amber Jones, Madison Kiser, MaQuila Norman

CARDINALS IN THE MAC RANKINGS:
With two meet already under their belts this season, Ball State's student-athletes enter the Gladstein Invitational with 16 performances currently ranked in the top 10 on the MAC performance list. Leading the way is sophomore Karlie Zumbro's converted score of 3089 in the pentathlon which is tops in the conference.

Below is a complete list of Ball State track and field student-athletes ranked among the top 10 in the MAC. Times listed with a "c" are converted for track size.

60m - 3. Bryeana Byrdsong (7.58), 6. Michelle Lehmann (7.68), 10. MaQuila Norman (7.71)
400m - 8. Dejah Johnson (56.73c), 9. Amber Jones (57.06c)
800m - 8. Madison Kiser (2:17.60c)
Mile - 7. Peyton Kneadler (5:04.00c)
3000m - 8. Maritza Rodriguez (9:59.77c)
60m Hurdles - 5. Anasja Troutman (8.73), 9. Kennedy Batts (8.88)
4x400m Relay - 3. Ball State (3:50.82c)
Shot Put - 7. Kelsey Walters (14.35m / 47-1)
Weight Throw - 6. Princess Carter (17.83m / 58-6), 7. Megan Graves (17.43m / 57-2.25)
Pentathlon - 1. Karlie Zumbro (3,089c), 2. Charity Griffith (3,050c)

MAC AUTO MARKS:
After turning in a blazing fast time of 7.58 in the semifinals of the 60m at the Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite (Jan. 10), senior sprinter Bryeana Byrdsong became the first Ball State student-athlete to post a Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying mark this season.

For the effort, Byrdsong was named the MAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for the second time in her career and for the first time during the indoor portion of a season.

CHIRP CHIRP!

Byrdsong became the first Ball State track & field student-athlete to turn in a MAC indoor championship automatic qualifying mark this season. With a time of 7.58, her 60m dash is currently the second-fastest in the MAC.#MACtion | #WeFly pic.twitter.com/UzjFZwu78q
— #MACtion (@MACSports) January 14, 2020

CARDINALS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS:
In addition to a strong showing in the MAC rankings, the Cardinals enter the Gladstein Invitational with three performances currently ranked in the top 100 on the NCAA Division I performance list. Once again, sophomore Karlie Zumbro's converted score of 3089 in the pentathlon leads the way at 80th among all NCAA Division I student-athletes.

Below is a complete list of Ball State track and field student-athletes ranked among the top 100 in the NCAA. Times listed with a "c" are converted for track size.

Weight Throw - 97. Princess Carter (17.83m / 58-6)
Pentathlon - 80. Karlie Zumbro (3,089c), 85. Charity Griffith (3,050c)

IN THE BALL STATE RECORD BOOKS:
The first meet of the season, the Mastodon Opener (Dec. 7), saw a pair of Cardinals improve their standing in the Ball State track & field record book (PDF), with both performances coming in the weight throw.

Junior Princess Carter won the event with a career-best toss of 17.83m. It was an improvement of 0.37m over her previous career-best mark and keeps her in fourth in Ball State's record book.

Carter was not the only Cardinal to shine in the weight throw, however, as senior Megan Graves turned in a career-best mark of 17.43m to place second and move into fifth on Ball State's all-time list.

EVENT WINNERS:
The opening meet of the season also gave the Cardinals six event winners:
300m - Amber Jones (39.89)
800m - Madison Kiser (2:19.18)
3000m - Cayla Eckenroth (10:07.61)
4x400m Relay - Amber Jones, Dejah Johnson, Madison Kiser, MaQuila Norman (3:56.72)
Shot Put - Kelsey Walters (14.35m / 47-1)
Weight Throw - Princess Carter (17.83m / 58-6)

CAREER-BEST PERFORMANCES:
Ball State's student-athletes turned in 38 career-best performances over the first two meets of the season, with 25 coming at the Mastodon Opener (Dec. 7) and 13 at the Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite (Jan. 10-11).