Surging Falcons Prepare For Next Steps This Weekend

Friday, January 26

Huntington, W. Va.

5:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Thundering Herd Invitational

January 25, 2018 | Women's Track and Field

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green, Ohio – Coming off of a strong performance at the Tom Wright Classic, the Bowling Green State University indoor track and field team will compete at two meets this weekend. BGSU's throwers will attend Findlay's Elite Throws meet Saturday, while the rest of the squad will attend the Thundering Herd Invitational Friday and Saturday, hosted by Marshall.

The Thundering Herd Invitational begins at 5:30 pm Friday evening and picks back up at 9 am Saturday, while Findlay's meet begins at 9 am on Saturday.

THUNDERING HERD INVITE LIVE RESULTS
BGSU INDOOR SCHOOL RECORDS (.pdf)
BGSU PERFORMANCE LISTS

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The BGSU track and field team can be followed all winter/spring long through a number of ways. Social media links are listed below and live results and live video (as available) can be found on BGSUFalcons.com as meets provide those opportunities.

Twitter - @BGAthletics and @BG_XCTrack
Instagram – BGFalcons and BG_XCTrack
Facebook – BGSU Athletics
YouTube – FalconAthletics

THUNDERING HERD INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
5:30 pm – Long jump (Kyla Paster)

SATURDAY
9:30 am – High jump (Stacey Wolverton)
12:30 pm – 60 semifinals (Chasatea Brown, Peyton Lee, Cortisha Short, Dorresha Green, BeJai Fray, Mis'cha Sellers)
12:30 pm – Triple jump (Kyla Paster)
2:30 pm – 60 finals
2:50 pm – 400 (Hailey Mayes, Ryen Draper, Paige Geatz, Brianna Tidmore, Rickia White)
3:30 pm – 800 (Rachel Stute)
4:00 pm – 200 (Chasatea Brown, Savannah Nevels, Mis'cha Sellers, Cortisha Short)
4:45 pm – 3000 (Rachel Walny, Elena Lancioni)
6:05 pm – 1600 relay (Team A, Team B)

FINDLAY ELITE THROWS SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
10:00 am – Weight throw (Kaila Butler, Aliyah Gustafson, Allie Farmer, Elizabeth Iversen, Zaresha Neal, Daija Young)
11:00 am – Shot put (Aliyah Gustafson, Elizabeth Iversen, Zaresha Neal, Daija Young)
1:30 pm – Shot put elite (Aliyah Gustafson, Elizabeth Iversen, Zaresha Neal, Daija Young)
4:00 pm – Weight throw elite (Kaila Butler, Aliyah Gustafson, Allie Farmer, Elizabeth Iversen, Zaresha Neal, Daija Young)

THE COMPUTERS KNOW
Bowling Green is ranked No. 82 in the first national computer rankings of the regular season, up 22 spots from the preseason. That is the program's second-highest ranking since the computer poll began in 2008 and the highest since being No. 75 at one point during the 2015 season.

THE MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE COMING

BGSU will host three meets in Perry Field House during the indoor season, concluding with the Mid-American Conference Championships Feb. 23-24.
Bowling Green last hosted the indoor track and field MAC Championships in 2011, placing eighth with 45 team points.
Five men's teams and 12 women's teams will descend on Bowling Green for the MAC Championships.
The Falcons already hosted the BG Opener in December and the Tom Wright Classic a week ago.

MAC AUTO BIDS

BGSU has earned seven Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying marks already this year, including six in the two throws events.
The Falcons picked up four auto bids in the weight throw. Aliyah Gustafson, Elizabeth Iversen, Kaila Butler and Allie Farmer all earned automatic entry to the MAC Championships.
In the shot put, both Gustafson and Iversen added second automatic bids.
Peyton Lee, a sophomore transfer from Northern Kentucky, ran the 60 hurdles in 8.68 seconds to earn a MAC auto bid.

BGSU IN THE MAC RANKINGS (TOP 20)
60 – 7. Savannah Nevels 7.67, 12. Dorresha Green 7.71, 16. Kyla Paster 7.74
200 – 8. Savannah Nevels 24.69#, 9. Ryen Draper 24.77#, 12. Peyton Lee 24.99#, 15. Cortisha Short 25.00#
400 – 8. Chasatea Brown 57.02#, 20. Rachel Stute 58.70#
800 – 9. Jessi Lindstrom 2:18.58#, 11. Rachel Stute 2:18.79#
Mile – 9. Rachel Durbin 5:01.86#, 15. Jessi Lindstrom 5:06.34#
60 hurdles – 3. Peyton Lee 8.62 (AQ)
1600 relay – 9. Chasatea Brown, Hailey Mayes, Paige Geatz, Brianna Tidmore 3:54.62#
High jump – 10. BeJai Fray 1.64m (5-4.5), 17. Stacey Wolverton 1.61m (5-3.25)
Long jump – 11. BeJai Fray 5.50m (18-0.5), 15. Kyla Paster 5.47m (17-11.5), 16. Peyton Lee 5.46m (17-11)
Triple jump – 13. Kyla Paster 11.35m (37-3), 18. Brianna Richard 11.05m (36-3)
Shot put – 1. Aliyah Gustafson 17.03m (55-10.5) (AQ), 2. Elizabeth Iversen 15.35m (50-4.5) (AQ), 14. Zaresha Neal 13.22m (43-4.5)
Weight throw – 2. Elizabeth Iversen 19.77m (64-10.5) (AQ), 3. Aliyah Gustafson 19.67m (64-6.5) (AQ), 6. Kaila Butler 18.11m (59-5) (AQ), 7. Allie Farmer 18.06m (59-3) (AQ), 18. Daija Young 15.78m (51-9.25)
# - Converted time

