OXFORD, Ohio - - The Ball State outdoor track & field team scored three event wins and 15 career-best performances at the non-scored RedHawk Invitational Saturday afternoon at Miami University's George Rider Track.

   Junior Christina Crawford (Belleville, Mich./Romulus) was the Cardinals' top individual performer on the day, posting career-best efforts in three different events. Crawford's best event was the long jump where she tallied a winning jump of 6.04m, which is the second-best mark in the Mid-American Conference this season. It also marks the fourth time in five meets Crawford has posted a MAC automatic qualifying mark in the long jump.

   “Overall, I was really pleased with our performance today,” Ball State head coach Randy Heisler said. “Christina had by far the best track meet of her collegiate career, turning in personal-best performances in three events and running a strong leg in the 4x100m relay. I thought Makelle also had a solid day, especially her effort in the 400m hurdles. With two meets left until the conference championships, we are starting to get people back and healthy which will only help us improve.”

   Crawford would go on to place fourth in the 100m dash and sixth in the 200m dash with career-best times of 12.01 and 25.27, respectively. Based on the MAC performance list entering the week, Crawford's time of 12.01 in the 100m dash would tie as the eighth-best effort in the MAC.

   Freshman hurdler Makelle Skelton (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) picked up the Cardinals other individual event victory, winning the 400m hurdles with a career-best clocking of 1:02.55. Based on the MAC performance list entering the week, the effort would be the ninth-best in the conference this season.

   Skelton would also have a hand in the Cardinals' other event victory of the day, running the third leg for the first-place 4x400m relay. Joining Skelton on the relay which crossed the finish line in 3:53.72 were freshmen Olivia Ashba (Ellettsville, Ind./Edgewood), Ariel Hune (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) and Kassidy Swenson (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso).

   The Ball State outdoor track & field squad returns to action Friday, when it opens competition in the two-day Dave Rankin Invitational hosted by Purdue.

   For the most up-to-date news on Ball State track & field, follow @bsuathletics and @BallStateTrack on Twitter.

BALL STATE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS AT THE REDHAWK INVITATIONAL

100m Dash (11.95 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   4th - Christina Crawford - 12.01 (CB)
   18th - Christa Hammond - 12.57 (CB)
   21st - Rebecca Lomax - 12.62
   22nd - Gabrielle Perryman - 12.83 (CB)
   23rd - Zenée Gadson - 12.83 (CB)

200m Dash (24.45 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   6th - Christina Crawford - 25.27 (CB)
   11th - Ariel Hune - 25.90 (CB)

400m Dash (56.05 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   5th - Ariel Hune - 58.60 (CB)

800m Run (2:12.06 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   10th - Jordan Timmons - 2:24.58 (CB)
   15th - Jordan Jenkins - 2:28.20 (CB)

1500m Run (4:33.55 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   13th - Madelyn Webster - 4:51.03

5000m Run (17:14.17 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   2nd - Courtney Edon - 18:01.61
   12th - Katelyn DeVries - 19:18.91
   13th - Ericka Rinehart - 19:19.18
   DNF - Caitlynn Edon

400m Hurdles (1:02.17 – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
   1st - Makelle Skelton - 1:02.55 (CB)
   3rd - Becca Kropf - 1:04.19
   6th - Kassidy Swenson - 1:04.86
   8th - Olivia Ashba - 1:05.27
   10th - Natalia Boykin - 1:05.47

4 x 100m Relay
   4th - Olivia Ashba, Christina Crawford, Makelle Skelton, Zenée Gadson - 48.31

4 x 400m Relay
   1st - Olivia Ashba, Ariel Hune, Makelle Skelton, Kassidy Swenson - 3:53.72
   8th - Natalia Boykin, Becca Kropf, Haley Austin, Jordan Timmons - 4:17.35

High Jump (1.68m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  T-4th - Haley Austin - 1.61m

Pole Vault (3.70m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  9th - Hannah Ciasto-Poor - 3.53m (CB)
  11th - Elizabeth Eversole - 3.38m (CB)
  15th - Rachael Walker - 3.23m (CB)

Long Jump (5.82m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  1st - Christina Crawford - 6.04m (CB) - 2nd-best in MAC this season
  5th - Makelle Skelton - 5.51m

Triple Jump (11.77m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  2nd - Zenée Gadson - 10.89m
  7th - Gabrielle Perryman - 10.40m

Discus (46.65m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  7th - Michaela Hull - 42.20m
  11th - Erin Walker - 38.73m

Hammer (53.63m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  9th - Erin Walker - 50.40m
  16th - Jorden Traver - 44.53m

Javelin (38.95m – MAC Outdoor Championships Auto Qualifying Standard)
  4th - Michaela Hull - 35.63m (CB)
  7th - Jorden Traver - 30.03m

- BallStateSports.com -