Entering the second day of competition at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships tied for first place, the Ball State University track and field team was in prime position to vie for a top finish.
The Cardinals then dropped three spots to finish fourth of the 12 teams despite several outstanding individual performances.
The University of Akron repeated as MAC Champs, scoring 106 points. Western Michigan University followed with 96 points and Miami University edged Ball State for third with 88 points to the Cardinals' 86.
Ball State was tied with Akron with 45 points after Friday's events.
Four individual Cardinals were crowned as MAC Indoor Champions, with one receiving the honor in two different events. A Ball State relay team also won, giving the Cardinals six first-place finishes in 17 scored events.
Head coach Randy Heisler said even though they won more events than any other team, they weren't able to score many points in the events they didn't win.
"When you look at the results, we didn't get a lot of extra points, we just won a lot of events," Heisler said. "What we've got to do is get the kids seeded out of the points to step in and score three or four points here or there."
Ball State's two-point deficit behind third place Miami could have been made up with one athlete placing in one event, Heisler said.
Ali Bishel was the top scorer for Ball State. Bishel won both the one-mile run and the 3,000-meter run, finishing with times of 4:53.72 and 9:40.59. She added to the 20 points earned from the two victories by anchoring the winning distance medley relay team. The foursome of Lisa Arrowsmith, Jenna Schmitmeyer, Brittany Ade and Bishel took first place by clocking in at 11:44.33.
Heisler recognized Bishel's performance as dominating.
"Ali had a tremendous meet," Heisler said. "In the 3,000, Ali was at one level and everyone else was at another."
The best event for the Cardinals, however, was the long jump. Ball State duplicated its performance in the Ball State University Triangular by finishing 1-2-3 in the MAC meet as well. Terri Abraham's leap of 19-feet-8-and-three-quarter-inches gave her the top spot, while Amanda Barnhart and Lindsay Bangert took second and third with jumps of 19-feet-5-and-one-half inches and 19-feet-2-and-three-quarter-inches.
Abraham said that most of the competition came from her teammates, who knew a strong finish in the event was possible.
"We weren't expected to go 1-2-3, but I had a feeling it would happen before the meet," Abraham said. "We were all on our game."
In the 60-meter hurdles, freshman RaJae Marable outran teammate Katie Johnson to take first place in 8.58 seconds. Johnson finished third with a time of 8.64 seconds.
To win as a freshman is a great accomplishment, Heisler said. With sophomore Johnson's strong performance and the return of redshirt senior Amber Williams, Heisler said the 60-meter hurdles will be one of the team's strongest events next year.
The Cardinals' other freshman MAC Champion was Thekla Lorenz, who triumphed in the pentathlon. Lorenz won the long jump and placed third in the shot put on her way to 3,797 points.
Heisler said he was impressed with Lorenz's performance as a freshman.
"Thekla was coming in as a freshman, breaking the school record [for points in a pentathlon], and setting personal bests in all five events," Heisler said. "She'll help us in the future in the high jump, long jump, 4x400-meter relay and just be a real asset to our program."
The program's bright future is what most pleases Heisler, he said. While about 40 of the points Western Michigan and Akron each scored will be lost from graduating seniors, Ball State has two seniors who scored points in the meet, he said.
Next year, the Cardinals will have Williams and senior Christina Whitt back, as well as a great returning freshman class, Heisler said.
Although the indoor season is now over for most of the athletes, Abraham said she thinks the Cardinals' momentum will carry over into the outdoor season.
"We'll be a really strong outdoor team," Abraham said. "It will be a tight race with the top five teams in the MAC. We could pull off a win, but second or third place would be fine."
First, however, are the NCAA Indoor Championships. The two-day event starting on March 14 is held in Fayetteville, Ark.
Heisler said Bishel will attempt to qualify for the meet, although he has not yet decided in which event.
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