Battle Of I-75 Hits The Track Friday

Friday, April 3

Toledo, Ohio

3:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo Dual

March 31, 2015 | Women's Track and Field

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

Performance Lists

Toledo, Ohio – Coming off of a successful opening weekend, the Bowling Green State University Track & Field team will make the trek to rival Toledo to compete in a dual meet with the Rockets Friday at 3:30 pm. It will mark the third consecutive year that the two teams have competed in a dual meet with BGSU winning each of the past two seasons.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The BGSU track and field team can be followed all 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 TOLEDO DUAL
BGSU and Toledo renewed their dual meet rivalry in 2013 and the Falcons earned a 93-90 win at Whittaker Track that season. A year ago, Bowling Green hosted Toledo again and the Falcons ran away with a 107-75 win. In total, BGSU is 11-4 all-time in dual meets against Toledo. This year's meet will be held at Toledo and the schedule of events is listed below:

Field
3:30 pm – Hammer throw
3:30 pm – High jump
4:00 pm – Pole vault
4:30 pm – Javelin, Shot put to follow
4:30 pm – Long jump, Triple jump to follow
5:45 pm – Discus

Track
5 pm – 2000 Steeplechase
5:15 pm – 400 relay
5:20 pm – 1500
5:30 pm – 100 hurdles
5:40 pm – 400
5:50 pm – 100
6:00 pm – 400 hurdles
6:15 pm – 800
6:25 pm – 200
6:30 pm – Men 3000
6:45 pm – 3000
7:00 pm – 1600 relay

REGIONAL DUAL MEET RANKINGS
Bowling Green was ranked No. 13 in the Great Lakes Region by Track and Field News for dual meet rankings. The Falcons are fifth among MAC schools in the rankings.

THE REGIONAL SCENE
A year ago, five student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Regional Preliminary round across seven different events. Makenzie Wheat (shot put), Brooke Pleger (hammer) and Kori Reiser (discus, hammer) return for the Falcons in 2015. Pleger advanced from the regional preliminary round to the NCAA National Championships, placing third in the hammer throw to earn her second consecutive All-American award.

AT THE TOP OF THE MAC
Redshirt senior Brittany Sinclair took little time setting herself up for a strong conclusion to her career. Sinclair placed in the top 10 at the Raleigh Relays in both the 400 and the 400 relay and is currently ranked first in the Mid-American Conference in both events. Her time of 1:01.13 in the hurdles makes her the sixth fastest woman in BGSU history in the event and her 56.21 in the 400 is almost a full second faster than any other runner in the conference.

AT THE TOP OF THE MAC
Redshirt sophomore Mackenzie McMillin opened some eyes at the Raleigh Relays when she beat her personal best in the 10,000 by more than 100 seconds. She ran the event in 36:14.29 to easily surpass her previous best time of 37:56.61 at last year's MAC Championships. She currently ranks second in the conference in the event.

DROPPING THE HAMMER
The Falcons' deepest and most competitive event over the past few years has been the hammer throw. A year ago, three student-athletes qualified for the NCAA Regional Preliminary Round in the event, led by senior Brooke Pleger, who placed second at regionals and third at the NCAA Division I Track and Field National Championships. Redshirt sophomore Kori Reiser also returns after qualifying for the regional meet as well and opened the season with a toss of 156-feet-7. Another redshirt sophomore, Kayla Velasquez, threw the hammer 162-6 at the Raleigh Relays this past weekend after taking the 2014 outdoor season off.

HAMMER TIME
Senior Brooke Pleger has been named an NCAA Division I First Team All-American for two consecutive years, finishing seventh in the country in the hammer throw as a redshirt sophomore and then improving to third a year ago. She is the school's all-time record holder in the event and is one of the top 10 collegiate American hammer throwers in the history of the sport.

MAK ATTACK
Sophomore Makenzie Wheat made a splash as a freshman a year ago, qualifying for the NCAA Regional Preliminary meet in the shot put. In the first meet of the year at the Raleigh Relays, Wheat threw 46-feet-11.75, good for fourth best in the MAC in the early going.

STANDING ABOVE THE REST
Senior Brooke Pleger has dominated the Mid-American Conference in the hammer throw during her career, setting a new MAC Championship record with a toss of 216-feet-3 as a sophomore. But she improved upon that a year ago, breaking her own record at the MAC Championships with a distance of 218-9.

