Thursday, April 23
Hillsdale, Mich.
TBA
Bowling Green State University
vs
Gina Relays
Falcons Split Squad For Pair Of Weekend Meets
April 22, 2015 | Women's Track and Field
Performance Lists
Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University track and field team will compete at two different meets during a critical weekend for the team. Throwers will compete at the Ashland Alumni Open Friday and Saturday, while the rest of the squad will compete at the 49th annual Gina Relays, hosted by Hillsdale, beginning Thursday for three days.
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 GINA RELAYS
The 49th annual Gina Relays will take place Thursday through Saturday at Ken Herrick Outdoor Track, hosted by Hillsdale College.
Thursday, April 23
3:30 pm – Heptathlon (Sydnee Matthew)
6:45 pm – 5000 (Allison Francis, Amanda Garlak, Rebecca Schott)
Friday, April 24
10 am – Heptathlon (Sydnee Matthew)
1 pm – Long jump (Alicia Arnold, Kyla Paster, Raven Porter, Krystin Reiser)
1:15 pm – 400 (Kera Lamotte)
2:15 pm – 800 (Rachel Durbin, Maria Meredith)
3:20 pm – 400 hurdles (Natalie Sommerville)
3:50 pm – 200 (Taylor Rambo, Brittany Sinclair)
7 pm – 3000 steeplechase championship (Andrea Alt)
8:25 pm – 5000 championship (Mackenzie McMillin, Becca Rae, Jasmine Redman)
Saturday, April 25
10 am – Triple jump: men first, followed by women (Kyla Paster, Raven Porter)
1:20 pm – 1500 (Rachel Durbin, Lindsay Kaatz, Maria Meredith)
2:25 pm – 400 championship (Gabrielle Edwards, Cortisha Short, Brittany Sinclair)
2:35 pm – 100 championship (Alicia Arnold, Dorresha Green, Brianna Johnson, Kera Lamotte)
3:10 pm – 400 hurdles championship (Connor Kempf, Demetra Taylor)
3:25 pm – 200 championship (Alicia Arnold, Gabrielle Edwards, Dorresha Green, Brianna Johnson, Cortisha Short)
4 pm – 1600 relay championship (Bowling Green)
ABOUT THE ASHLAND ALUMNI OPEN
The Ashland Alumni Open will take place Friday and Saturday at Dwight Schar Athletic Complex in Ashland, Ohio. Listed below is the schedule of events:
Friday
11 am – Hammer throw (Kayla Velasquez, Kori Reiser)
4:30 pm – Hammer throw invitational (Brooke Pleger)
Saturday
10 am – Shot put: men first, followed by women (Makenzie Wheat)
10 am – Discus (Kayla Velasquez, Kori Reiser)
2 pm – Javelin: men first, followed by women (Libby Burkhart)
WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
"This is another big weekend for us. We need to take advantage of our opportunities at Hillsdale and Ashland. The team is positioning itself well for the end of the season. But, we still have performances to accomplish before heading to the MAC Championships." – BGSU Head Coach Lou Snelling
THE COMPUTER RANKINGS
Bowling Green climbed one spot Monday to No. 14 in the Great Lakes Region, according to the computer rankings conducted by the United State Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The Falcons are fifth among MAC schools in the region. On a national level, BGSU is No. 58 after peaking at No. 55 a week ago. The Falcons opened the season at No. 63, the team's best preseason ranking since the system was implemented in 2008.
SINCLAIR SIZZLES
Redshirt senior Brittany Sinclair has made a mark for herself in the 400 hurdles and the 400. Sinclair broke the school record in the 400 hurdles over the past weekend with a time of 58.97 seconds and ranks first in the Mid-American Conference in the event by more than a full second. She is the only MAC student-athlete to run the event in under one minute this year – and she has done so twice. In the 400, Sinclair improved her personal best to 55.51 seconds and is currently ranked fourth in the conference in the event.
ONE IN A McMILLIN
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 sixth in the conference in the event.
TRIPLE THREAT
Alicia Arnold posted a leap of 19-feet-0.75 at the Toledo Dual to rank fourth in the MAC in the long jump, less than four inches behind Eastern Michigan's Dace' Dreimane at the top of the league leaderboard. Arnold also ranks third in the 100 and sixth in the 200, giving her three events in which she is in position to score at the MAC Championships.
DROPPING THE HAMMER
The Falcons' deepest and most competitive event over the past few years has been the hammer throw and that looks to be a similar strength this year. 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. This year, Pleger not only ranks first in the country, but redshirt sophomores Kori Reiser and Kayla Velasquez are seventh and tenth in the MAC, respectively.
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. This year, Pleger ranks first in the nation with a throw of 222-feet-4.
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. Wheat has picked up where she left off, throwing 46-feet-11.75 at the Raleigh Relays in the season-opener. She then set a new personal best with a toss of 49-7 at the Toledo Dual to win the event and followed that up with an identical 49-7 mark at the Tennessee Relays. Wheat currently ranks fifth in the MAC in the shot put.
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.
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
Bowling Green has two student-athletes ranked at the top of the MAC with Brittany Sinclair in the 400 hurdles and Brooke Pleger in the hamer throw. Currently, BGSU is ranked in the top 10 in the conference 19 times and in the top 20 another 13 times. Listed below are all Falcons ranked among the top 20 in the MAC in an event:
100 – 3. Alicia Arnold 11.79, 16. Kera Lamotte 12.23
200 – 6. Alicia Arnold 24.28, 9. Kera Lamotte 24.57
400 – 4. Brittany Sinclair 55.51, 13. Taylor Rambo 56.84
5000 – 13. Becca Rae 17:07.60, 19. Andrea Alt 17:43.33
10000 – 6. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
400 hurdles – 1. Brittany Sinclair 58.97, 17. Demetra Taylor 1:03.92, 20. Connor Kempf 1:04.39
3000 steeplechase – 5. Andrea Alt 10:49.90, 10. Becca Rae 11:17.20
400 relay – 3. Bowling Green 46.22
1600 relay – 8. Bowling Green 3:55.50
High jump – 8. Raven Porter 5-7, 18. Alicia Arnold 5-2.25, 20. Krystin Reiser 5-1
Long jump – 4. Alicia Arnold 19-0.75, 9. Raven Porter 18-7.25
Triple jump – 8. Tiera Parker 37-10.75, 9. Kyla Paster 37-9.5, 19. Raven Porter 36-3.5
Shot put – 5. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Discus – 11. Kori Reiser 149-4, 18. Kayla Velasquez 136-9
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 7. Kori Reiser 183-4, 10. Kayla Velasquez 178-6
Javelin – 20. Libby Burkhart 104-1
Heptathlon – 9. Krystin Reiser 3,979
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The top 48 individuals in the East region 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 hurdles – 17. Brittany Sinclair 58.97
Shot put – 27. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 39. Kori Reiser 183-4
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Brooke Pleger ranks at the top of the national leaders in the hammer throw with a toss of 222-feet-4. Listed below are all Falcons among the top 100 nationally in an event:
400 hurdles – 30. Brittany Sinclair 58.97
Shot put – 64. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 92. Kori Reiser 183-4
WEEKLY HONORS
Senior Brooke Pleger earned her eighth career Mid-American Conference Field Athlete of the Week award on April 7 after throwing the hammer 222-feet-4 at the Toledo Dual to move into the top spot in the country. Later in the week, she was also named the MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week. Pleger holds a grade point average of 3.624 in nursing.
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 |
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.
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