Saturday, January 17
Ann Arbor, Mich.
10:30 AM
Bowling Green State University
vs
Simmons-Harvey Invitational
Photo by: Craig Bell, BGSU Marketing and Communications
Falcons To Make Trek To Michigan For Simmons-Harvey Invite
January 15, 2015 | Women's Track and Field
Ann Arbor, Mich. – Coming off of a team victory in the six-team BG Opener, the Bowling Green State University track and field team will make the short sprint to Ann Arbor for the Simmons-Harvey Invitational, hosted by the University of Michigan. Field events are slated to begin at 10:30 am at Indoor Track Building.
LINKS
BGSU Performance Lists
Live Results | Entry Lists (.pdf)
Media Guide (.pdf)
Athletics Twitter | Track and Field Twitter | Athletics Instagram | Track and Field Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Get The Gear! #BGGear
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 @BGXCTrack
Instagram – BGFalcons and bg_xctrackandfield
Facebook – BGSU Athletics
YouTube – FalconAthletics
ABOUT THE SIMMONS-HARVEY INVITATIONAL
Michigan's Simmons-Harvey Invitational is held in honor of two individuals, Ken "Red" Simmons and Jack Harvey. Simmons is considered the "founding father" of Michigan Women's Track & Field and supported the program with his time and generosity until his passing in 2012. Jack Harvey led the Michigan track and field team for 25 seasons from 1975-1999.
On the women's side, competing teams will include Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Western Michigan, Detroit, Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame and Siena Heights, as well as club-level competitors from Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track and Field Club and PRTC-Elite.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am Saturday with field events and then running events start at 12:30 pm. There will be no team scoring for the meet.
Field Events
10:30 am: Shot put – Aliyah Gustafson, Makenzie Wheat
10:30 am: Long jump – Alicia Arnold, Tiera Parker, Sydnee Matthew, Kyla Paster
10:30 am: High jump – Raven Porter, Lexie Davis, Krystin Reiser
12:30 pm: Weight throw – Kayla Velasquez, Aliyah Gustafson
1:30 pm: Triple jump – Raven Porter
Running Events (Begins at 12:30 pm)
12:30 pm: 60 hurdles trials – Demetra Taylor, Sydnee Matthew
12:55 pm: 60 trials – Brittany Sinclair, Kera Lamotte, Cortisha Short, Gabrielle Edwards, Brianna Johnson, Alicia Arnold, Dorresha Green
1:50 pm: 60 hurdles finals
2:10 pm: 400 – Connor Kempf, Natalie Sommerville, Demetra Taylor
2:30 pm: 600 – Sydnee Matthew, Krystin Reiser
3:00 pm: 60 finals
3:25 pm: 200 – Brittany Sinclair, Kera Lamotte, Cortisha Short, Brianna Johnson, Tiera Parker, Dorresha Green, Taylor Rambo
4:20 pm: 1600 relay – BGSU
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"It's fantastic that we got the win (in the BG Opener), but where we go from here is what's important. Right now, we are focused on the process. Our expectations are that we continue taking care of the details. Let's continue to improve and move on." – Head Coach Lou Snelling
MAC RANKINGS
While the season has just begun, the Falcons have shown both elite top-end talent and depth. Alicia Arnold ranks as the top 200 runner in the MAC currently, while Kyla Paster and Arnold boast the top two triple jump distances in the league. In total, BGSU has 14 Falcons among the top 10 in the conference and another 20 place among the top 20 in the league. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked in the top 20 in the conference in an event.
60 – 6. Dorresha Green 7.71, 14. Kyla Paster 7.81, 15. Tiera Parker 7.83, 18. Brianna Johnson 7.87, 20. Cortisha Short 7.92
200 – 1. Alicia Arnold #24.53 (AQ), 10. Cortisha Short #25.38, 11. Gabrielle Edwards #25.43, 12. Kera Lamotte #25.57, 14. Brianna Johnson #25.63, 16. Dorresha Green #25.75, 20. Kyla Paster #26.00
400 – 10. Brittany Sinclair #57.70, 18. Demetra Taylor #59.44
Mile – 11. Maria Meredith #5:08.89
3000 – 14. Rebecca Schott #10:33.09
60 hurdles – 16. Sydnee Matthew 9.14
1600 relay – 4. Bowling Green #3:54.52
High jump – 6. Raven Porter 5-5, 15. Lexie Davis 5-1, 20. Sydnee Matthew 4-11, 20. Krystin Reiser 4-11
Long jump – 5. Kyla Paster 18-3.75, 9. Raven Porter 17-10.75, 12. Alicia Arnold 17-7.5, 14. Sydnee Matthew 17-6.75
Triple jump – 1. Kyla Paster 38-3.5, 2. Alicia Arnold 38-1.5, 12. Raven Porter 35-6.5, 14. Sydnee Matthew 35-0.5
Shot put – 3. Makenzie Wheat 49-2.5 (AQ), 6. Aliyah Gustafson 47-7.25
Weight throw – 4. Kayla Velasquez 56-11.5 (AQ), 8. Aliyah Gustafson 54-8
AQ – Surpassed MAC automatic qualifying mark
# - Converted time
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Junior Alicia Arnold and sophomore Makenzie Wheat have put together performances in the early part of the season that has vaulted them into contention for an NCAA Championship berth. Arnold ranks 17th in the country in the 200 and Wheat is 20th in the shot put. As well, freshman Aliyah Gustafson is 37th in the shot put. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked among the top 100 in the country in an event.