BGSU IN THE NCAA RANKINGS (TOP 100)
Shot put – 8. Aliyah Gustafson 17.03m (55-10.5), 46. Elizabeth Iversen 15.35m (50-4.5)
Weight throw – 19. Elizabeth Iversen 19.77m (64-10.5), 21. Aliyah Gustafson 19.67m (64-6.5), 80. Kaila Butler 18.11m (59-5), 83. Allie Farmer 18.06m (59-3)

THROW FOR DOUGH

BGSU is set to enter six competitors in the weight throw and four more in the shot put Saturday at the Findlay Elite Throws meet.
In the weight throw, the Falcons have four of the top seven performances in the MAC this year. Elizabeth Iversen is second in the conference, and 19th nationally, in the event. Aliyah Gustafson follows in third, 21^st in the country, while Kaila Butler is sixth and Allie Farmer seventh.
In the shot put, Gustafson is the top-ranked thrower in the MAC and the school record holder. She currently sits eighth nationally and is positioned to be one of the 16 throwers to compete at the indoor national championships. Iversen is second in the conference and fifth in school history in the event. Freshman Zaresha Neal is currently 14^th in the league.

JUMP AROUND

BGSU will enter one competitor in each of the three jumping events at the Thundering Herd Invitational.
Kyla Paster will compete in the long jump Friday evening and then the triple jump Saturday. She currently ranks among the top 15 in the conference in both events, peaking at No. 13 in the triple jump.
In the high jump, Stacey Wolverton will continue her journey towards the MAC Championships. She ranks 17^th in the conference currently in the event.

FALCON FAST

The Falcons will look to continue to climb the MAC leaderboard in the sprints Saturday.
Savannah Nevels, currently BGSU's leader in both the 60 and 200, will focus on just the 200 Saturday, where she ranks eighth in the MAC. Cortisha Short, also among the top 20 in the conference, will also attempt to move up the leaderboard.
Dorresha Green, who currently sits 12^th in the MAC in the 60, will be featured in the shortest sprint in track. She is one of six Falcons who are scheduled to race in the 60.
Five Falcons will compete in the 400. None of those five are currently among the top 20 in the conference but will look to move into contention for a spot in the MAC Championships.

SITTING IN THE MIDDLE

Rachel Stute will be the team's lone competitor in the 800 this weekend.
Stute currently ranks 11^th in the MAC in the event.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Rachel Walny and Elena Lancioni will each compete in the 3000 on Saturday for the first time this season.
Walny, who qualified for the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships, earned a MAC automatic qualifying berth in the 3000 a year ago.

FALCONS SIGN FIVE

The BGSU cross country and track & field program announced the signing of five high school student-athletes during the early signing 2017-18 early signing period.
The Falcons are excited to welcome Jazzlyn Gaiters (Worthington, Ohio / Thomas Worthington HS), Iyanna Ross (Columbus, Ohio / Pickerington Central HS), Katie Seyfang (Washington Court House, Ohio / Miami Trace HS), Olivia Clymer (White Lake Township, Mich. / White Lake Lakeland HS) and Katerina Shuble (La Porte, Ind. / La Porte HS) to the family.
Gaiters and Ross are sprinters, while Seyfang is a thrower. Clymer is a distance runner who will also compete in cross country and Shuble competes in mid-distance events and will take part in cross country.

QUOTABLE
"We keep talking about momentum and building upon the momentum we have. We have some bigger meets coming up, and we need to keep building on that momentum and stay healthy; just take care of the basics. For our distance group, when Elena Lancioni and Rachel Durbin both run 10 seconds faster in the mile at the Tom Wright Classic than they did a year ago, you feel good about that. Rachel Walny opens up this weekend and she should be pretty good. Elena (Lancioni) will get her first major race of the season under her belt and she should put herself in a good place as well." – BGSU Track & Field Coach Lou Snelling

GUSTAFSON RAKING IN THE AWARDS

Aliyah Gustafson was named MAC Field Athlete of the Week Jan. 23 after breaking the school's shot put record for the sixth time.
Gustafson was also named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Jan. 17 after breaking the school's shot put record. Gustafson carries a 4.0 grade point average.

ALL-ACADEMIC

BGSU's track and field team was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team for the 2016-17 season, posting a 3.43 combined grade point average.
Current team members Aliyah Gustafson and Rachel Walny, along with graduate Makenzie Wheat, were named USTFCCCA Individual All-Academic award winners.