Falcons Host BG Opener Saturday In Perry Field House

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University indoor track and field team hosts the annual BG Opener Saturday at 11:30 am at Perry Field House. The meet will be one of two home indoor collegiate meets during the year and will be the team's second competition of the 2014-15 season.

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 BG OPENER
The BG Opener will take place at Perry Field House Saturday, beginning with field events at 11:30 am and running events at 1 pm. Admission is $3 or $1 for non-BGSU students with ID. BGSU students with ID and children under the age of 10 are admitted free. Miami, Toledo, Western Michigan (the three-time defending champions of the BG Opener), IPFW and Ball State will all be competing at the meet and team scores will be kept. The schedule of events is listed below.

11:30 am – Weight throw (shot put to follow)
11:30 am – Long jump (triple jump to follow)
11:30 am – High jump
11:30 am – Pole vault
1 pm – 5,000
1:25 pm – 300
1:35 pm – 60 hurdles prelims
1:45 pm – 60 prelims
1:55 pm – Mile
2:10 pm – 400
2:25 pm – FASTEST KID IN BOWLING GREEN INTERMISSION
2:40 pm – 60 hurdles finals
2:45 pm – 60 finals
2:50 pm – 800
3:00 pm - 600
3:10 pm – 200
3:25 pm – 3,000
3:40 pm – 1600 relay

THE FASTEST KID IN BOWLING GREEN
The track and field team will hold its annual "Fastest Kid In Bowling Green" race at intermission at approximately 2:30 pm. Boys and girls in preschool, elementary school and middle school are invited to take part in an untimed 60 meter sprint on the indoor track at Perry Field House. All participants who register prior to the Jan. 8 deadline will receive an award. There is no entry or admissions fee for participants and two family members to the event.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"The BG Opener will feature good early season competition and will be an opportunity for us to see where we are at after three weeks of training on our own. The month of January as a whole will give us a good sense of general fitness and where we can take the overall season as we head through the next 5-6 months of track and field. Our goals are high for the year and we expect to see a ton of individual progress as the team continues to improve." – Head Coach Lou Snelling

MAC RANKINGS
While the season has just begun, the Falcons are ranked among the top three in the Mid-American Conference in five different events. Junior Tiera Parker leads the way with a MAC-best triple jump of 37-feet-5. Freshman Cortisha Short is third in the 200 and redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson is third in the weight throw. Sophomores Raven Porter and Makenzie Wheat are third in the high jump and shot put, respectively. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked in the top 20 in the conference in an event.

60 – 10. Dorresha Green 7.79, 11. Kyla Paster 7.81, 12. Brianna Johnson 7.87, 16. Kera Lamotte 7.98, 17. Tiera Parker 7.99
200 – 3. Cortisha Short 25.38, 4. Gabrielle Edwards 25.43, 5. Kera Lamotte 25.57, 7. Brianna Johnson 25.63, 9. Dorresha Green 25.75
400 – 6. Brittany Sinclair 57.70, 11. Demetra Taylor 59.44, 15. Connor Kempf 60.42, 17. Natalie Sommerville 61.07
60 hurdles – 11. Sydnee Matthew 9.30
1600 relay – 7. Bowling Green 4:04.29
High jump – 3. Raven Porter 5-5, 7. Lexie Davis 5-1, 12. Krystin Reiser 4-11
Long jump – 4. Kyla Paster 18-3.75, 6. Sydnee Matthew 17-6.75
Triple jump – 1. Tiera Parker 37-5, 6. Raven Porter 35-6.5, 9. Sydnee Matthew 35-0.5
Shot put – 3. Makenzie Wheat 46-10.75, 4. Aliyah Gustafson 46-0, 17. Krystin Reiser 32-7
Weight throw – 3. Aliyah Gustafson 54-8, 8. Kayla Velasquez 51-8.25

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Sophomore Makenzie Wheat has quickly put herself in contention for an NCAA Championship berth in the shot put, currently ranking 30^th in the country at 46-feet-10.75. Two other Falcons are ranked among the top 50 nationally in an event with senior Brittany Sinclair at No. 43 in the 400 and freshman Kyla Paster 47^th in the long jump.

200 – 55. Cortisha Short 25.38, 61. Gabrielle Edwards 25.43, 76. Kera Lamotte 25.57, 83. Brianna Johnson 25.63
400 – 43. Brittany Sinclair 57.70
High jump – 53. Raven Porter 5-5
Long jump – 47. Kyla Paster 18-3.75
Triple jump – 69. Tiera Parker 37-5
Shot put – 30. Makenzie Wheat 46-10.75, 39. Aliyah Gustafson 46-0
Weight throw – 63. Aliyah Gustafson 54-8, 97. Kayla Velasquez 51-8.25

FLOURISHING FRESHMEN
Redshirt freshman Aliyah Gustafson and true freshman Kyla Paster rank among the top 10 freshmen in the country in their respective events. Gustafson is sixth among all first-year student-athletes in the weight throw and Paster is tied for eighth in the long jump. In the MAC, the Falcons have the top freshman competitor in four events. Gustafson is the top frosh in both the weight throw and shot put, while Cortisha Short is first among freshmen in the 200 and Lexie Davis is at the top of the freshman list in the high jump.

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 10^th 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 11^th and 12^th.

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 37 times in 13 individual events and 14 of those will come from freshmen. Sophomores are entered 11 times, followed by juniors eight times and seniors four times. In total, there are only four seniors on the 2014-15 roster to go with nine juniors, 13 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 11^th 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.

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Players Mentioned

Alicia Arnold

Lexie Davis

Gabrielle Edwards

Dorresha Green

Aliyah Gustafson

Brianna Johnson

Connor Kempf

Kera Lamotte

Sydnee Matthew

Tiera Parker

Kyla Paster

Brooke Pleger

Raven Porter

Taylor Rambo

Krystin Reiser

Cortisha Short

Brittany Sinclair

Natalie Sommerville

Demetra Taylor

Kayla Velasquez

Makenzie Wheat

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