200 – 17. Alicia Arnold #24.53
400 – 77. Brittany Sinclair #57.70
1600 relay – 94. Bowling Green #3:54.52
Long jump – 86. Kyla Paster 18-3.75
Triple jump – 73. Kyla Paster 38-3.5, 79. Tiera Parker 38-1.5
Shot put – 20. Makenzie Wheat 49-2.5, 37. Aliyah Gustafson 47-7.25
Weight throw – 66. Kayla Velasquez 56-11.5
# - Converted time
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING EARLY
Redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson is ranked 37th in the country in the shot put with a season-best throw of 47-feet-7.25. In fact, she ranks fourth among all freshmen nationally, but she's not the only first-year student-athlete to be off to a strong start for BGSU. Kyla Paster ranks first in the MAC in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump to date. As well, Dorresha Green is sixth in the conference in the 60.
IN THE RECORD BOOK
Senior Brittany Sinclair etched her name in the record book by breaking the school record in the 300 at the BG Opener. Her time of 40.67 was good enough to win the event and broke the previous school record of 41.05 seconds set by Brittani McNeal in 2007.
HEAVING HEAVY OBJECTS
The Mid-American Conference is one of the best in the country at producing throwers and Bowling Green's throws program is one of the best in the MAC. Already, BGSU has two shot putters ranked among the top six in the conference in sophomore Makenzie Wheat and redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson. In the weight throw, redshirt sophomore Kayla Velasquez and Gustafson rank among the top eight in the conference. On top of that, two of the team's top weight throwers, Brooke Pleger and Kori Reiser (both outdoor track and field NCAA Regional Qualifiers), are yet to compete during the indoor season.
THE COMPUTER SEES IMPROVEMENT
Bowling Green was ranked No. 92 in the country in the preseason NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings, the program's highest ranking ever. The team's previous high ranking was No. 94 a year ago. The poll began in 2008 and Bowling Green's previous highest preseason ranking was No. 110 in 2012. The team has never finished the year ranked higher than No. 107 – a mark achieved last year.
MAC PRESEASON RANKINGS
The coaches of the Mid-American Conference picked Bowling Green to finish 10th in the 2014-15 preseason poll. Kent State was picked to win the league, followed by Akron, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Western Michigan. Toledo was sixth, with Central Michigan, Miami and Northern Illinois following. After Bowling Green, Ohio and Ball State were picked 11th and 12th.
YOUTH STILL RULES
While the BGSU Track and Field program has matured over the past few years, the team is still extremely young. The team is slated to compete 33 times in individual events Saturday and 11 of those will come from freshmen. Sophomores are entered nine times, followed by juniors eight times and seniors five times. In total, there are only four seniors on the 2014-15 roster to go with nine juniors, 12 sophomores and 13 freshmen.
RETURNING POINT SCORERS
Although the team does have youth, the Falcons also return more experience than in previous seasons. In fact, six current student-athletes have scored at the MAC Indoor Championships at least once in their careers. Alicia Arnold, Taylor Rambo, Brittany Sinclair and Demetra Taylor have all raced to a top eight finish at the MAC Indoor Championships in the 1600 relay and Sinclair has added a top eight result in the 400. Makenzie Wheat finished sixth in the shot put a year ago as a freshman and Brooke Pleger has finished fourth and fifth in the weight throw in the past two years.
CLIMBING TOWARDS THE TOP
Under head coach Lou Snelling, the Bowling Green indoor track and field program took a big step forward a year ago in the Mid-American Conference and the Falcons will look to replicate that improvement this year. The Falcons placed 11th out of 12 teams in each of Snelling's first two seasons, scoring a combined 26 points at the MAC Championships during those two seasons. Last year, BGSU scored 38 points and tied for eighth place.
