Photo by: David Dermer
Griffith wins Pentathlon, Cardinals shine to open MAC Indoor Championships
February 25, 2022 | Track & Field
Ball State in third after first day of indoor conference meet
KENT, Ohio – The Ball State track and field team got off to a strong start at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships Friday. The Cardinals sit in third overall at 25 points with five of 17 events scored.
"Today was a solid day," head coach Adrian Wheatley said. "It was very encouraging to see the young ladies compete for each other. That's what we've talked about all season long – working for each other. Some individuals put on a show today and showed where they're at. That was fun to see.
"One thing we talked about in our meeting was a challenge for them to break the form chart. Whatever they came in ranked at, I wanted us to leave faster. That's how we're going to continue to measure our success. We had several individuals do that and having PRs, college bests or lifetime bests. Overall, it was a good performance. We set ourselves up to have some good performances tomorrow and close out with something we can be proud of."
Highlighting the day was the pentathlon, where Charity Griffith took first after breaking the program record with 4,099 points. Griffith won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.74 – a personal best – won the high jump at 5-8 (1.73m), won the long jump at 19-1 1/2 (5.83m) and finished third in shot put (39-5, 12.01m) and fourth in the 800-meter run (2:23.04).
Finishing right behind her teammate, Karlie Zumbro took second in the event with 3,734 points. She won the 800 (2:15.97) and got fourth in the long jump (17-11 1/2, 5.48m). Zumbro also set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.89. Her point total was the highest of her career in the event.
Jenelle Rogers also placed in the event, finishing fifth at 3,546 points. She won the shot put at 41-2 1/2 (12.56m) and finished third in the long jump (18-0 1/2, 5.49m). Following suit with her teammates, Rogers set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.50.
"We started the meet with highlights with Charity and Karlie going 1-2 with Charity breaking the school record," Wheatley added. "I was extremely proud of Jenelle Rogers because of how she put it all together. They just competed together as it was going back-and-forth, and they were feeding off each other."
With most of the races serving as prelims Friday, a number of Cardinals advanced Saturday's finals.
In the 200-meter dash, MaQuila Norman won her heat and qualified with a time of 24.50.
Payton Barlow and Alexis Thigpen each qualified in the 400-meter dash after finishing within .01 of each other at 56.26 and 56.27, respectively.
In the 800-meter run, Kayla Jones set a personal best and qualified with a time of 2:13.17.
In addition, there were a plethora of Ball State runners to set new marks.
Makensie Kramer and Jennah Rogers each set personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.85 and 8.92, respectively.
In the 200-meter dash, Aaleiah Winford set a personal best with a time of 25.08.
In the 800-meter run, Karleigh Conner set a season best after crossing the line in 2:16.75.
Carly Spletzer came within one second of her season best with a time of 17:51.99.
In the final event of the evening, the distance medley relay team of Grace Dean, Emma Potter, Sarah Greer and Jenna Schifferer ran a season best time of 12:12.86 and placed sixth, the highest finish in the event by the Cardinals since 2017.
"Closing out the night with the highest-finishing DMR team in the last five years and see them come together collectively was special," Wheatley said. "It just goes back to the ladies working for each other and being selfless, not selfish in their efforts to help this team."
The MAC Indoor Championships get back underway at 1:30 p.m. with the mile run and wraps up with the 4x400 meter relay at 4:40 p.m. The awards ceremony is set to take place at 5 p.m.
"Today was a solid day," head coach Adrian Wheatley said. "It was very encouraging to see the young ladies compete for each other. That's what we've talked about all season long – working for each other. Some individuals put on a show today and showed where they're at. That was fun to see.
"One thing we talked about in our meeting was a challenge for them to break the form chart. Whatever they came in ranked at, I wanted us to leave faster. That's how we're going to continue to measure our success. We had several individuals do that and having PRs, college bests or lifetime bests. Overall, it was a good performance. We set ourselves up to have some good performances tomorrow and close out with something we can be proud of."
Highlighting the day was the pentathlon, where Charity Griffith took first after breaking the program record with 4,099 points. Griffith won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.74 – a personal best – won the high jump at 5-8 (1.73m), won the long jump at 19-1 1/2 (5.83m) and finished third in shot put (39-5, 12.01m) and fourth in the 800-meter run (2:23.04).
Finishing right behind her teammate, Karlie Zumbro took second in the event with 3,734 points. She won the 800 (2:15.97) and got fourth in the long jump (17-11 1/2, 5.48m). Zumbro also set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.89. Her point total was the highest of her career in the event.
Jenelle Rogers also placed in the event, finishing fifth at 3,546 points. She won the shot put at 41-2 1/2 (12.56m) and finished third in the long jump (18-0 1/2, 5.49m). Following suit with her teammates, Rogers set a personal best in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.50.
"We started the meet with highlights with Charity and Karlie going 1-2 with Charity breaking the school record," Wheatley added. "I was extremely proud of Jenelle Rogers because of how she put it all together. They just competed together as it was going back-and-forth, and they were feeding off each other."
With most of the races serving as prelims Friday, a number of Cardinals advanced Saturday's finals.
In the 200-meter dash, MaQuila Norman won her heat and qualified with a time of 24.50.
Payton Barlow and Alexis Thigpen each qualified in the 400-meter dash after finishing within .01 of each other at 56.26 and 56.27, respectively.
In the 800-meter run, Kayla Jones set a personal best and qualified with a time of 2:13.17.
In addition, there were a plethora of Ball State runners to set new marks.
Makensie Kramer and Jennah Rogers each set personal bests in the 60-meter hurdles with times of 8.85 and 8.92, respectively.
In the 200-meter dash, Aaleiah Winford set a personal best with a time of 25.08.
In the 800-meter run, Karleigh Conner set a season best after crossing the line in 2:16.75.
Carly Spletzer came within one second of her season best with a time of 17:51.99.
In the final event of the evening, the distance medley relay team of Grace Dean, Emma Potter, Sarah Greer and Jenna Schifferer ran a season best time of 12:12.86 and placed sixth, the highest finish in the event by the Cardinals since 2017.
"Closing out the night with the highest-finishing DMR team in the last five years and see them come together collectively was special," Wheatley said. "It just goes back to the ladies working for each other and being selfless, not selfish in their efforts to help this team."
The MAC Indoor Championships get back underway at 1:30 p.m. with the mile run and wraps up with the 4x400 meter relay at 4:40 p.m. The awards ceremony is set to take place at 5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
High Jump
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Jumps/Multis
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Multis/Hurdles
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