Ball State University Athletics
Friday, September 18
Kalamazoo, Mich.
Ball State University
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George Dales Invite
Photo by: Jake Dickman — Ball State Athletics
Two PRs Help Cross Country Cardinals to Strong Finish at the George Dales Invite
September 18, 2026 | Cross Country
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Personal bests from sophomores Emily Decker and Sadey Seyferth highlighted a strong showing from Ball State Cross Country at the George Dales Invite.
In the first 6k race of the season, Decker—who's PR was by nearly six seconds—led the way for the Cardinals in 14th place alongside fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Kauppila in 15th place. Following the two sophomores were two freshmen, Carla Rodriguez and Abra Mills. Rodriguez crossed the line in 41st and Mills in 44th.
Ball State's top-five was rounded out by sophomore Sadey Seyferth in 50th place. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native broke her 6k PR by over a minute, shaving her previous best of 23:47.6 down to 22:43.8.
Freshman Gemma Pusateri had a great performance in her first collegiate 6k, coming home sixth for the Cardinals with a time of 24:17.3. She was followed closely by senior Elaina Lahmers with a time of 24:42.7 and fellow freshman Ava Dickenson with time of 24:58.3.
As a team, the Cardinals finished in sixth place out of 13 teams, ahead of Mid-American Conference opponents Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Both Eastern and Central were ranked ahead of Ball State in the preseason MAC cross country poll.
"Today was a good showing from our young ladies at the George Dales Invitational," said Head Coach Adrian Wheatley. "We're a young group, and our top five today included three sophomores and two freshmen, so there's a lot of growth still in front of us. It was also good to get an opportunity to compete on the championship course that we'll return to later this season."
The Cardinals have next weeked off before traveling to South Bend for the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame Univeristy on Oct. 2. They will return to Kalamazoo in late October for the MAC Championship, which is set to take place on the same course as today.
In the first 6k race of the season, Decker—who's PR was by nearly six seconds—led the way for the Cardinals in 14th place alongside fellow sophomore Kaitlyn Kauppila in 15th place. Following the two sophomores were two freshmen, Carla Rodriguez and Abra Mills. Rodriguez crossed the line in 41st and Mills in 44th.
Ball State's top-five was rounded out by sophomore Sadey Seyferth in 50th place. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native broke her 6k PR by over a minute, shaving her previous best of 23:47.6 down to 22:43.8.
Freshman Gemma Pusateri had a great performance in her first collegiate 6k, coming home sixth for the Cardinals with a time of 24:17.3. She was followed closely by senior Elaina Lahmers with a time of 24:42.7 and fellow freshman Ava Dickenson with time of 24:58.3.
As a team, the Cardinals finished in sixth place out of 13 teams, ahead of Mid-American Conference opponents Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan. Both Eastern and Central were ranked ahead of Ball State in the preseason MAC cross country poll.
"Today was a good showing from our young ladies at the George Dales Invitational," said Head Coach Adrian Wheatley. "We're a young group, and our top five today included three sophomores and two freshmen, so there's a lot of growth still in front of us. It was also good to get an opportunity to compete on the championship course that we'll return to later this season."
The Cardinals have next weeked off before traveling to South Bend for the Joe Piane Invitational hosted by Notre Dame Univeristy on Oct. 2. They will return to Kalamazoo in late October for the MAC Championship, which is set to take place on the same course as today.
Players Mentioned
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