Ball State University Athletics
Ball State Hosts 2026 MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships This Week
May 12, 2026 | Track & Field
MUNCIE, Ind.— Ball State hosts the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships for men and women this weekend at Briner Sports Complex. The Cardinals compete in 21 events Thursday through Saturday with the goals of earning MAC individual and team championship, and advancing to the NCAA East Qualifying Meet.
Events kick off Thursday at 10 a.m. with the women's hammer throw and heptathlon 100-meter hurdles before concluding on Saturday afternoon at 2:50 p.m. with the women's 4x400m relay.
There will also be a special reunion for Ball State track & field alumni during the meet in which retiring Eastern Michigan Coach Sue Parks will be honored. Prior to her 20 years at EMU, Parks served as the Ball State cross country and track and field coach for 12 years. Her retirement marks the end of a 42-year NCAA coaching career. Ball State track alumni are encouraged to register for various social events throughout the week, and gather at Saturday's awards ceremony to honor Coach Parks and her successes at both EMU and Ball State.
The top 48 athletes and top 24 relays in the East region in each event qualify for the NCAA East first round in Lexington, Kentucky, while the top 24 in the heptathlon qualify straight to the NCAA national championships. Several Ball State athletes currently sit among NCAA qualification spots and others look to stake their claim among MAC title contenders.
Senior Kenli Nettles continues her strong run, leading the conference with the best heptathlon score of 5,396 points while posting the second-best 400m hurdles time of 58.46 seconds. Nettles hopes to defend her MAC title in the heptathlon from a season ago. In fact, she won the 2026 MAC Indoor pentathlon title, as well, contributing to Ball State's 10 consecutive MAC multi-event titles since May 2021.
Sophomore Laya'Lapri Ratney currently holds the fastest time of all MAC runners in the 100m hurdles at 13.32 seconds. Ratney also runs lead-off on the 4x100m relay team that includes Kylee Marshall, Amina Hazdiahmetovic and Alana Springer. Together, those four have posted the second-best time in the conference at 44.72 seconds, which also is a program record.
Springer has also seen success of her own in the 100m and 200m dashes, owning the fifth- and third-best times in MAC this year. Since her freshman year, she has not placed outside the top five in the 100m dash and outside the top six in the 200m dash at the MAC Outdoor Championships.
Beyond the track, several field athletes are pushing for MAC titles as well.
Freshman Nina Garner and junior Malina Miller are tied for second in the high jump at a height of 1.76 meters, just 0.02 meters off the conference lead. Last season, Miller took home third in the same event at this meet, and Garner earned a second-place finish in the high jump at the 2026 MAC indoor meet.
Senior Malena Higgins looks to improve on a 13th-place finish in the shot put last season, currently sitting third in the MAC with a mark of 14.48m, the best toss of her career to this point.
The full lineup of Cardinals set to compete this weekend can be found below, with qualifying marks for each event.
THURSDAY, MAY 14
100m Hurdles (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
High Jump (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling Jr.
Shot Put (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
200m Dash (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
Hammer Throw
Sydney Miller, Jr. – 48.88m
Malena Higgins, Sr. – 47.49m
Javelin
Kenli Nettles, Sr. – 40.10m
Maci Easton, Sr. – 32.89m
1500m (Trials)
Sarah Mahnensmith, Sr. – 4:28.53
Kaitlyn Kauppila, Fr. – 4:31.07
400m Hurdles (Trials)
Kenli Nettles, Sr. – 58.46
Lia Patterson, So. – 1:01.44
Lily Eagleston, Fr. – 1:03.33
Lindley Steele, Sr. – 1:04.28
200m (Trials)
Alana Springer, Sr. – 23.64
Amina Hadziahmetovic, Fr. – 23.82
Trinity Bibbs, Fr. – 24.39
10,000m
Carly Spletzer, Sr. – 34:33.85
FRIDAY, MAY 15
Long Jump (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
Javelin (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
800m (Heptathlon)
Kenli Nettles, Sr.
Kendra Keesling, Jr.
Shot Put
Malena Higgins, Sr. – 14.48m
Sydney Miller, Jr. – 13.74m
Long Jump
Kenli Nettles, Sr. – 6.02m
Kylee Marshall – 5.75m
100m Hurdles (Trials)
Laya'Lapri Ratney, So. – 13.32
Lauren Graham, So. – 14.31
Lia Patterson, So. – 14.63
400m (Trials)
Paige Kirtz, Jr. – 55.98
100m (Trials)
Alana Springer, Sr. – 11.64
Amina Hadziahmetovic, Fr. – 11.85
Kylee Marshall, So. – 11.94
3000m Steeplechase
Emily Decker, Fr. – 10:39.69
SATURDAY, MAY 16
Discus
Sydney Miller, Jr. – 47.16m
Malena Higgins, Sr. – 42.27m
High Jump
Malina Miller, Jr. – 1.76m
Nina Garner, Fr. – 1.76m
Bella Jackson, Sr. – 1.70m
Lexi Hale, So. – 1.65m
Triple Jump
Anisa Barnett, Fr. – 11.89m
Brenna Lehrke, Sr. – 11.48m
4x100m Relay
Laya'Lapri Ratney, Kylee Marshall, Amina Hadziahmetovic, Alana Springer – 44.72
1500m (Finals)
Sarah Mahnensmith, Sr. –
Kaitlyn Kauppila, Fr. –
100m Hurdles (Finals)
Laya'Lapri Ratney, So. –
Lauren Graham, So. –
Lia Patterson, So. –
400m (Finals)
Paige Kirtz, Jr. –
100m (Finals)
Alana Springer, Sr. –
Amina Hadziahmetovic, Fr. –
Kylee Marshall, So. –
400m Hurdles (Finals)
Kenli Nettles, Sr. –
Lia Patterson, So. –
Lily Eagleston, Fr. –
200m (Finals)
Alana Springer, Sr. –
Amina Hadziahmetovic, Fr. –
Trinity Bibbs, Fr. –
5,000m
Carly Spletzer, Sr. – 16:27.32
Emily Decker, Fr. – 17:05.51
Kaitlyn Kauppila, Fr. – 17:06.53
4x400m Relay
Lia Patterson, Paige Kirtz, Allison Valladay, Alana Springer – 3:46.42
