Ball State University Athletics
Ball State University
NCAA First Round
Ball State Anticipates Four Qualifiers For NCAA Postseason Meets
May 20, 2026 | Track & Field
MUNCIE, Ind.— A thrilling Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship has set up several Ball State athletes to anticipate qualification for the NCAA First Round in Lexington, Kentucky. In order to qualify, athletes must post a top-48 time in their region during the season.
Laya'Lapri Ratney, Kenli Nettles, Malina Miller and Nina Garner are the four Ball State athletes with marks worthy of qualification to the next round.
Ratney, a sophomore from Gary, Indiana, recently won the individual MAC title in the 100-meter hurdles. Her title-winning time of 13.40 seconds currently sits as the third-fastest time in school history while her NCAA qualifying time of 13.32 seconds ranks second all-time for Ball State.
Senior Kenli Nettles is expected to qualify in two events for her efforts in the 400-meter hurdles and the heptathlon. The 400-meter hurdles time of 58.46 seconds for Nettles was 43rd among east qualifiers through Sunday, putting her in position to qualify in the event for a second straight season. Meanwhile, her heptathlon score of 5,642 points puts her in 23rd place nationally. Combined events qualify straight to the national championship in Eugene, Oregon. It's anticipated that the two-time MAC heptathlon champion has booked her ticket to the finals.
Finally, junior Malina Miller and freshman Nina Garner both are expected to make the NCAA first round regional in the high jump. Miller won the individual MAC title with her best jump of the season at 1.77m. Garner's season-best sits just behind Miller at 1.76m. Both jumpers are comfortably inside the qualifying standard for the high jump, emphasizing Ball State's high jump unit among the country's top units all season.
Official confirmation of qualifiers will be released by the NCAA on May 21. If Ball State does post those five individual qualifiers, it would reflect the most for the program since five athletes qualified in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
