Ball State University
MAC Championships
Cardinals Finish Seventh at MAC Cross Country Championships
November 02, 2024 | Cross Country
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Ball State hosted the Mid-American Conference Cross Country Championships Saturday morning on the new Ball State Cross Country Course. Â
In the 12-team field, the Cardinals finished seventh overall with a combined score of 190 points. They moved up three spots from their 10th-place finish at last year's MAC Championship. Â
Toledo secured the women's championship title, their fourth consecutive MAC win. Â
Carly Spletzer, a consistent leader for the Cardinals and their top scorer, finished 24th overall. Spletzer crossed the finish line with a time of 21:38.75, only four seconds off her personal best. Â
Evie Noel was next to cross for the Cardinals, finishing 27th overall. Noel shed 17 seconds off her personal best time, running a time of 21:50.76. Â
Crossing the finish line 40th with a time of 22:14.25 was Sarah Mahnensmith. Close behind, Shelby Christman finished 47th with a time of 22:23.76. Â
Rounding out the Cardinals top five was Tori Jackson. In her first championship race, Jackson finished 52nd overall and ran a new personal best time of 22:34.10, nearly 30 seconds faster than her previous best.
Following Jackson was Jessica Velez (55th/22:42.21), Jenna Schifferer (66th/23:14.58), Autumn Spence (89th/24:00.84) and Kendyl Thrasher (92nd/24:21.13). Â
"It was an opportunity for us to show off what we have done throughout the year," said head coach Adrian Wheatley. "It is super exciting to have had the opportunity to run at home. Our young ladies have really been building all year long. We want to continue to progress and continue to move up, but this is a big step in the right direction."Â
Ball State will shift its focus to the NCAA Great Lakes Regional meet that will take place Friday, November 15th in Norton, Ohio. Â
Ball State Individual ResultsÂ
24th - Carly Spletzer – 21:38.75Â
27th – Evie Noel – 21:50.76Â
40th – Sarah Mahnensmith – 22:14.25Â
47th – Shelby Christman – 22:23.76Â
52nd – Tori Jackson – 22:34.10Â
55th – Jessica Velez – 22:42.21Â
66th – Jenna Schifferer – 23:14.58Â
89th – Autumn Spence – 24:00.84Â
92nd – Kendyl Thrasher – 24:21.13Â
Women's 6k Team ResultsÂ
1st – Toledo – 32Â
2nd – Ohio – 82 Â
3rd – Eastern Michigan – 92Â
4th - Bowling Green – 102Â
5th – Central Michigan – 119 Â
6th – Western Michigan – 166Â
7th – Ball State – 190Â
8th – Akron – 198Â
9th – Miami – 230Â
10th – Buffalo – 256Â
11th – Kent State – 363Â
12th – Northern Illinois - 364Â
Players Mentioned
