MUNCIE — Regan Lewis has a way of leaping right into the record books.
From her high school days at Greenfield-Central to her first three seasons at Ball State, Lewis has made her mark on both schools.
She keeps setting the bar by literally going over it.
Her most recent accolade is her biggest yet — with an eighth-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, the Ball State junior advanced to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships conducted Wednesday through Saturday in Eugene, Oregon.
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She wasn’t far from making the championships last year. This year, a season-best jump of 5 feet, 10¾ inches got her there.
“It’s amazing,” Lewis said of earning a spot in the outdoor championships. “It’s something since last year that’s been on my mind. It’s something I thought I could accomplish. It’s just great to actually get to the point of making it to the meet.”
Lewis had a highly decorated career at Greenfield-Central, making state each year and never finishing worse than seventh. She was a four-time all-state selection, team captain all four years and helped lead the Cougars to three conference titles.
The success hasn’t stopped. Lewis is a three-time defending Mid-American Conference champion in the high jump, and she set the program mark in the indoor high jump last year while also setting the second-highest mark in the outdoor high jump.
Her performance at the preliminary round means Lewis becomes the first Ball State student-athlete to advance to the outdoor championships in a decade.
Nobody from Ball State has made it to that level in the high jump event specifically since 1984.
“It’s just great to get to represent our school since we haven’t been to the meet in 10 years,” Lewis said. “Our team has a lot of people on it that could get to this caliber. I think that Ball State can be on the map.”
Lewis has reached new heights despite some pretty big challenges in her path this year. She’s had a progression each year, placing higher and winning more.
But this year was different. As a nursing major, she made it to the national championships despite a lot less practice time. Lewis started her clinicals this year, which has kept her from practicing as often as she used to.
Most of this year, Lewis wasn’t at practice for a majority of the week. She’d go straight from clinicals to the weight room some days.
She said she focused on working even harder in the practices she could attend and on not having bad reps in the weight room.
“The challenge for her was to manage her energy,” Ball State coach Brian Etelman said. “From a coaching standpoint I’m used to having five to seven days a week. We only got her for two.”
According to her coach, Lewis has the traits that have made that work.
“She’s a quiet leader. Someone that has led by example and that also has a really demanding academic schedule,” Etelman said. “She’s very level-headed, emotionally calm and consistent. It kind of lends itself to her own development.”
Half of the nationals competition will be familiar to Lewis from the East preliminaries. Half of the 24 competitors will be new faces. She will be among the best of the best in the NCAA.
Her coach thinks his high jumper has the potential to make a name for herself in Oregon.
“She’s flying under the radar from a national perspective and I think that’s probably a good thing,” Etelman said. “The best high jumpers in the NCAA will be there, and by default, some of the best in the world because the U.S. is so good in that event.”
Lewis is confident in what she can do and said she is excited for the meet, not particularly nervous. She said she’s looking forward to getting to compete for a national championship.
It’s the culmination of years of success. When she arrived at Ball State she started focusing on weight lifting, which she credits much of her success to.
She’s etched her name in Ball State’s record books in several places already. Now she has a chance to bring the program into the spotlight on the big stage.
“Her impact on the program — we were really bad for a while before I got here (three years ago),” Etelman said. “It’s just nice to have something to prove to people that we can be good here and can be successful. Not only has she gotten better as an individual; it’s sparked some of the competitive quality in the team as well.”
It helps that Lewis is, as her coach says, “super competitive.”
She doesn’t like to lose. And with all the winning she’s been doing, her coach sees her confidence building as she reaches new levels.
“Most days we get the best version of Regan that we can have on that particular day,” Etelman said. “Experiencing success has helped her confidence a little bit. It’s opened her eyes when you take a small town kid from the state of Indiana and next thing you know she’s competing for a national championship. There’s a little bit of an underdog story.”
Lewis’ quest to become the second national champion in Ball State program history begins at 3 p.m. Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
The top eight finishers earn points for their team and are named first-team All-American. That’s a goal both Etelman and Lewis have in mind for the junior heading into her first national championship meet.
“I think it would be very possible for me to be first-team All American,” Lewis said. “My unrealistic goal is that I want to be the national champion.
“I don’t want to go out there and lose.”