Saturday, January 22
Ann Arbor, MI
All Day
Ball State University
at
Michigan Invitational
Cardinals continue positive trend in Michigan
January 22, 2022 | Track & Field
Ball State boasts personal bests, top finishes at Michigan Invitational
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Ball State track and field team continued its upward trajectory Saturday at the Michigan Invitational. The Cardinals boasted a plethora of personal bests, including top finishes and an event win in their third indoor meet of the season.
"I thought today was a good opportunity for us to continue to show that we're making strides in the right direction," Ball State head coach Adrian Wheatley said. "It was exciting to see our young athletes and athletes that maybe hadn't ran in a long time get out and compete. It's still early in the season, but we're using every meet as an opportunity to get better and see where we are as a team."
In addition to the chance of improving times and competing against solid competition, the Cardinals also had the opportunity to run on a banked track.
"For some of them, it was their first time they've run on a bank," Wheatley added. "One thing we've talked about is that the NCAA championship is on a 200-meter banked track. We need to start continually preparing ourselves for when those opportunities present themselves, we'll be ready for them. It was good to see them out there competing."
Joan Easter earned her first collegiate win in her third career meet when she improved to a 5.67 meter mark in the long jump. Carly Spletzer also clocked in at a personal best time of 10:20.08 during the 3,000-meter run, finishing second in her heat.
In addition, two athletes competed in events for the first time in their indoor careers. McKenna Cinotte ran in the 60-meter dash and Charity Griffith ran a personal best 26.19 in the 200-meter dash and won her heat.
Alexis Thigpen won her heat in the 400-meter dash at 57.53 and placed second overall, while Payton Barlow and MaQuila Norman finished third and fourth, respectively.
Kayla Jones ran her fastest indoor 800-meter time of 2:14.50.
Sarah Greer also saw action for the first time in a Cardinals uniform as she placed eighth overall in three heats in the 600-meter run, winning her heat in commanding fashion with a time of 1:42.07.
The quartet of Thigpen, Payton Barlow, Jenelle Rogers and Jones placed second in the 4x400 relay at 3:52.57.
Ball State is set to host the Ball State Indoor Track & Field and Multi Meet Friday, Jan. 28 at the Field Sports Building.
"I thought today was a good opportunity for us to continue to show that we're making strides in the right direction," Ball State head coach Adrian Wheatley said. "It was exciting to see our young athletes and athletes that maybe hadn't ran in a long time get out and compete. It's still early in the season, but we're using every meet as an opportunity to get better and see where we are as a team."
In addition to the chance of improving times and competing against solid competition, the Cardinals also had the opportunity to run on a banked track.
"For some of them, it was their first time they've run on a bank," Wheatley added. "One thing we've talked about is that the NCAA championship is on a 200-meter banked track. We need to start continually preparing ourselves for when those opportunities present themselves, we'll be ready for them. It was good to see them out there competing."
Joan Easter earned her first collegiate win in her third career meet when she improved to a 5.67 meter mark in the long jump. Carly Spletzer also clocked in at a personal best time of 10:20.08 during the 3,000-meter run, finishing second in her heat.
In addition, two athletes competed in events for the first time in their indoor careers. McKenna Cinotte ran in the 60-meter dash and Charity Griffith ran a personal best 26.19 in the 200-meter dash and won her heat.
Alexis Thigpen won her heat in the 400-meter dash at 57.53 and placed second overall, while Payton Barlow and MaQuila Norman finished third and fourth, respectively.
Kayla Jones ran her fastest indoor 800-meter time of 2:14.50.
Sarah Greer also saw action for the first time in a Cardinals uniform as she placed eighth overall in three heats in the 600-meter run, winning her heat in commanding fashion with a time of 1:42.07.
The quartet of Thigpen, Payton Barlow, Jenelle Rogers and Jones placed second in the 4x400 relay at 3:52.57.
Ball State is set to host the Ball State Indoor Track & Field and Multi Meet Friday, Jan. 28 at the Field Sports Building.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Jumps
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multis
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
High Jump
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints
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