Ratney, Springer, Garner & Marshall Key Day Two Track Success for Cardinals

Friday, February 27

Mount Pleasant, MI

All Day

Ball State University

Mid-American Conference

Photo by: Brayden Minix/Ball State Athletics

Ratney, Springer, Garner & Marshall Key Day Two Track Success for Cardinals

February 28, 2026 | Track & Field

Live Stats

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- When points were on the line in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track Championships, Ball State turned to its senior sprinter Alana Springer, who placed second and third in a pair of events Saturday afternoon to help the Cardinals to a fifth-place finish in final team standings.

Springer finished third in the 60-meter finals early in the afternoon, then later raced to a second-place finish in the 200-meter finals. Her 14 combined points led the Cardinals overall, who got 10 points apiece on first-place finishes from Kenli Nettles, on Friday, and Laya'Lapri Ratney on Saturday. Finishing seventh in the 200 meters was another Cardinal, Kylee Marshall, whose seven total points also included Friday's fourth-place leap in the long jump.

Jumping vertically, the Cardinals also sent two jumpers to the podium in the high jump -- Nina Garner finished second and Malina Miller sixth. Garner and Northern Illinois's Arianna Galloway both cleared the bar at 1.75 meters and failed at 1.78, but Galloway took the top prize with fewer attempts to reach the winning height. Competing in just her third college meet, the freshman Garner cleared a personal best at 1.76 meters just two weeks ago and was named the league's Freshman Field Athlete of the Year.

Aside from Springer's 2nd-3rd combo finish in the 60m and 200m, the Cardinals' biggest highlight Saturday came from Ratney, who flirted with the MAC's best time in the 60-meter hurdles only two weeks ago and entered the competition ranked second. She ripped through the hurdles in a personal-record time of 8.41 seconds that was the fourth-fastest in Ball State history. It is the seventh-fastest time in the Great Lakes Region this season.

Ball State capped its day with points from a sixth-place in the 4x400 meter relay. Lia Patterson led off the race, passing to Paige Kirtz and Abby Brennan, before freshman Amina Hadziahmetovic ran the anchor leg.

Another compelling storyline for the Cardinals came from freshmen distance runners Emily Decker (9:44.33) and Kaitlyn Kauppila (9:44.34), who placed 13th and 14th in the 3,000-meter run. Neither reached the podium, but both youngsters turned in personal-record times and finished the race together within 1/100th of a second.

"We closed the MAC Championships in fifth place, and I'm proud of how our women competed," said veteran coach Adrian Wheatley. "Fourteen Cardinals earned spots on the award stand. We scored 31 points on the track and 29 in the field, proof of a well-rounded, team-first performance. That balance matters and that depth matters. We are building momentum the right way -- together."

The Cardinals' 60 team points earned a fifth-place finish, one shy of a fourth-place standing in 2025. Fourteen different athletes earned standings points for the Cardinals: Springer 14, Nettles and Ratney 10, Garner 8, Marshall 7, Malena Higgins and Malina Miller each added 3. Abby Brennan ran legs on both relay teams that totaled five points.

Ball State opens its outdoor track schedule on March 20 in Fort Worth, Texas.

FRIDAY EVENTS
Pentathlon 60m Hurdles
1st, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 8.59 PR
11th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 9.18 PR

Weight Throw
6th, Malena Higgins, Sr. -- 17.78m PR
25th, Syndey Miller, Jr. -- 13.47m
Brooklyn Taylor, Jr. -- ND

Pentathlon High Jump
3rd, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 1.71m
11th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 1.53m

Pentathlon Shot Put
3rd, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 12.20m PR
10th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 9.47m

Pentathlon Long Jump
3rd, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 5.71m
7th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 5.32m

Pentathlon 800m
2nd, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 2:28.79
12th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 2:41.69

Mile Run - Prelims
18th, Kaitlyn Kauppila, Fr. -- 4:59.65
19th, Sarah Mahnensmith, Sr. -- 5:04.55

60m Hurdles - Prelims
7th, Laya'Lapri Ratney, So. -- 8.58 (qualified for finals)
17th, Lia Patterson, Fr. -- 8.90
22nd, Lauren Grahan, Jr. -- 9.01

400m Dash - Prelims
9th, Paige Kirtz, Jr. -- 57.24
16th, Amina Hadziahmetovic, Fr. -- 57.74

60m Dash - Prelims
3rd, Alana Springer, Sr. - 7.50 (qualified for finals)
12th, Kylee Marshall, So. -- 7.61 PR
18th, Laya'Lapri Ratney, So. -- 7.69

200m Dash - Prelims
2nd, Alana Springer, Sr. -- 24.43 (qualified for finals)
8th, Kylee Marshall, So. -- 24.84 (qualified for finals)

Long Jump
4th, Kylee Marshall, So. -- 5.81m PR
13th, Kenli Nettles, Sr. -- 5.54m
27th, Kendra Keesling, Jr. -- 5.13m

Distance Medley Relay
7th, Sarah Mahnensmith, Abby Brennan, Kaityln Kauppila, Emily Decker -- 11:51.09

SATURDAY EVENTS
Shot Put
9th, Sydney Miller, Jr. -- 13.39m
14th, Malena Higgins, Sr. -- 13.20m

High Jump
2nd, Nina Garner, Fr. -- 1.75m
6th, Malina Miller, Jr. -- 1.69m
12th, Lexi Hale, So. -- 1.60m
16th, Bella Jackson, Sr. -- 1.60m

Triple Jump
Anisa Barnett, Fr. -- 11.77m
Brenna Lehrke, Sr. -- 11.75m

60m Hurdles - Finals
1st, Laya'Lapri Ratney, So. -- 8.41 PR

60m Dash - Finals
3rd, Alana Springer, Sr. -- 7.46

200m Dash - Finals
2nd, Alana Springer, Sr. -- 24.56
7th, Kylee Marshall, So. -- 25.36

3000m Run
13th, Emily Decker, Fr. -- 9:44.33 PR
14th, Kaitlyn Kauppila, Fr. -- 9:44.34 PR

4x400m Relay
6th, Lia Patterson, Paige Kirtz, Abby Brennan, Amina Hadziahmetovic -- 3:49.31