Alec Runyan
Ball State Sports Link
Cross Country – Elka Machan
The 2021 cross country season got underway as the Cardinals and first-year head coach Adrian Wheatley took second place out of the seven schools competing at the Butler Twilight Friday evening.
Frontrunner for Ball State was sophomore Elka Machan who finished in third place thanks to a personal best time of 17:30.5.
Machan got out to a quick start and ran with the front pack for almost the entirety of the race showing a lot of promise early in the season.
Splits – 1K: 3:13.5
3K: 10:15.0
5K: 17:30.5
The Cardinals take some time off as they set to compete again on Friday, September 17 at the Cardinal Classic here in Muncie.
Will Jones – Football
Ball State football kicked-off the season last Thursday with a 31-21 win over Western Illinois.
Redshirt senior Will Jones stepped up as he takes on the new role as the Cardinals’ workhorse out of the backfield replacing former BSU running back and current Atlanta Falcon Caleb Huntley.
On a night that found Ball State’s offense stagnant through the first half, they came out in the third quarter looking to pound the football. The Cardinals ran the ball nine times on the 10 play drive that ended in a 21 yard touchdown run from Jones.
Jones ended the night rushing for a career high 93 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown, averaging over five yards a carry.
The Cardinals (1-0) take on Big Ten opponent Penn State (1-0) in Happy Valley this Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Golf – Joey Ranieri
Joey Ranieri and the Ball State men’s golf team got its season started in Bloomington this past weekend at the Hoosier Collegiate Invite, finishing in seventh place of the 15 competing schools.
The senior Ranieri finished in fifth place amongst the 84 golfers with a 54-hole score of 212 (-1).
After finishing with a 68 and tied for the lead after Sunday’s opening round, Ranieri scored 72 in the two following rounds to close out the 54-hole tournament.
The former MAC Freshman of the Year finished with 11 birdies over the weekend, second most in the field.
Ball State hosts the Earl Yestingsmeir Invitational at the Delaware Country Club beginning on Friday, September 18.
Kate Vinson – Volleyball
Ball State women’s volleyball remained unbeaten over the weekend going 3-0 at Wright State and winning their second consecutive tournament to move to 7-0 on the season.
Sophomore libero, Kate Vinson, was named the MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week finishing with 67 digs and .948 reception percentage.
Despite performing well all weekend, Vinson saved her best for last finishing with a career high 29 digs in BSU’s five set victory over Marshall.
Vinson and the Cardinals head to Iowa City this Friday, September 10 as they take on Iowa State at noon followed by Iowa later that same day at 8 p.m. BSU will then take on the Syracuse Orange Saturday morning before returning back to Muncie.
Soccer – Chelcy Ralph
Ball State women’s soccer made its home debut over the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne.
After clinging onto a 1-0 lead at the half, PFW tied the game on a penalty kick in the 47th minute.
It wouldn’t be long however before the Cardinals regained their lead thanks to a beautiful cross from Maya Mills that was put in the back of the net by senior Chelcy Ralph in the 59th minute. Ralph now has two goals on the year through just four games and three goals in her career at Ball State.
Ralph is tied on the team with fellow senior Tatiana Mason in goals scored (2), after Mason put the nail in the coffin with her own goal off a penalty kick late in the game.
Ball State (2-2) is back on the road this week as they take on Xavier University Thursday at 6 p.m.