LINKS
BGSU Performance Lists
Live Results | Entry Lists (.pdf)
Media Guide (.pdf)
Athletics Twitter | Track and Field Twitter | Athletics Instagram | Track and Field Instagram | Facebook | YouTube
Get The Gear! #BGGear
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 @BGXCTrack
Instagram – BGFalcons and bg_xctrackandfield
Facebook – BGSU Athletics
YouTube – FalconAthletics
ABOUT THE SIMMONS-HARVEY INVITATIONAL
Michigan's Simmons-Harvey Invitational is held in honor of two individuals, Ken "Red" Simmons and Jack Harvey. Simmons is considered the "founding father" of Michigan Women's Track & Field and supported the program with his time and generosity until his passing in 2012. Jack Harvey led the Michigan track and field team for 25 seasons from 1975-1999.
On the women's side, competing teams will include Michigan, Bowling Green, Toledo, Western Michigan, Detroit, Eastern Michigan, Notre Dame and Siena Heights, as well as club-level competitors from Sarnia Athletics Southwest Track and Field Club and PRTC-Elite.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 10:30 am Saturday with field events and then running events start at 12:30 pm. There will be no team scoring for the meet.
Field Events
10:30 am: Shot put – Aliyah Gustafson, Makenzie Wheat
10:30 am: Long jump – Alicia Arnold, Tiera Parker, Sydnee Matthew, Kyla Paster
10:30 am: High jump – Raven Porter, Lexie Davis, Krystin Reiser
12:30 pm: Weight throw – Kayla Velasquez, Aliyah Gustafson
1:30 pm: Triple jump – Raven Porter
Running Events (Begins at 12:30 pm)
12:30 pm: 60 hurdles trials – Demetra Taylor, Sydnee Matthew
12:55 pm: 60 trials – Brittany Sinclair, Kera Lamotte, Cortisha Short, Gabrielle Edwards, Brianna Johnson, Alicia Arnold, Dorresha Green
1:50 pm: 60 hurdles finals
2:10 pm: 400 – Connor Kempf, Natalie Sommerville, Demetra Taylor
2:30 pm: 600 – Sydnee Matthew, Krystin Reiser
3:00 pm: 60 finals
3:25 pm: 200 – Brittany Sinclair, Kera Lamotte, Cortisha Short, Brianna Johnson, Tiera Parker, Dorresha Green, Taylor Rambo
4:20 pm: 1600 relay – BGSU
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"It's fantastic that we got the win (in the BG Opener), but where we go from here is what's important. Right now, we are focused on the process. Our expectations are that we continue taking care of the details. Let's continue to improve and move on." – Head Coach Lou Snelling
MAC RANKINGS
While the season has just begun, the Falcons have shown both elite top-end talent and depth. Alicia Arnold ranks as the top 200 runner in the MAC currently, while Kyla Paster and Arnold boast the top two triple jump distances in the league. In total, BGSU has 14 Falcons among the top 10 in the conference and another 20 place among the top 20 in the league. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked in the top 20 in the conference in an event.
60 – 6. Dorresha Green 7.71, 14. Kyla Paster 7.81, 15. Tiera Parker 7.83, 18. Brianna Johnson 7.87, 20. Cortisha Short 7.92
200 – 1. Alicia Arnold #24.53 (AQ), 10. Cortisha Short #25.38, 11. Gabrielle Edwards #25.43, 12. Kera Lamotte #25.57, 14. Brianna Johnson #25.63, 16. Dorresha Green #25.75, 20. Kyla Paster #26.00
400 – 10. Brittany Sinclair #57.70, 18. Demetra Taylor #59.44
Mile – 11. Maria Meredith #5:08.89
3000 – 14. Rebecca Schott #10:33.09
60 hurdles – 16. Sydnee Matthew 9.14
1600 relay – 4. Bowling Green #3:54.52
High jump – 6. Raven Porter 5-5, 15. Lexie Davis 5-1, 20. Sydnee Matthew 4-11, 20. Krystin Reiser 4-11
Long jump – 5. Kyla Paster 18-3.75, 9. Raven Porter 17-10.75, 12. Alicia Arnold 17-7.5, 14. Sydnee Matthew 17-6.75
Triple jump – 1. Kyla Paster 38-3.5, 2. Alicia Arnold 38-1.5, 12. Raven Porter 35-6.5, 14. Sydnee Matthew 35-0.5
Shot put – 3. Makenzie Wheat 49-2.5 (AQ), 6. Aliyah Gustafson 47-7.25
Weight throw – 4. Kayla Velasquez 56-11.5 (AQ), 8. Aliyah Gustafson 54-8
AQ – Surpassed MAC automatic qualifying mark
# - Converted time
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Junior Alicia Arnold and sophomore Makenzie Wheat have put together performances in the early part of the season that has vaulted them into contention for an NCAA Championship berth. Arnold ranks 17th in the country in the 200 and Wheat is 20th in the shot put. As well, freshman Aliyah Gustafson is 37th in the shot put. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked among the top 100 in the country in an event.
