Marshall & Miller Key Big Day of Winners for Ball State Track Team

Saturday, February 7

Mount Pleasant, MI

All Day

Ball State University

Chippewa Invitational

Photo by: Brayden Minix/Ball State Athletics

Marshall & Miller Key Big Day of Winners for Ball State Track Team

February 07, 2026 | Track & Field

CMU Chippewa Invite

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. -- Sophomore Kylee Marshall won both the 60-meter dash and long jump during a crowded afternoon of activity on Saturday, as Ball State won five of the 11 events in which it participated as part of the CMU Chippewa Invite. Conducted at the Indoor Athletic Complex at Central Michigan University, where the Mid-American Conference Indoor Track Championships will be staged in three weeks, the Cardinals made a good showing in anticipation of the conference meet.

Marshall was a double winner, and Malina Miller won the high jump with a personal-record leap of 1.76 meters that is tied as the fifth-best in Ball State indoor track history (Jenelle Rogers in 2024, Rebecca Lomax in 2015). It beat her old mark of 1.75 and led a flock of Cardinals teammates who finished 1-2-3-4 in the event: freshman Nina Garner in second, Bella Jackson in third and Lexi Hale in fourth. The event was the first of Garner's college career. For Miller, it was the second-highest height achieved in the MAC this season.

Double-event winner Marshall was the headliner for Ball State though, capturing both events in quick succession. After winning her 60m heat with 7.77 time to qualify for the finals scheduled for an hour later, she moved to the long jump pit for a series of six jumps. The fourth of those was her best jump of the day, 5.64 meters, which was good enough to defeat five competitors, all from MAC schools including teammate Lindley Steele. Marshall claimed her long jump title before returning to the track for the 60m final -- which she won with a time of 7.81 seconds that barely beat Cardinals teammate Savannah Lake at 7.82.

Not lost on the day was another Ball State winner, Abby Brennan, who captured first place in the 400 meters in a time of 59.74. A final Cardinals champion was triple-jump winner Anisa Barnett who won a two-participant series of jumps with teammate Taylor Hickman.

This was a good opportunity for us to continue working on different pieces of our preparation," said coach Adrian Wheatley. "It was important for us to be here at Central Michigan knowing the championship meet will be hosted on this facility in a few weeks. We wanted our ladies to get a feel for the flow of the track and field area, visualize themselves competing here again, and continue getting mentally and physically prepared for the championship phase of the season.

Below is a list of Ball State results from Saturday's meet.

60m Dash
1st, Kylee Marshall, So. - 7.81 (7.77 qualifying)
2nd, Savannah Lake, So. - 7.82 (7.82 qualifying)
4th, Jiah Davenport, So. - 7.90 (7.87 qualifying)
7th, Taylor Hickman, Sr. - 7.98 (7.93 qualifying)

60m Hurdles
3rd, Lauren Graham, Jr. - 9.20
4th, Lia Patterson, Fr. - 9.27 (8.91 qualifying)
5th, Lily Eagleston, Fr. - 9.49 (9.38 qualifying)

200m Dash
2nd, Savannah Lake, So. - 26.18
5th, Jiah Davenport, So. -- 26.54

400m Dash
1st, Abby Brennan, Sr. - 59.74

800m Dash
9th, Mikayla Mimnaugh, Jr. - 2:35.17

3000m Run
3rd, Kendyl Thrasher, Jr. - 11:21.55

High Jump
1st, Malina Miller, Jr. - 1.76m (PR, #2 in MAC, #5 in Ball State indoor track history)
2nd, Nina Garner, Fr. - 1.67m
3rd, Bella Jackson, Sr. - 1.62m
4th, Lexi Hale, Jr. - 1.57m

Long Jump
1st, Kylee Marshall, So. - 5.64m
3rd, Lindley Steele, Sr. - 5.01m

Shot Put
4th, Ayla Rice, Jr. - 12.28m

Triple Jump
1st, Anisa Barnett, Fr. - 11.35m
2nd, Taylor Hickman, Sr. - 10.65m

Weight Throw
4th, Ayla Rice, Jr. - 13.17m