The Cardinals Return to Bloomington for IU Relays

BLOOMINGTON, IN – The Ball State track and field team returns to Bloomington this weekend to compete in the Gladstein Fieldhouse for the IU Relays on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28.

The Cardinals are coming off a successful weekend after earning four event wins at the Gladstein Invitational. Along with four event wins, the student-athletes notched several personal best performances, two events with 1-2 finishes, and a new indoor 600m program record from junior Kayla Jones.

"We look forward to the opportunity to head back down to Indiana this week to continue our dress rehearsal for the big show," said head coach Adrian Wheatley. "The ladies have put together another solid week of training. Excited to see the ladies compete."

The first event of the meet for the Cardinals, the 60m hurdles, begins on Friday, Jan. 27 at 5:00 p.m. EST. A total of 19 student-athletes are entered in five different events on Friday.

The second day of competition begins on Saturday, Jan.28 at 11:15 a.m. with the triple jump. The Cardinals have 18 student-athletes competing in eight events on Saturday. The final event of the day, the 4x400m, is slated for 3:15 p.m.

BALL STATE ENTRIES IN THE IU RELAYS

FRIDAY JAN. 27
60m Hurdles (5:00 p.m.): Charity Griffith (8.74), Makensie Kramer (8.85), Jenelle Rogers (8.96), Lea-Marie Diedicke (9.35), Mary Porter (9.53)
60m Dash (5:25 p.m.): Alana Springer (7.62), Lindley Steele (7.78)
Long Jump (6:00 p.m.): Charity Griffith (5.96m), Jenelle Rogers (5.69m), McKenna Cinotte (5.51m), Lea-Marie Diedicke (5.17m), Moriah Johnson (5.16m)
Mile Run (6:30 p.m.): Shelby Christman (5:03.87), Juliana Stogsdill (5:14.86)
Distance Medley (6:50 p.m.): 7-2C: Carly Spletzer, Jenna Oriani, Emma Potter, Sarah Mahnensmith (11:59.00)
9-3C: Evie Noel, Leila Williams-Molitor, Grace Dean, Sarah Greer (12:12.00)
200m Dash (8:35 p.m.): Alana Springer (24.88), Taylor Hickman (26.40), Lea-Marie Diedicke (27.13)

SATURDAY JAN. 28
Triple Jump (11:15 a.m.): McKenna Cinotte (12.22m)
Shot put (11:50 a.m.): Malena Higgins (13.06m), Jenelle Rogers (12.59m), Charity Griffith (12.01m), Lea-Marie Diedicke (10.75m)
400m Dash (11:30 a.m.): Emma Potter (55.92), Jenna Oriani (57.60), Allison Valladay (58.80), Mary Porter (59.72)
Mile Run (12:10 p.m.): Grace Dean (5:02.85), Carly Spletzer (5:19.42)
800m Run (12:50 p.m.): Kayla Jones (2:06.54)
3000m Run (1:40 p.m.): Sarah Greer (10:15.00),Vivian Van Eck (10:57.73)
4x400m (3:15 p.m.): Section 3: Emma Potter, Jenelle Rogers, Charity Griffith, Kayla Jones (3:46.00), Section 1: Allison Valladay, Leila Williams-Molitor, Lindley Steele, Mary Porter (3:54.00)

Sophomore Jenna Oriani's stand-out performances in the 60m and the 200m at the Gladstein Invitational placed her in the top three for each event in the MAC rankings. These performances also earned her MAC Track Athlete of the Week honors.

Several other Cardinals moved up in the MAC rankings after their strong showings at the Gladstein Invitational. Here are the nine Cardinals ranked in the top 16 on the MAC performance list.

CARDINALS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
With nine Cardinals placing in the top 16 on the MAC performance list, Charity Griffith still leads the pack ranking first in the high jump (1.85m / 6-0.75).
60m: 2. Jenna Oriani (7.54), 7. Alana Springer (7.62)
200m: 3. Jenna Oriani (24.59) 8. Alana Springer (24.80)
400m: 5. Kayla Jones (56.68), 8. Emma Potter (57.17)
800m: 2. Kayla Jones (2:11.00)
Mile: 12. Sarah Mahnensmith (4:49.67)
60 Hurdles: 7. Jennah Rogers (8.75), 14. Charity Griffith (8.85)
4x400 Relay: 5. Ball State (3:53.57)
High Jump: 1. Charity Griffith (1.85m / 6-0.75), T-15. Jenelle Rogers (1.60m / 5-3.0)
Long Jump: 6. Charity Griffith (5.79m / 19'-7.0"), 7. Jenelle Rogers (5.69m / 18'-8.0")
Shot Put: 13. Malena Higgins (13.06m / 42'-10.25")
CARDINALS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
The Cardinals also have two student-athletes ranked in the Top 100 on the NCAA Division I performance list. Kayla Jones is ranked in the 800m, and Charity Griffith is tied for fifth in the high jump (1.85m / 6-0.75).
High Jump: T-5. Charity Griffith (1.85m / 6-0.75)
800m: 57. Kayla Jones (2:11.00)
EVENT WINNERS:
The Cardinals have 10 total event wins from six different student-athletes this season. The student-athletes picked up four event wins at the Gladstein Invitational last Friday and Saturday.
Gladstein Invitational
3,000m: Carly Spletzer (10:11.62)
60m: Jenna Oriani (7.58)
600m: Kayla Jones (1:30.69)
200m: Jenna Oriani (24.59)
Hawkeye Invitational
High Jump: Charity Griffith (1.85m / 6-0.75)
Tom Wright Open
60m: Jenna Oriani (7.58)
200m: Alana Springer (25.18)
60m Hurdles: Jennah Rogers (8.78)
Long Jump: Charity Griffith (5.71m)
800m: Kayla Jones (2:12.51)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mckenna Cinotte

Taylor Hickman

Malena Higgins

Moriah Johnson

Makensie Kramer

Sarah Mahnensmith

Evie Noel

Jenna Oriani

Mary Porter

Emma Potter

Jenelle Rogers

Jennah Rogers

Carly Spletzer

Alana Springer

Lindley Steele

Allison Valladay

Leila Williams-Molitor