Cardinals Perform Well at Cherry Blossom Invitational

Friday, April 4

Athens, OH

Ball State University

Cherry Blossom Invitational

Cardinals Perform Well at Cherry Blossom Invitational

April 04, 2025 | Track & Field

ATHENS, Ohio – Ball State track and field competed under rainy conditions at Ohio University's Cherry Blossom Invitational in Athens, Ohio on Friday.

The Cardinals' field athletes secured numerous top placements, starting with the throwers in shot put. Brooklyn Taylor finished with a second-place throw of 12.66 meters, followed by Sydney Miller's third-place mark of 12.58 meters and Malena Higgins fifth-place finish for 12.37 meters.

Kenli Nettles, the multis athlete, had a great throw in the javelin, hitting a personal best mark of 36.69 meters. Also throwing a javelin best was Maci Easton who hit a mark of 28.67 meters, good for seventh place.

For the jumpers, freshman, Lexi Hale, opened with a first-place finish in the high jump after clearing a collegiate best height at 1.65 meters. Later in the day, sophomore Emma Upp won the triple jump at 10.75 meters.

Opening on the track, Ball State's 4x100-meter relay team of Moriah Johnson, Alana Springer, Jenna Oriani and Kylee Marshall won their event, crossing the finish line with a competitive time of 46.27.

Oriani went on to win the 400-meter dash in a time of 54.77.

All three Cardinals qualified for the finals in the 100-meter dash. Savannah Lake came out on top with a second place 12.35 race, followed by Jiah Davenport's 12.45 third place finish and Kylee Marshall's 12.49 finish for fourth.

Lindley Steele competed in the 400-meter hurdles and took second, completing with a time of 1:05.37.

Rounding out the sprints, Emma Potter won in the 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.24. Close behind her was Lake who finish second in 26.03.

Representing the distance squad was Shelby Christman who competed in the 5,000-meter run. Christman finished with a strong push at the end to take third, crossing the finish line with a time of 17:10.40.

Ball State Individual Entries at Cherry Blossom Invitational:
Field Events
Shot Put
2^nd – Brooklyn Taylor – 12.66m
3^rd – Sydney Miller – 12.58m
5^th – Malena Higgins – 12.37m

Long Jump
6^th – Taylor Hickman – 5.12m
7^th – Emma Upp – 5.08m
8^th – Kendra Keesling – 4.94m

High Jump
1st – Lexi Hale – 1.65m

Discus
11^th – Malena Higgins – 34.38m

Javelin
2^nd – Kenli Nettles – 39.69m*
7^th – Maci Easton – 28.67m*

Triple Jump
1^st – Emma Upp – 10.75m
5^th – Taylor Hickman – 10.29m

Track Events
4x100m Relay
1^st – Moriah Johnson, Alana Springer, Jenna Oriani, Kylee Marshall – 46.27
3^rd – Jiah Davenport, Lindley Steele, Allison Valladay, Savannah Lake – 48.78

400m
1^st – Jenna Oriani – 54.77
4^th – Paige Kirtz – 57.61

100m Hurdles Finals
4^th – Makensie Kramer – 18.88
5^th – Kendra Keesling – 19.48
100m Hurdles Preliminaries
4^th – Makensie Kramer – 16.07q
6^th – Emma Upp – 16.31q
7^th – Kendra Keesling – 17.36q

100m Finals
2^nd – Savannah Lake – 12.35
3^rd – Jiah Davenport – 12.45
4^th – Kylee Marshall – 12.49
100m Preliminaries
2^nd – Kylee Marshall – 12.45q
5^th – Savannah Lake – 12.58q
7^th – Jiah Davenport – 12.73q

800m
10^th – Tori Jackson – 2:20.64
17^th – Mikayla Mimnaugh – 2:29.69

400m Hurdles
2^nd – Lindley Steele – 1:05.37

200m
1^st – Emma Potter – 25.24
2^nd– Savannah Lake – 26.03
4^th – Jiah Davenport – 26.18
8^th – Allison Valladay – 26.66

5k
3^rd – Shelby Christman – 17:10.40

*Indicates personal best