Over the weekend, Ball State track and field split up again, competing at the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State and the War Eagle Invitational at Auburn University.
The War Eagle Invitational
The portion of the team that competed at the War Eagle Invitational left its mark in record-breaking fashion.
The 4x100m relay team made up of juniors Jazmin Smith and Peyton Stewart, along with sophomores Bryeana Byrdsong and Jasmine Harris, broke the school record with a time of 45.28. This time broke the previous record of 45.42, which was set in 2001.
Since head coach Brian Etelman took over the program for the 2015-16 campaign, Ball State track has broken program records in the indoor high jump, outdoor shot put and now in the 4x100m relay.
Along with the Ball State school record, junior Regan Lewis cleared the 1.79-meter bar in the high jump, which is the highest she’s ever jumped in the regular season.
“That's a sign that good things are to come," Etelman said. "Her goal is to get out to the NCAA final in Oregon, so jumping 1.79 at this point in the season is an indicator that goal is a possibility."
Jesse Owens Classic
Although there was no breaking of any school records, the athletes who competed in the Jesse Owens Classic were on an agenda of their own.
Sophomore Maritza Rodriguez ran an outdoor career-best in the 5k with a time of 17:33.41 to give her fourth place. Along with Rodriguez’s career-best time, freshman Cayla Eckenroth clocked in a career-best performance with a time of 17:58.07.
Despite all of these accomplishments over the weekend, Etelman still knows there is room to improve as the season goes on.
“We had a solid weekend as a team," Etelman said. "The relays and Regan Lewis were certainly the highlights. We had some positive performances here and there, but honestly, I felt we underperformed as a whole unit this weekend. I was a little concerned coming off such a great meet at home that we might be a little flat this weekend and it looks like that was probably the case.”
The team had a share of positives over the weekend, but they still have some things to work on before the last meet of the regular outdoor season.
“We struggled a little bit in the hurdle races this weekend,” Etelman said. “That's always been a strong point of our team, so we need to get better in those areas soon if we're going to perform at the MAC Championships at our best.”
Next weekend, the team will split up again, but Etelman is not worried.
“We split the team this weekend between the prestigious Penn Relays for our sprint relays and the Hillsdale Relays for the bulk of our team,” Etelman said. “This is our last weekend to compete during the regular season, so there is a lot at stake for everyone putting on the uniform for the last time in April.”
The Cardinals will travel to Pennsylvania and Hillsdale College for a three-day meet April 26-28.
Contact Olivia Adams with comments oamadams@bsu.edu or on Twitter at @olivia_adams5.
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