Thursday, April 24
Hillsdale, Mich.
All Day
Bowling Green State University
at
Gina Relays
Falcons Set For Competition This Weekend
April 23, 2014 | Women's Track and Field
| GINA RELAYS | |
| Date | April 24-26, 2014 |
| Time | Thursday 3:30 pm; Friday 10 am; Saturday 1 pm |
| Location | Hillsdale, Mich. | Ken Herrick Outdoor Track |
| Coverage | Live Results (TBA) |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Performance List |
| ASHLAND ALUMNI OPEN | |
| Date | April 25-26, 2014 |
| Time | Friday 11 am; Saturday 10 am |
| Location | Ashland, Ohio | AU Track |
| Coverage | Live Results (TBA) |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook | Performance List |
Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University track and field team will compete as split squads this week with throwers traveling to Ashland, Ohio for the Ashland Alumni Open. The remainder of the team will be at the Gina Relays in Hillsdale, Mich.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The BGSU track and field team can be followed all spring through a number of ways. Follow the official team Twitter account @BGXCTrack and the official account of the Athletics Department @BGAthletics. Links for live results and live video (as available) can be found on BGSUFalcons.com as meets provide those opportunities.
ABOUT THE GINA RELAYS
The Gina Relays is a three-day competition hosted by Hillsdale College with events starting Thursday at 3pm. The schedule of events is listed below.
Thursday
3:30 pm - Heptathlon
6:00 pm - 3000 Steeplechase
6:40 pm - 5000
9:20 pm - 10,000
Friday
10:00 am - Heptathlon
1:00 pm - Long Jump
1:20 pm - 400
1:40 pm - 100
2:00 pm - 800
2:40 pm - 400 Hurdles
3:00 pm - 200
7:00 pm - 3000 Steeplechase Championship
8:00 pm - 1500 Championship
8:30 pm - 5000 Championship
9:10 pm - The "Gina" 10,000 Championship
Saturday
1:00 pm - 1600 Relay Championship
1:20 pm - 1500
2:05 pm - 100 Hurdles Championship
2:25 pm - 400 Championship
2:40 pm - 100 Championship
2:55 pm - 800 Championship
3:15 pm - 400 Hurdles Championship
3:35 pm - 200 Championship
3:50 pm - 3200 Relay Championship
4:20 pm - 1600 Relay Championship
ABOUT THE ASHLAND ALUMNI OPEN
The Ashland Alumni Open is a two-day competition hosted by Ashland University. Events begin Friday with a schedule of events to be announced.
PRESEASON RANKINGS
Bowling Green earned a preseason national ranking of No. 64 by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the highest preseason ranking for the team since the rankings began in 2008. A year ago, Bowling Green's preseason rank was No. 207.
BGSU was third among all Mid-American Conference schools with Akron leading the way at No. 26 and Buffalo in second at No. 54. Following Bowling Green was Kent State at No. 66 and Eastern Michigan at No. 116.
NEW POLL RELEASED
The United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its outdoor track and field national rankings. The Falcons are currently ranked No. 65 in the country and No. 14 in the region. BGSU is fifth among all MAC schools in the regional rankings.
MAKING A NATIONAL SPLASH
Early in the season, Bowling Green has made a splash on the national scene with five Falcons ranked among the top 100 in the country. Listed below are each of those competitors:
200 – 90. Jeanette Pettigrew
Shot put – 78. Makenzie Wheat
Hammer throw – 4. Brooke Pleger 76. Kori Reiser, 91. Tina Perrine
THE REGIONAL SCENE
While being ranked among the top 100 in the country is a big accomplishment, finishing the year ranked in the top 48 in the region will allow a student-athlete to advance to the NCAA regionals. A year ago, only Brooke Pleger finished in the top 48 to advance. Listed below are the six student-athletes currently ranked among the top 48 in the East.
200 – 48. Jeanette Pettigrew
Shot put – 36. Makenzie Wheat
Hammer throw – 3. Brooke Pleger, 29. Kori Reiser, 36. Tina Perrine
Heptathlon – 38. Krystin Reiser
DROPPING THE HAMMER
The Falcons' deepest and most competitive event is the hammer throw as Bowling Green has three throwers currently ranked among the top 10 in BGSU history, as well as ranked in the top 40 in the region. Redshirt junior Brooke Pleger is No. 4 in the country after throwing 214-feet-4 at the All-Ohio Championships. Redshirt freshman Kori Reiser ranks sixth all-time at BGSU with a throw of 184-10 and is 29th in the region. Senior Tina Perrine is seventh in BGSU history with a personal best of 182-0 and is 36th in the region.
HAMMER TIME
Junior Brooke Pleger was named an NCAA Division I First Team All-American a year ago after finishing seventh in the country in the hammer throw. After winning the All-Ohio Championships with a throw of 214-feet-4, she ranks fourth in the country. A year ago, Pleger threw the hammer as far as 219-9, a distance that would currently rank second in the country. Princeton's Julia Ratcliffe is the only hammer thrower in the nation who has thrown further this year at 230-7.
TEACHING PETTIGREW NEW TRICKS
Senior Jeanette Pettigrew has always been one of the Mid-American Conference's fastest sprinters. But she has added versatility this year, competing in the long jump for the first time in her career. In the first meet of the year, competing in the long jump for the first time, Pettigrew surpassed the MAC automatic qualifying mark in the event with a leap of 19-feet-4.25. She ranks seventh in the conference in the long jump, less than five inches shy of second.
