BGSU Heads To Tennessee For Three-Day Meet

Thursday, April 9

Knoxville, Tenn.

TBA

Bowling Green State University

Tennessee Relays

April 07, 2015 | Women's Track and Field

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

Performance Lists

Knoxville, Tenn. – The Bowling Green State University track and field team continues its impressive outdoor season this weekend at the Tennessee Relays. Coming off of a 103-96 win over arch rival Toledo, BGSU will compete in Knoxville Thursday through Saturday.

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 TENNESSEE RELAYS
The Tennessee Relays are hosted by the University of Tennessee and will take place Thursday through Saturday at Tom Black Track in Knoxville, Tenn. Listed below is the schedule of events and accepted entries:

Thursday
10 am – Heptathlon (Krystin Reiser)
4 pm – Hammer throw (Brooke Pleger, Kori Reiser, Kayla Velasquez)

Friday
10 am – Heptathlon (Krystin Reiser)
12:15 pm – 400 hurdles (Brittany Sinclair, Natalie Sommerville, Connor Kempf)
1:50 pm – 100 (Dorresha Green, Alicia Arnold, Kera Lamotte)
4 pm – Discus (Kori Reiser, Kayla Velasquez)
4:30 pm – 400 (Taylor Rambo, Gabrielle Edwards)
5 pm – High jump (Raven Porter)
5 pm – Long jump (Kyla Paster)
5:50 pm – 200 (Alicia Arnold, Kera Lamotte, Brianna Johnson)
7:50 pm – 1,500 (Maria Meredith, Rachel Durbin)
9:20 pm – 5,000 (Amanda Garlak)

Saturday
10 am – Shot put (Makenzie Wheat)
12:30 pm – 3000 steeplechase (Andrea Alt, Becca Rae)
1:30 pm – 400 relay (Bowling Green A/Bowling Green B)
2 pm – Triple jump (Kyla Paster, Tiera Parker)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"We need to build on our first two meets. Hopefully, we have an opportunity to take advantage of better conditions and better fields this weekend to move up the conference lists. There is still a lot of work to be done." -- Head Coach Lou Snelling

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.

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 third in the conference in the event.

OH SO CLOSE
Alicia Arnold posted a leap of 19-feet-0.75 at the Toledo Dual Friday to rank second in the MAC in the long jump, less than one inch behind Northern Illinois' Claudette Day at the top of the league leaderboard. Arnold also ranks fifth in the 100 and 13^th in the high jump, after leaping 5-2.25 at the Toledo Dual the first time she competed in the event collegiately.

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 sixth and seventh 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. Wheat currently ranks third in the MAC in the shot put.

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 senior Brooke Pleger is also at the top of the MAC (as well as the top of the country) in the hammer throw. BGSU is currently ranked in the top 10 in the MAC 17 times and in the top 20 another 17 times. Listed below are all Falcons ranked among the top 20 in the MAC in an event:

100 – 5. Alicia Arnold 12.05
200 – 11. Brittany Sinclair 25.21, 13. Kera Lamotte 25.23, 18. Brianna Johnson 25.49
400 – 1. Brittany Sinclair 56.21, 13. Gabrielle Edwards 58.45, 14. Taylor Rambo 58.62, 18. Cortisha Short 59.34
1500 – 17. Maria Meredith 4:41.66
5000 – 8. Becca Rae 17:07.60, 13. Andrea Alt 17:43.33, 20. Rebecca Schott 18:01.63
10000 – 3. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
100 hurdles – 18. Demetra Taylor 15.20
400 hurdles – 1. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13, 13. Demetra Taylor 1:03.92
400 relay – 6. Bowling Green 47.34
1600 relay – 7. Bowling Green 3:55.50
High jump – 9. Raven Porter 5-4.5, 13. Alicia Arnold 5-2.25, 15. Krystin Reiser 5-1
Long jump – 2. Alicia Arnold 19-0.75, 7. Raven Porter 18-7.25, 16. Sydnee Matthew 17-9.75
Triple jump – 6. Tiera Parker 37-10.75, 7. Kyla Paster 37-9.5, 15. Raven Porter 36-3.5
Shot put – 3. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Discus – 7. Kori Reiser 149-4, 17. Kayla Velasquez 130-9
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 6. Kori Reiser 183-4, 7. Kayla Velasquez 178-6
Javelin – 19. Libby Burkhart 104-1

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.

10000 – 41. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
400 hurdles – 50. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13
Shot Put – 18. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 29. Kori Reiser 183-4, 39. Kayla Velasquez 178-6

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:

10000 – 83. Mackenzie McMillin 36:14.29
400 hurdles – 91. Brittany Sinclair 1:01.13
Shot Put – 42. Makenzie Wheat 49-7
Hammer throw – 1. Brooke Pleger 222-4, 75. Kori Reiser 183-4

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.