After this weekend’s We Fly Challenge hosted by Ball State track and field at Briner’s Sports Complex, Cardinals’ head coach Adrian Wheatley told his roster Saturday evening there is no other team he’d rather coach.
“They are fearless and they care about each other,” Wheatley said. “They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, and I think for me as a coach, I just have to get them in the right position, and they execute it. It's really exciting for me to just see them go, and it was a great day for us.”
Ball State’s lone home meet of the season wasn’t just a race for them as the team honored their 12 seniors on Saturday morning. Over the last four years, this group has become extremely close, said senior Moriah Johnson.
“We've been here from the beginning and we've seen each other through every single season of life,” Johnson said. “We've gone through ups and downs together, PRs (personal records) together, and that's what makes it so special is that we've seen each other grow and we can appreciate how much we’ve changed."
However, the Cardinals took the special day as an opportunity to end their final home race with a bang as the roster captured multiple personal best performances and won several events.
The event started on Friday with field events kicking off the weekend. Ball State freshman Lexi Hale began the Cardinals’ success by tying for first place in the high jump with a leap of 1.65 meters. This tied her best collegiate jump.
After the upperclassmen were honored, Saturday’s sprinting events began at full force. It did not take long for the red and white to find momentum as Johnson, senior Jenna Oriani, junior Alana Springer and freshman Kylee Marshall competed in the 4x100 relay, taking the race with a time of 45.09. This was the fourth fastest 4x100-meter time in program history.
“There's no other team in the world that I'd rather be a part of, and I'm super proud of everyone,” Oriani said.
Following that, the good performances continued as senior Kenli Nettles set a personal best 14.09 in the 100-meter hurdles, taking second place. Then, Oriani and senior Emma Potter took second and third place in the 400-meter dash with times of 54.98 and 55.05.
Springer continued to win the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.68 and then took the 200-meter dash, crossing the finish line with a 23.67. Oriani was just behind her in fourth with a time of 24.34.
In the triple jump event, Ball State took the top four spots with senior Mckenna Cinotte taking first place with a leap of 11.85 meters.
“They really competed across all the different events,” Wheatley said. “There was a PR across all the events, and where I sit, it's everything … Making sure that we understand how to be successful and how to compete and how to battle back if things don't go the way that we want to or how to handle success … These ladies get an opportunity to be a part of this team and part of this program, and so it's really exciting just to see them consistently day in and day out show up for each other.”
The Cardinals have three meets until the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Outdoor Championship takes place May 15-17. For the Cardinals to find success in the ‘big dance’ as Wheatley calls it, they believe the plan is easy; keep it simple and stay poised.
“Each week, we're trying different things. We're trying to continue to enhance the things that we've done in the past to be more consistent,” Wheatley said. “... From your best race to your worst race, we're all running in this area because when we start backing off or tapering down, we’re getting ready for the big show, so we're fresh.”
Ball State will next compete in the Gibson Invitational, hosted by Indiana State in Terre Haute. It will take place April 17-19.
Contact Zach Carter via email at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or via X @ZachCarter85.
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