Falcons Host Tom Wright Open For Senior Night

Friday, January 22

Bowling Green, Ohio

5:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Tom Wright Open

Photo by: David Meel

January 21, 2016 | Women's Track and Field

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

TOM WRIGHT OPEN

MEET INFORMATION	Friday, Jan. 22 5:00 pm Field Events 6:00 pm Running Events
LOCATION	Bowling Green, Ohio (Perry Field House)
LIVE STATS	Finish Timing
PERFORMANCE LIST	BGSUFalcons.com

Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green returns home Friday evening for their second indoor meet in newly renovated Perry Field House to host the Tom Wright Open for Senior Night. The meet is set to begin with field events at 5 pm and running events at 6 pm. The Falcons will battle Dayton and Toledo for the meet title. BGSU Track and Field will recognize seniors Andrea Alt, Alicia Arnold, Kera Lamotte, Mackenzie McMillin, Tiera Parker, Becca Rae, Jasmine Redman and Demetra Taylor.

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 @BG_XCTrack
Instagram – BGFalcons and BG_XCTrack
Facebook – BGSU Athletics
YouTube – FalconAthletics
Snapchat – BG_XCTrack

ABOUT THE TOM WRIGHT OPEN
The Tom Wright Open will take place at Perry Field House Friday beginning at 5 pm with field events. Running events start at 6 pm with the 300. Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for non-BGSU students with ID. BGSU students and children under 10 are admitted free. A full schedule of events is listed below.

Schedule Of Events
5 pm - Weight Throw (Allie Farmer, Aliyah Gustafson, Kori Reiser, Kayla Velasquez)
5 pm - Long Jump (Sydnee Matthew)
5 pm - High Jump (Raven Porter)
5 pm - Pole Vault
6 pm – 300 (Cheyenne Oswald, Brianna Johnson)
6:05 pm - Men's 3,000
6:20 pm - 400 (Natalee Cole, Kera Lamotte)
6:30 pm – 60 hurdles (Demetra Taylor)
6:35 pm – 60 prelims (Alicia Arnold, Dorresha Green, Sydnee Matthew, Taylor Rambo, Cortisha Short, Gabrielle Edwards)
6:45 pm – Shot put (Aliyah Gustafson, Makenzie Wheat)
6:45 pm – Triple jump (Tiera Parker, Kyla Paster, Africa Strodes)
7:30 pm – 60 finals
7:35 pm – 800
7:45 pm – Men's Mile
7:55 pm – Senior Recognition
8:10 pm – Mile (Andrea Alt, Allison Francis, Elena Lancioni, Mackenzie McMillin, Kelsie Mothersead, Jody Musser, Becca Rae, Rebecca Schott)
8:20 pm – 200 (Alicia Arnold, Gabrielle Edwards, Kera Lamotte, Kyla Paster, Taylor Rambo)
8:25 pm – 1600 relay (Bowling Green)

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
"Our seniors have seen the steps this program has made and personally been a part of that. They have a lot of ownership in the program and they feel good about where they've taken it. We're not there yet, but we're in a much better place than when we started." – BGSU Head Coach Lou Snelling

SENIOR DAY
Eight seniors will be recognized at Senior Day Friday evening. Listed below are short bios of each of the seniors:

Andrea Alt
Andrea began at Bowling Green in 2011, redshirting her first year. Andrea is a four-time Academic All-MAC performer and five time honorable mention Academic All-MAC selection. She has been one of the team's top runners since the day she stepped foot on campus, completing her redshirt freshman campaign as the team's top finisher at the Cross Country MAC Championship. She has twice earned a spot on the podium at the MAC Outdoor Championships in the steeplechase and is the fourth-fastest Falcon ever in the event.

Alicia Arnold
Alicia joined the Falcons in time for the 2013-14 season after transferring from Lake Erie College. A second team All-MAC athlete, Alicia has earned a spot on the podium at a MAC Championship 11 times in just two years, including two runner-up finishes at the outdoor championships a year ago in the 200 and 400 relay. She was also third in the 100 at the 2015 MAC Outdoor Championships. She ranks among the top five Falcons all-time indoors for the 60, 200, long jump and 1600 relay. She's among the top 10 Falcons all-time outdoors for the 100, 200, long jump and 400 relay.