Top Hammer Throws In MAC Championship History
Distance	Competitor (School)	Year
218-9	Brooke Pleger (Bowling Green)	2014
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

#MACtion
Bowling Green scored 60 points at the Mid-American Conference Championships a year ago, the most for the Falcons since 1999. The Falcons just missed a top half finish at the conference standings in seventh place but it was a big step forward from 23 points at the same meet in 2013 and just one point in 2012. Among those who scored points at the MAC Championships a year ago, the Falcons return Brooke Pleger (first in the hammer throw), Kori Reiser (sixth in the hammer throw and sixth in the discus), Andrea Alt (sixth in the 3000 steeplechase), Alicia Arnold (fourth in the long jump), Makenzie Wheat (eighth in the shot put), Natalie Sommerville (fifth in the 400 hurdles) and Tiera Parker (sixth in the triple jump). In total, those student-athletes accounted for 32 of the team's 60 points. On top of that, Kayla Velasquez placed eighth in the discus in 2013 before redshirting a year ago.

MAC RANKINGS
Senior Brittany Sinclair ranks first in the MAC in both the 400 and the 400 hurdles through the early stages of the season, while junior Alicia Arnold and redshirt sophomore Mackenzie McMillin are second in the MAC in the 100 and 10,000 respectively. Listed below are all Falcons ranked among the top 20 in the MAC in an event:

100 – 2. Alicia Arnold 12.05, 14. Dorresha Green 12.55, 17. Kera Lamotte 12.66
400 – 1. Brittany Sinclair 56.21, 5. Taylor Rambo 58.62, 14. Gabrielle Edwards 1:00.34
1500 – 10. Maria Meredith 4:41.66
5,000 – 8. Becca Rae 17:07.60, 12. Andrea Alt 17:43.33, 19. Rebecca Schott 18:01.63
10,000 – 2. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
100 hurdles - 11. Demetra Taylor 15:20, 16. Sydnee Matthew 15.95
400 hurdles – 1. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13, 20. Natalie Sommerville 1:07.54
400 relay – 6. Bowling Green 48.52
High Jump – 11. Raven Porter 5-1
Long Jump – 5. Alicia Arnold 18-1
Triple Jump – 5. Tiera Parker 37-10.75
Shot Put – 4. Makenzie Wheat 46-11.75
Discus – 9. Kori Reiser 147-1, 19. Kayla Velasquez 117-10
Hammer - 8. Kayla Velasquez 162-6, 11. Kori Reiser 156-7

REGIONAL RANKINGS
The top 48 individuals in each event will advance to the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round in Jacksonville, Fla. May 28-30. Listed below are all Falcons currently ranked among the top 50 in the East region.

400 – 46. Brittany Sinclair 56.21
5000 – 50. Becca Rae 17:07.60
10000 – 20. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
400 hurdles – 29. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13
Shot Put – 31. Makenzie Wheat 46-11.75

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Redshirt sophomore Mackenzie McMillin's time of 36:14.29 in the 10,000 currently ranks her No. 21 in the country in this year. Listed below are all Falcons among the top 100 nationally in an event:

400 – 100. Brittany Sinclair 56.21
5000 – 67. Becca Rae 17:07.60
10000 – 21. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
400 hurdles – 60. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13
Shot Put – 73. Makenzie Wheat 46-11.75

PLEGER NOW AMONG THE COLLEGIATE ALL-TIME GREATS
By throwing the hammer 223-feet at the Toledo Invitational last year, Brooke Pleger became one of the 10 greatest American collegiate hammer throwers of all time. She entered the year ranked No. 14 but supplanted Britney Henry, who threw 221-7 for Oregon in 2006, with her toss at Toledo. Including all collegians, Pleger currently ranks No. 18 all-time. Listed below is the entire top 10 list of American collegians:

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
223-0	Brooke Pleger (Bowling Green)	5/9/14

PLEGER ALSO RANKED IN THE CURRENT NATIONAL TOP TEN
Senior Brooke Pleger is currently ranked as the No. 10 hammer thrower in the country by Track and Field News, which includes all athletes regardless of age. She is the only member of the top 10 who is still competing collegiately. Amanda Bingson ranks first in the nation, followed by Amber Campbell, Jessica Cosby Toruga, Gwen Berry and Britney Henry. Brittany Smith is sixth, followed by Jeneva McCall, Kristin Smith, Amy Happanen and Pleger.