Complete Results | USI Results

KENOSHA, Wis.—University of Southern Indiana senior All-American Mary Ballinger captured two titles and a second-place finish en route to earning GLVC Female Track Athlete of the Year honors at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday night.

Ballinger finished second in the 5,000 meters Friday night, but returned to win conference titles in the mile and the 3,000 meters to rack up 28 of the Screaming Eagles' 58 team points.

In doing so, Ballinger becomes the first student-athlete in school history to garner GLVC Track Athlete of the Year honors. She was the GLVC Runner of the Year in cross country last fall and was named the US Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year last spring.

The national champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase a year ago, Ballinger posted a winning time in the mile of four minutes, 59.80 seconds and a mark of 10 minutes, 20.06 seconds in the 3,000 meters.

As a team, the Eagles posted seven top-five finishes as they placed sixth overall. Sophomore Jackie Henderson also had a strong showing as she was third in the 3,000 meters and fourth in the 5,000 meters, while fellow classmate Adrienne Curtis was fifth in the 5,000 meters and eighth in the 3,000 meters.

Ballinger will turn her attention to the NCAA II Indoor Championships, which are March 12-13 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while the rest of the Eagles will gear up for the start of the outdoor season (April 2-3 at the Washington Invitational in St. Louis, Missouri). Ballinger has an automatic qualifying time in the mile as well as a provisional qualifying time in the 5,000 meters.