Despite not winning an event, the Ball State University track and field team turned in 11 top-four finishes Saturday at the Mike Poelein Invitational.
The meet, located at Purdue University, was the team's first meet in more than a month and its first outdoor meet of the season.
Sophomore Kelsey Nielsen, who took second place in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 38:49.18, led the Cardinals. RaJae Marable and Lindsay Bangert finished third and fourth in the 100-meter dash, while Katie Johnson's time of 14.47 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles earned her fourth place.
Marable, Bangert, Johnson and Brandi Robinson also teamed up for a third place finish in the 4x100-meter relay.
Sarah Kehe and Jenna Schmitmeyer earned fourth-place finishes in the 1,500-meter run and the 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
Schmitmeyer, who ran the 400-meter dash during the indoor season, said having hurdles in the race helped speed it up.
"It makes it go a lot faster," Schmitmeyer said. "You can concentrate on the next hurdle instead of on the entire race."
In the field events, Ball State continued its excellence in the long jump. Amanda Barnhart and Terri Abraham finished second and third with jumps of 19-feet-8.25-inches and 19-feet-4.75-inches. Jessica Genovese cleared 5-feet-2.5-inches in the high jump, putting her in a tie for third place.
Senior Cara Collins finished in the top 10 in the shot put, discus throw and the hammer throw. Highlighting her performance was a toss of 164 feet in the hammer throw, good for fourth place.
Schmitmeyer said it felt good to complete the first outdoor meet of the season.
"It's all about getting the first meet done and having one under your belt," Schmitmeyer said. "Now we can see where we are and focus on improving our times."
The Cardinals will next travel to Oxford, Ohio on Friday for the Miami Invitational.
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