Ball State Track and Field head coach Adrian Wheatley knew freshman Joan Easter was talented, but her first career victory in the Michigan Invitational Jan. 22 reaffirmed what he knew.
“She’s a freshman and she’s been working on some things with Coach [Holly] Hankanson and putting her runway together,” Wheatley said. “She just came out and executed so it was really exciting to see her put it together and win another competition.”
Easter jumped 5.67 meters in the long jump, a new personal high.
Sophomore Alexis Thigpen, graduate student Payton Barlow and graduate student MaQuila Norman placed second, third and fourth, respectively, in the Women’s 400 meters.
Thigpen and Barlow were also members of the 4x400 relay to place second, alongside sophomore Janelle Rogers and sophomore Kayla Jones.
“I think what pleased me the most was my ability to stay mentally into it,” said Thigpen. “My whole race I was able to push myself and stay strong regardless if someone got in front of me.”
Jones finished fifth in the Women’s 800 meters, while freshman Carly Spletzer placed fifth in heat one and sophomore Vivian Van Eck placed third in heat two of the Women’s 3000 meters.
“I wanted to go out there and compete,” Speltzer said. “Coach Wheatley has been reiterating this entire season so far that we need to go out there and compete so that is what I did; I wanted to go out there and pass as many people as possible and place as high as I could."
The Cardinals hope to keep their momentum going as they host an indoor multi-meet followed by a two-day Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame Feb. 4-5.
The indoor Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships take place Feb. 24-26, and Speltzer said she is looking to build upon her perofmance as the season continues.
“I’m excited to see where the rest of the season can take me and try to improve as the season goes on,” Speltzer said.
Wheatley believes the Cardinals can succeed the most and reach their potential in time for the MAC Championship.
“We’re gonna have some individuals off of events and have individuals continue to try some different things from a competitive standpoint and maximize what we do during training and perform in competitions,” Wheatley said.
Contact Corbin Hubert with comments at cchubert@bsu.edu or on Twitter @corbin_hubert_.
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