Ball State Track and Field opens up indoor season with 7 individual victories

<p>Ball State senior Anna-Kay West, left, and freshman Anasja Troutman, center, compete in the 60 meter hurdles on Feb. 16 in the Ball State Tune-up at the Field Sports building. <strong>Madeline Grosh, DN</strong></p>

Ball State senior Anna-Kay West, left, and freshman Anasja Troutman, center, compete in the 60 meter hurdles on Feb. 16 in the Ball State Tune-up at the Field Sports building. Madeline Grosh, DN

Ball State Track and Field kicked off its indoor season at the Bowling Green Opener on Saturday. Head Coach Brian Etelman said he was very pleased to see the performances by the Cardinals. 

“I was really happy with how well we competed and everybody was really excited and really focuses,” said Etelman. “They did not score the meet, but had they, we probably would have won.”

Senior Regan Lewis kicked off the night for the Cardinals by clearing the 1.75-meter bar to win the high jump event. Sophomore Hailley Peters followed up Lewis taking second in high jump after she jumped 1.59 m. 

Alongside, taking second place in the 300-meter dash, sophomore Wambui Watene set the new program record for the fasted time in the indoor 300m with a time of 40.73. 

Another big performance for the Cardinals was a first place finish for senior Peyton Stewart. Stewart ran a 7.54 second 60 meter dash in the preliminary round. Stewart was able to improve her time to 7.52, which gave her the victory in the 60-meter dash.

The 400-meter dash was won by junior Amber Jones who had a 57.27 second performance. This victory was followed by another from senior Jazmin Smith who won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.66 seconds. Smith was also able to claim a victory in the 200-meter dash finishing with a time of 25.15 seconds. 

“[Smith] has been really motivated this year and I think that this has been the best fall of training that she has ever put in,” said Etelman. “She has won a MAC championship in the past, so she has an objective of winning more.”

In her indoor track collegiate debut, freshman Meghan Hedrick won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:30.11. Hedrick was also the only freshman to win one of the categories of competition in the meet for the Cardinals. 

“It was a really good feeling,” said Hedrick. “To come out with a win, it was a good confidence boost. I am really proud of where I finished.” 

The final event of the evening was completed and won by junior Maritza Rodriguez to finish the first indoor event of the season. Rodriguez won the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:17.58. 

With Saturday’s strong performance, it will be up to the athletes in order to keep it going throughout the rest of the season. 

“If we can keep the same competitive edge and the same pride and continue to get better in training, I think that when the MAC rolls around we are going to do a really good job,” said Etelman. 

Ball State Track and Field will be back in action on Jan. 11-12 at the Kentucky Invitational. 

Contact Drew Pierce with any comments at dlpierce@bsu.edu or on Twitter @dpierce3cc

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