Kera Lamotte
Kera joined the Falcons for the 2012-13 season and became a second team All-MAC performer and a two-time Academic All-MAC honoree. A year ago, she ran three events at the MAC Outdoor Championships and was part of the runner-up 400 relay team that posted a time of 45.77 seconds. A week ago, Lamotte broke the school record in the 300 with a time of 40.56 seconds to go with her school record outdoor 400 relay time. She is also ninth in BGSU history in the 200 during the outdoor season.

Mackenzie McMillin
Mackenzie came to BGSU in time for the 2012-13 season, redshirting her first year. She is a five-time Academic All-MAC honoree and was twice named honorable mention Academic All-MAC. One of the team's top five cross country runners since she began racing for the Falcons, McMillin placed 10th overall at the MAC Championships this past year for All-MAC status. A year ago, she also earned a spot on the podium at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships with an eighth place finish in the 10,000. She is among the top 10 runners in school history in both the 5,000 and 10,000 for the outdoor season.

Tiera Parker
Tiera began at BGSU for the 2012-13 season and has placed among the top eight in the triple jump at the MAC Outdoor Championships in each of her first three years, finishing sixth as both a sophomore and junior. Parker ranks second in school history in the triple jump during the outdoor season and third during the indoor campaign. During her career, Tiera has also competed in the long jump and a variety of sprint events.

Becca Rae
Becca started at Bowling Green for the 2012-13 season but made a large impact beginning with the 2013-14 season. She was the cross country team's top finisher at the MAC Championships and then represented in the 10,000 at the outdoor track and field championships. She was second team All-MAC in cross country as a junior and then qualified for the conference championships in both indoor and outdoor seasons in 2015. Becca is a six-time Academic All-MAC student-athlete and ranks among the top five all-time at BGSU in the 3,000 during the indoor season and in the top 10 in the 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000 in outdoor.

Jasmine Redman
Jasmine redshirted her first year in 2011-12 and battled through injuries during the remainder of her career. As a freshman, she was the Falcons' top cross country finisher at the NCAA Regional Championships and then qualified for the MAC Championships in the 5000 during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. As a sophomore, she earned a place on the podium at the indoor MAC Championships with an eighth place finish in the 5000 but was hampered through much of her sophomore and junior seasons by injuries. She is a three-time Academic All-MAC athlete and a three-time honorable mention Academic All-MAC honoree. Jasmine ranks third all-time at BGSU in the 3,000 during the indoor season and among the top 10 in the outdoor 5,000.

Demetra Taylor
Demetra began as a freshman in 2012-13 and has been a consistent qualifier to the MAC Championships in all hurdle events. She has been the team's top hurdler through most of her career and has also competed in some sprint and relay events. She earned her first spot on the podium at a MAC Championship meet during the 2015 indoor season, placing seventh in the 60 hurdles during the indoor meet. She ranks fourth in school history in the indoor 60 hurdles and the outdoor 100 hurdles, while also placing among the top 10 in the 400 hurdles during the outdoor season.

LAST WEEK AT THE BOB EUBANKS OPEN
Senior Kera Lamotte set a new school record in the 300 as BGSU competed at the Bob Eubanks Open, hosted by Grand Valley State. Lamotte's time of 40.56 seconds broke the record set by Brittany Sinclair a year ago. Senior Tiera Parker remained unbeaten in the long jump this year, leaping 18-feet-9.25 to win the meet championship.

THAT'S SO RAVEN
Bowling Green junior Raven Porter set a new personal best in the high jump at the BG Opener and was named MAC Field Athlete of the Week for the performance. She leaped 5-feet-8.75, a mark that ranks 34^h nationally and is more than two inches higher than her previous best. She currently ranks third in the MAC in the event.

MAC RANKINGS
BGSU ranks first in the MAC in two of the three jumping events, with Jade Nolan leading the long jump and Tiera Parker the triple jump. In fact, the Falcons have earned six MAC auto marks in the jumps and have three of the top five long jumpers in the league. In total, BGSU has 18 marks among the top 10 in the conference and another nine among the top 20. Listed below are all student-athletes ranked in the top 20 in the conference in an event.