200 – 17. Alicia Arnold #24.53
400 – 77. Brittany Sinclair #57.70
1600 relay – 94. Bowling Green #3:54.52
Long jump – 86. Kyla Paster 18-3.75
Triple jump – 73. Kyla Paster 38-3.5, 79. Tiera Parker 38-1.5
Shot put – 20. Makenzie Wheat 49-2.5, 37. Aliyah Gustafson 47-7.25
Weight throw – 66. Kayla Velasquez 56-11.5
# - Converted time
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING EARLY
Redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson is ranked 37th in the country in the shot put with a season-best throw of 47-feet-7.25. In fact, she ranks fourth among all freshmen nationally, but she's not the only first-year student-athlete to be off to a strong start for BGSU. Kyla Paster ranks first in the MAC in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump to date. As well, Dorresha Green is sixth in the conference in the 60.
IN THE RECORD BOOK
Senior Brittany Sinclair etched her name in the record book by breaking the school record in the 300 at the BG Opener. Her time of 40.67 was good enough to win the event and broke the previous school record of 41.05 seconds set by Brittani McNeal in 2007.
HEAVING HEAVY OBJECTS
The Mid-American Conference is one of the best in the country at producing throwers and Bowling Green's throws program is one of the best in the MAC. Already, BGSU has two shot putters ranked among the top six in the conference in sophomore Makenzie Wheat and redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson. In the weight throw, redshirt sophomore Kayla Velasquez and Gustafson rank among the top eight in the conference. On top of that, two of the team's top weight throwers, Brooke Pleger and Kori Reiser (both outdoor track and field NCAA Regional Qualifiers), are yet to compete during the indoor season.
THE COMPUTER SEES IMPROVEMENT
Bowling Green was ranked No. 92 in the country in the preseason NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings, the program's highest ranking ever. The team's previous high ranking was No. 94 a year ago. The poll began in 2008 and Bowling Green's previous highest preseason ranking was No. 110 in 2012. The team has never finished the year ranked higher than No. 107 – a mark achieved last year.
MAC PRESEASON RANKINGS
The coaches of the Mid-American Conference picked Bowling Green to finish 10th in the 2014-15 preseason poll. Kent State was picked to win the league, followed by Akron, Eastern Michigan, Buffalo and Western Michigan. Toledo was sixth, with Central Michigan, Miami and Northern Illinois following. After Bowling Green, Ohio and Ball State were picked 11th and 12th.
YOUTH STILL RULES
While the BGSU Track and Field program has matured over the past few years, the team is still extremely young. The team is slated to compete 33 times in individual events Saturday and 11 of those will come from freshmen. Sophomores are entered nine times, followed by juniors eight times and seniors five times. In total, there are only four seniors on the 2014-15 roster to go with nine juniors, 12 sophomores and 13 freshmen.
RETURNING POINT SCORERS
Although the team does have youth, the Falcons also return more experience than in previous seasons. In fact, six current student-athletes have scored at the MAC Indoor Championships at least once in their careers. Alicia Arnold, Taylor Rambo, Brittany Sinclair and Demetra Taylor have all raced to a top eight finish at the MAC Indoor Championships in the 1600 relay and Sinclair has added a top eight result in the 400. Makenzie Wheat finished sixth in the shot put a year ago as a freshman and Brooke Pleger has finished fourth and fifth in the weight throw in the past two years.
CLIMBING TOWARDS THE TOP
Under head coach Lou Snelling, the Bowling Green indoor track and field program took a big step forward a year ago in the Mid-American Conference and the Falcons will look to replicate that improvement this year. The Falcons placed 11th out of 12 teams in each of Snelling's first two seasons, scoring a combined 26 points at the MAC Championships during those two seasons. Last year, BGSU scored 38 points and tied for eighth place.
Players Mentioned
Sprints/Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles/Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
Combined
/ Women's Track and Field
Mid-Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Relays/Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Jumps
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Relays
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Combined
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Relays
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Relays
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Relays
/ Women's Track and Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Throws
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