REIS-ING TO THE OCCASION
Junior Krystin Reiser set a new personal best in the heptathlon when she competed in the event at the All-Ohio Championships. Competing in four events on day one and three more on the second day, Reiser set new personal records in five events and tied her PR in the other two for a score of 4,529 – more than 300 points better than she had ever scored before. Reiser's heptathlon score is the ninth-best in program history. The other eight totals higher than hers were all achieved by just two individuals – Becky Barnett and Ginger Lake.
PARKER POWER
Sophomore Tiera Parker ranks seventh in the MAC in the triple jump just a year after shocking the field at the MAC Championships to score points with an eighth place finish at the meet. She jumped 37-feet-5 a year ago to earn that result but has already jumped as far as 37-10.75 this year.
WHEAT IS NEAT
Freshman Makenzie Wheat is among the top freshmen in the country in the shot put. After throwing 48-feet-4.5 at the All-Ohio Championships, she ranks among the top 100 in the country in the event and is 10th among all freshmen in the event.
PETTIGREW, PLEGER EARN MAC HONORS
Jeanette Pettigrew was named the MAC's Track Athlete of the Week April 22, while Brooke Pleger earned the MAC's Field Athlete of the Week the same day. Pettigrew broke the school record in the 200 and set a new personal best in the 100 to receive the honor. Pleger broke a Kentucky Track and Field Complex facility record in the hammer throw and remained unbeaten in the event this year.
Pleger also earned the Field Athlete of the Week award just a week earlier (April 15) after winning the hammer throw at the All-Ohio Championships with a season-best toss of 214-feet-4 that ranks fourth in the country this year.
STANDING ABOVE THE REST
When Brooke Pleger threw the hammer 216-feet-3 at the MAC Championships a year ago, not only did that distance clinch a MAC title. It also broke the MAC Championship record in the hammer throw, breaking a record held by 2009 National Champion Stevi Large. Considering that second-place finisher Brittany Funk also broke the MAC Championship record, Pleger needed just about every ounce of energy to win the title. Listed below are the top five distances ever thrown at the MAC Championships.
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| Top Hammer Throws In MAC Championship History | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distance | Competitor (School) | Year |
| 216-3 | Brooke Pleger (Bowling Green) | 2013 |
| 214-6 | Brittany Funk (Akron) | 2013 |
| 213-10 | Stevi Large (Akron) | 2009 |
| 206-4 | Shant'e White (Buffalo) | 2011 |
| 202-7 | Stevi Large (Akron) | 2007 |
#MACtion
Bowling Green placed 10th at the Mid-American Conference Championships a year ago with 23 points, but the Falcons have reason to believe they can exceed those results this year. BGSU returns everyone who scored points in an individual event a year ago and all of those, in fact, are underclassmen this year still. That list begins with junior Brooke Pleger, who won the hammer throw. Redshirt sophomore Andrea Alt was seventh in the steeplechase, while sophomores Tiera Parker and Kayla Velasquez placed eighth in the triple jump and discus, respectively. On top of those competitors, senior Jeanette Pettigrew placed as high as third in both the 100 and 200 at the MAC Championships in 2011. Adding to the depth, senior Tina Perrine, sophomore Jasmine Redman and freshman Makenzie Wheat all scored points at the MAC Indoor Championships.
PLEGER CLOSING IN ON HISTORIC COLLEGIATE MARKS
Brooke Pleger threw the hammer a distance of 219-feet-9 a year ago, a mark that is less than two feet shy of placing her among the top 10 American collegiate hammer throwers of all time. If she is able to improve upon her distance this year, she could climb the ladder quickly. Pleger ranks No. 14 all-time among American collegians and No. 23 among all collegiate hammer throwers. Listed below are the American athletes she is chasing:
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| Top American Collegiate Hammer Throwers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distance | Name (School) | Date |
| 237-10 | Brittany Riley (Southern Illinois) | 4/28/07 |
| 233-1 | Amanda Bingson (UNLV) | 5/26/12 |
| 231-4 | Gwen Berry (Southern Illinois) | 4/30/11 |
| 229-10 | Chelsea Cassulo (Arizona State) | 5/23/13 |
| 229-9 | Loree Smith (Colorado State) | 11/30/99 |
| 227-8 | Jeneva McCall (Southern Illinois) | 3/24/12 |
| 224-9 | Brittany Smith (Illinois State) | 6/5/13 |
| 224-1 | Jessica Pressley (Arizona State) | 5/3/08 |
| 223-4 | Stevi Large (Akron) | 6/12/09 |
| 221-7 | Britney Henry (Oregon) | 4/15/06 |
CAPTAINS
BGSU head coach Lou Snelling has named three captains for the 2013-14 season. Redshirt sophomore Andrea Alt, redshirt junior Brooke Pleger and redshirt senior Jeanette Pettigrew will guide the Falcons.
ACADEMIC ALL-MAC
BGSU senior Jeanette Pettigrew and redshirt junior Brooke Pleger were named to the 2014 Women's Indoor Track & Field MAC All-Academic Team April 22. Pettigrew holds a 3.67 grade point average in human movement, sport, and leisure studies while Pleger has a 3.73 GPA in nursing. Andrea Alt, Amanda Garlak, Lindsay Kaatz, Mackenzie McMillin, Maria Meredith, Becca Rae, Jasmine Redman and Krystin Reiser were all named honorable mention.
SNELLING RECOGNIZED BY SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
A six-time Southland Conference Coach of the Year at Stephen F. Austin, BGSU Head Coach Lou Snelling was named to the All-Time Southland Conference Honor Roll earlier this year. As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the conference honored 65 student-athletes and eight coaches (of which Snelling was recognized) for their historic contributions to the sport.
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Wednesday, May 21
Lou Snelling Post-Meet Interview (December 7, 2024)
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