NCAA Regionals Begin Thursday In Jacksonville

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Jacksonville, Fla. – The Bowling Green State University track and field team will send four student-athletes to the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet Thursday through Saturday at the University of North Florida. The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
The BGSU track and field team can be followed all spring and summer 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
Facebook – BGSU Athletics
YouTube – FalconAthletics

ABOUT THE NCAA EAST REGION PRELIMINARY MEET
The NCAA East Region preliminary meet will take place Thursday through Saturday at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. Listed below is the schedule of events in which BGSU student-athletes will compete:

Thursday
3:30 pm – Shot put (Makenzie Wheat / third of four flights)
4:30 pm – 400 hurdles first round (Brittany Sinclair / sixth of six flights)

Friday
12 pm – Discus (Kori Reiser / first of three heats)
7:30 pm – 400 hurdles quarterfinals (Brittany Sinclair)

Saturday
1:30 pm – Hammer throw (Brooke Pleger / third of three flights)

WHAT ARE THEY SAYING?
"We are proud to represent Bowling Green at a meet of this caliber. It is a goal of ours every year to send as many athletes as possible." – BGSU Head Coach Lou Snelling

REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
Over the past two years, BGSU has sent nine student-athletes to the NCAA East Region preliminary round (five competing in eight events a year ago and four in four events this year). Prior to the 2014 regionals, only Brooke Pleger in 2013 had qualified for the regional meet in the two previous seasons.

HAMMER TIME
Senior Brooke Pleger is the top seed in the hammer throw in the East region and the No. 1 ranked thrower in the country. Two years ago, she posted the top result in the hammer throw during the preliminary round and last year, she was second. At the NCAA National Championships, she has twice been named an All-American after finishing seventh in 2013 and third in 2014. She looks to become BGSU's first national champion since gymnast Marny Oestreng won the floor exercise in 1999.

HAMMER THROW NATIONAL QUALIFICATION ROUTE
In the East region preliminary round, the hammer throw will be broken up into three flights of 16 competitors each. Each of the 48 student-athletes will get three throws and the top 12 will advance to the NCAA National Championships. Brooke Pleger will throw fifth in the third and final flight.

MAK ATTACK
Sophomore Makenzie Wheat has skyrocketed up the shot put rankings and is No. 24 in the region this year after earning the last of 48 spots in the field as a freshman. Among a strong field at the MAC Championships a week ago, Wheat placed fifth overall. Five competitors from the MAC made the regional field, including No. 2 seed Danniel Thomas of Kent State (who is also the second seed in the discus). All five are ranked in the top half of the field.

SHOT PUT NATIONAL QUALIFICATION ROUTE
In the East region preliminary round, the shot put will be broken up into four flights of 12 competitors. Each of the 48 student-athletes will get three throws and the top 12 will advance to the NCAA National Championships. Makenzie Wheat will throw last in the third of four flights.

SINCLAIR SIZZLING
Senior Brittany Sinclair will make her debut at the NCAA East Region preliminary round as the No. 35 seed in the 400 hurdles. Heading into the MAC Championships, she was the top ranked competitor in the conference in the event with a time of 58.97 seconds. Between indoor and outdoor track and field, she holds six school records. There are four MAC competitors in the field and Sinclair is the second-highest seeded of the group.

400 HURDLES NATIONAL QUALIFICATION ROUTE
The 400 hurdles will be broken up into six heats of eight competitors each for the first round. The top three finishers in each heat plus the next six best times will advance to the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will be split into three heats and the top three finishers in each heat plus the next three best times will advance to the NCAA National Championships. Brittany Sinclair will run in the sixth and final heat in the first round. She has the sixth-fastest seed time among the eight runners in the heat.

REISING TO THE CHALLENGE
Redshirt sophomore Kori Reiser advanced to the NCAA East Region preliminary round in the discus as the No. 45 seed. She peaked at the right time, throwing a season-best 160-feet-9 at the MAC Championships to earn a spot in the regional field and place fifth at the conference meet. A year ago, she was seeded No. 43 at the regional meet but climbed nine spots to finish 34th. Seven members of the conference qualified for the regional meet and Reiser is sixth among them.

DISCUS NATIONAL QUALIFICATION ROUTE
In the East region preliminary round, the discus will be broken up into three flights of 16 competitors each. Each of the 48 student-athletes will get three throws and the top 12 will advance to the NCAA National Championships. Kori Reiser will throw third in the first of three flights.

DOMINATING ON A NATIONAL SCALE
Redshirt senior Brooke Pleger is not just dominating the MAC in the hammer throw, but the nation as well. Her throw of 228-feet-9 at the MAC Championships is almost four feet further than any other student-athlete has thrown this year in Division I. In fact, she has the eight furthest throws in the country. Only defending national champion Julia Ratcliffe of Princeton breaks into the top 10 throws as she ranks second nationally with a season-best toss of 224-10 at the Ivy League Championships.

PLEGER NOW AMONG THE COLLEGIATE ALL-TIME GREATS
With a throw of 228-feet-9 in the hammer throw at the MAC Championships, Brooke Pleger ranks tenth among all collegiate hammer throwers in NCAA history. Listed below is the entire top 10 list of collegians:

Top Collegiate Hammer Throwers
Distance	Name (School)	Date
239-4	Jenny Dahlgren (Georgia)	4/13/07
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
230-7	Julia Ratcliffe (Princeton)	4/19/14
230-3	Eva Orban (USC)	3/14/08
229-10	Chelsea Cassulo (Arizona State)	5/23/13
229-9	Loree Smith (Colorado State)	5/14/05
229-1	Candice Scott (Florida)	4/22/04
228-9	Brooke Pleger (Bowling Green)	5/14/15

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