60 – 2. Alicia Arnold 7.57 (AQ), 8. Tiera Parker 7.68, 11. Dorresha Green 7.70, 18. Cortisha Short 7.83, 20. Brianna Johnson 7.84
200 – 6. Alicia Arnold 24.89, 15. Kera Lamotte 25.24
400 – 8. Taylor Rambo 57.59, 20. Gabrielle Edwards 59.15
60 hurdles – 19. Demetra Taylor 8.98
1600 relay – 6. Bowling Green 3:56.53
High jump – 3. Raven Porter 5-8.75 (AQ)
Long jump – 1. Jade Nolan 19-6 (AQ), 3. Alicia Arnold 19-3.25 (AQ), 5. Tiera Parker 18-11.25 (AQ), 6. Kyla Paster 18-8.5, 14. Raven Porter 18-0.25
Triple jump – 1. Tiera Parker 39-4 (AQ), 3. Kyla Paster 38-7.5 (AQ), 7. Jade Nolan 37-10.75, 13. Africa Strodes 36-2.75
Shot put – 4. Aliyah Gustafson 49-2.5 (AQ), 5. Makenzie Wheat 49-1.5 (AQ)
Weight throw – 5. Kori Reiser 58-8.5 (AQ), 7. Aliyah Gustafson 56-9.25, 9. Kayla Velasquez 55-3, 18. Allie Farmer 50-8.25

AQ – Surpassed MAC automatic qualifying mark
# - Converted time

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Raven Porter (high jump) and Jade Nolan (long jump) both rank among the top 40 in the country in their respective events while Aliyah Gustafson and Makenzie Wheat are in the top 45 nationally in the shot put. Listed below are all 10 Falcons ranks among the top 100 nationally in an event.

60 – 98. Alicia Arnold 7.57
High jump – 34. Raven Porter 5-8.75
Long jump – 34. Jade Nolan 19-6, 50. Alicia Arnold 19-3.25, 72. Tiera Parker 18-11.25, 99. Kyla Paster 18-8.5
Triple jump – 70. Tiera Parker 39-4
Shot put – 42. Aliyah Gustafson 49-2.5, 45. Makenzie Wheat 49-1.5
Weight throw – 73. Kori Reiser 58-8.5

JUMP AROUND
Across the Mid-American Conference, 15 student-athletes have earned MAC automatic qualifying marks in either the triple jump, long jump or high jump. Six of those marks are held by BGSU student-athletes. The Falcons have four of the top six long jumpers in the conference (three of which have earned MAC auto marks) and two of the top three triple jumpers. As well, Raven Porter ranks third in the MAC in the high jump. A year ago, the Falcons earned just two top eight finishes at the MAC Championships in the jumping events.

BID CLINCHED
Bowling Green earned six Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying marks in the season opener at Grand Valley State and then added four more at the BG Opener. A year ago, the Falcons did not hit a MAC auto mark in its December meet and had just four leading into the second weekend of January competition. In fact, the Falcons entered the MAC Championships a year ago with nine automatic qualifying marks. BGSU already has MAC automatic qualifying marks from two student-athletes this year in the long jump, triple jump and shot put. In fact, three Falcons have already earned auto marks in the long jump.

AGILE AND VERSATILE
Two Falcons have already earned MAC automatic qualifying marks in multiple events. Senior Alicia Arnold ranks second in the conference in the 60 and third in the long jump, while senior Tiera Parker is first in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump. Parker is also eighth in the conference in the 60.

JADE IS A GEM
While a jade is a gemstone, freshman Jade Nolan has proven to be one of the freshmen gems in the Mid-American Conference in the early-going. Nolan has already met the MAC automatic qualifying standard in the long jump and is close in the triple jump. She ranks first in the MAC and 34^th nationally in the long jump and is fourth in the country among all freshmen in the event.

A VETERAN PRESENCE
A year ago, the Falcons had 26 entrants in individual events at the MAC Championships. Student-athletes who represent 20 of those entries return for the 2015-16 season, as well as three of four runners from the 1600 relay team at the MAC Championships. Returning point scorers include Alicia Arnold (3^rd/200; 5^th/Long jump; 6^th/60), Dorresha Green (5^th/60), Raven Porter (7^th/High jump), Demetra Taylor (7^th/60 hurdles), Kayla Velasquez (7^th/Weight throw) and Makenzie Wheat (6^th/Shot put).