Thursday, May 15
Athens, Ohio
All Day
Bowling Green State University
at
MAC Outdoor Championships
Falcons Off To Fast Start As Hammer Team Dominates
May 15, 2014 | Women's Track and Field
Day One Results (.pdf)
Athens, Ohio – Brooke Pleger defended her Mid-American Conference championship in the hammer throw and got some much-needed back-up as the Bowling Green State University track and field team got off to a quick start at the MAC Championships Thursday, hosted by Ohio University.
Pleger, Tina Perrine and Kori Reiser all finished in the top six in the opening event of the league championship as BGSU scored 18 points before some teams had even settled in at Goldsberry Track for the annual meet. The Falcons scored just 23 points as a team a year ago and only one point two years ago. The team is a near-certainty to improve upon that point total from 2013.
After the first day, Bowling Green is tied with Ohio for fourth place in the overall team standings with those 18 points. Miami leads with 23, followed by Akron with 22 and Central Michigan with 19. Kent State sits in sixth with 10 points, followed by Toledo with six points and Eastern Michigan with one point. Western Michigan, Ball State, Northern Illinois and Buffalo are yet to crack the scoreboard.
Not only did Pleger, a redshirt junior, win the conference championship for the second consecutive year, but she did so by breaking the MAC Championship record she set a year ago when she threw 216-feet-3. This year, she took the drama out of the meet quickly by throwing 218-9 the first time she stepped into the circle. She beat Brittany Funk, the 2012 MAC Champion in the hammer throw, by almost 15 feet. In fact, all five of Pleger's legal throws (she fouled once in six tosses) would have won the MAC Championship again.
"Brooke is a special athlete," BGSU track and field head coach Lou Snelling said. "She has a chance to do some very exciting things here late in the season. And then the intangibles she brings are big with the focus and example to the rest of the team. And she's a true student-athlete. Nursing school is pretty challenging."
Pleger becomes just the fourth student-athlete in MAC history to win back-to-back hammer throw championships and the first since NCAA National Champion Stevi Large won four straight from 2006-09.
But behind Pleger, both Perrine and Reiser had strong meets. Perrine solidified her chances of qualifying for the NCAA Regional preliminary round with a personal best distance of 185-6 to place fourth. She was sitting in eighth place until her final throw helped her to leap up the leaderboard.
Reiser was the top finishing freshman at the meet, placing sixth with a distance of 182-6. She also remains in contention for a bid to NCAA regionals.
While the first day of the MAC Championship features a limited number of events, Krystin Reiser took part in the first four events of the heptathlon. She set a new personal best in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.59 seconds to spearhead her personal best opening day. She scored 2,750 points, a total of 35 more than the 2,715 she had when she set her career best at the All-Ohio Championships earlier this year. Reiser will take part in the final three events of the heptathlon Friday.
The Falcons concluded the opening day of the meet with the 10,000. Both Becca Rae and Mackenzie McMillin competed in the endurance test for the first times in their careers. Rae placed 13th out of 22 runners in 37:13.32 and McMillin was 19th in 37:56.61.
Day two of the MAC Track and Field Championships will begin at 10:30 am Friday with the final three events of the heptathlon. The long jump takes place at 1 pm and many preliminary heats on the track will take place as well.
MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship
Miami 23, Akron 22, Central Michigan 19, Bowling Green 18,
Ohio 18, Kent State 10, Toledo 6, Eastern Michigan 1
Miami 23, Akron 22, Central Michigan 19, Bowling Green 18,
Ohio 18, Kent State 10, Toledo 6, Eastern Michigan 1
BGSU Results
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 218-9 (MAC Championship Record), 4. Tina Perrine 185-6, 6. Kori Reiser 182-6
Heptathlon – 10. Krystin Reiser 2,750 points
10000 – 13. Becca Rae 37:13.32, 19. Mackenzie McMillin 37:56.61
BGSU In the Nest : Track and Field
Tuesday, June 10
Lou Snelling Post-MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Interview (May 17, 2025)
Wednesday, May 21
Lou Snelling Post-Meet Interview (December 7, 2024)
Wednesday, December 11
BG TF : Coach Snelling Postmen
Saturday, January 13