MAC Leaderboard A Full Deck Of Cards After Raleigh Relays

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RALEIGH, N.C. - The Ball State track & field team boarded its flight home from the Raleigh Relays with Cardinals listed at the top of the current MAC leaderboards. Following this weekend's action in North Carolina, the Cards own the top marks in the conference in both relays, the 100m hurdles and the 100m dash.

Bryeana Byrdsong's 11.75 mark in the 100m this weekend is the MAC's top time, and Kennedy Batts is now tops in the MAC with a 14.13 in the 100m hurdles. The 4x100 relay's (McKee-Byrdsong-Norman-Lehmann) 45.26 time is not only currently the best in the conference but also second in school history. The 4x400 relay team (Thigpen-Batts-Norman-Zumbro) is first in the MAC at 3:44.36.

The table below summarizes where BSU stands among its peers after a strong weekend at a meet that contained some nationally-competitive teams:

Cardinal (Event)	Current MAC Rank	Time/Mark
Bryeana Byrdsong (100m)	1st	11.75
Michelle Lehmann (100m)	4th	11.96
Ivy McKee (100m)	7th	12.18
Bryeana Byrdsong (200m)	1st	23.88
MaQuila Norman (200m)	2nd	24.00
Ivy McKee (200m)	4th	24.67
Michelle Lehmann (200m)	6th	25.49
Alexis Thigpen (400m)	4th	56.26
MaQuila Norman (400m)	6th	56.85
Kayla Jones (800m)	2nd	2:13.49
Kylee Mastin (800m)	3rd	2:15.05
Karleigh Conner (800m)	4th	2:20.20
Grace Dean (1500m)	4th	4:36.82
Elka Machan (5000m)	3rd	17:10.36
Kennedy Batts (100m Hurdles)	1st	14.13
Anasja Troutman (100m Hurdles)	2nd	14.18
Kennedy Batts (400m Hurdles)	3rd	1:03.19
Jenelle Rogers (High Jump)	2nd	5'5"
Abby Denham (Javelin)	2nd	142'9"
4x100 Relay	1st	45.26
4x400 Relay	1st	3:44.26

* as of Saturday night

Day 3: Relay Teams, Byrdsong And Jones Highlight Final Day of Raleigh Relays

The 4x100 relay team turned in the second-fastest time in school history, the 4x400 relay put BSU at the MAC charts and Kayla Jones put up a PR in 800m for the Cardinals in the final day of the Raleigh Relays.

This was BSU's busiest day at the three-day meet, with the Cardinals competing in six events. The 4x100 relay team continued its climb in the record books with its 45.26 showing, and the 4x400 group put up a 3:44.26 mark that stands at the top of the conference. Bryeana Byrdsong stood out in the 200m (24.00), placing a MAC-best time while finishing 14th of 54 in the field. Maquila Norman (24.26) was right behind her, now third in the MAC and 19th in the event in Raleigh.

Anasja Troutman clocked 1:04 flat in the 400m hurdle, third among MAC runners in the event and now sixth on the conference leaderboard. The day also featured Emmalyne Tarsa in the 3K steeplechase (11:16:00) and an 800m run by Kylee Mastin that stands third in the conference.

Day 2: Dean, Rogers And Thigpen Lead In Raleigh Relays Day 2

Grace Dean and Alexis Thigpen each turned in a PR and Jenelle Rogers was among the leaders in the high jump at the Raleigh Relays on Friday.

Dean clocked 4:36.82 in the 1500m, her best effort in that event. Alexis Thigpen placed 14th of 34 entrants in the 400m with a PR time of 56.26. Thigpen was closely followed by MaQuila Norman (56.85). Rogers tied for 7th in the high jump, hanging with the best in the meet in a field of 28. She cleared 5'5" to tie other entrants from Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Virginia.

Elka Machan clocked 17:10.36 in the 5K and finished in the top half of the strong field, one second ahead of competitors from Virginia Tech and Toledo.

The meet concludes Saturday, and the Cardinals have a busy day. BSU has entrants in all events, highlighted at 11 a.m. when the 4x100m relay team - ranked 12th in the nation right now - takes the track.

Day 1: Denham's School Record, Strong Sprints Highlight Thursday Action

RALEIGH, N.C. - Abby Denham put her name atop the Ball State track & field record books and the Cardinals turned in some strong sprints Thursday in the first day of the Raleigh Relays, hosted by North Carolina State.

Denham, a senior from Switz City, Indiana, threw the javelin a school-record 142'9" (43.1) Thursday to set a school record. She previously stood second on the school's list. She broke the record set in 1982 with the old javelin that had a different weight distribution.

"Abby was awesome, it was really good for her," head coach Brian Etelman said. "She had the biggest layoff from her event and that's great for her to get that done in March."

In addition to Denham's record performance, Cardinals sprinters and hurdlers were in action. Bryeana Byrdsong was 9th of 47 runners in the 100m prelim with a time of 11.75. Michelle Lehmann ran 11.96 and Ivy McKee clocked 12.18. In the 100m hurdles, Kennedy Batts (14.13) placed 13th of 35, followed closely by Anasja Troutman's 14.18 mark.

"For our sprints, it's still very early and this is the fastest they've ever been in March," Etelman said. "What they did today was a really, really good indicator of what's to come. And our hurdlers improved from last weekend. It was definitely a really good day."

Etelman also noticed that this meet gets the team used to competing back-to-back days, which mirrors the cadence of the conference championships.

"This meet prepares you for the conference meet where you have to deliver great performances for multiple days," the head coach said. "It's good for us to do that now and then recover."