Falcons Look For Fifth Straight Win In Battle Of I-75 Friday

Friday, April 7

Toledo, Ohio

3:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo Dual

April 05, 2017 | Women's Track and Field

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

Start List (.pdf)
Live Results

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University outdoor track and field team competes for the second time this spring, taking part in the annual dual meet against Toledo. The Falcons have won every contest against the Rockets since 2013, a string of four consecutive victories.

THE TOLEDO DUAL
The annual Battle of I-75 takes place Friday beginning at 3 pm at Toledo. Bowling Green has won each of the past four meetings, including last year's 111-86 victory.

Each individual event will be scored on a 5, 3, 2, 1 basis with only two individual entries per team scoring. The relay events will be scored 5, 3 with only one relay per team scoring.

The schedule of events is listed below:

FIELD EVENTS
3:00 pm – Hammer throw: Elizabeth Iversen, Kayla Velasquez, Kaila Butler
Discus (following hammer throw): Aliyah Gustafson, Andrea Weirauch, Elizabeth Iversen, Kayla Velasquez
3:30 pm – High jump: BeJai Fray, Raven Porter
4:00 pm – Pole vault
4:30 pm – Javelin: BeJai Fray, Andrea Weirauch
Shot put (following javelin): Makenzie Wheat, Elizabeth Iversen, Aliyah Gustafson
4:30 pm – Long jump: BeJai Fray, Raven Porter, Kyla Paster
Triple jump (following long jump): Raven Porter, Kyla Paster

RUNNING EVENTS (ROLLING SCHEDULE), 5:00 PM
Men's 3000: Jonathan Wenning, Nick Voth, Jacob Schenten, Raymond Berling
2000 steeplechase: Kelsie Mothersead
400 relay: BGSU
1500: Rebecca Schott, Rachel Durbin, Becca Rae
100 hurdles: Chasatea Brown, BeJai Fray
400: Brianna Tidmore, Taylor Rambo, Brianna Johnson
100: Kyla Paster, Dorresha Green, Cortisha Short, Gabrielle Edwards, Mis'cha Sellers, Makayla Pierce
800: Rachel Durbin, Rachel Stute
400 hurdles: Paige Geatz, Chasatea Brown, Camerone Bryant
200: Gabrielle Edwards, Cortisha Short, Taylor Rambo, Dorresha Green, Camerone Bryant, Mis'cha Sellers, Makayla Pierce
3000: Becca Rae, Rachel Walny, Elena Lancioni, Jody Musser
1600 relay: BGSU

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

STARTING STRONG AGAIN?
A year ago, Bowling Green opened the outdoor season at the Raleigh Relays and hit four Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying marks immediately. Makenzie Wheat and Aliyah Gustafson both did so in the shot put, while Kayla Velasquez added an auto mark in the hammer throw. As well, Raven Porter qualified in the high jump. This weekend, all four of those student-athletes will compete in the same events again.

MAC RANKINGS
Bowling Green currently ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in four different events. Dorresha Green is second in the 100, while Rachel Walny is also second in the 5000. In field events, Makenzie Wheat sits second in the shot put and Kaila Butler does the same in the hammer throw. All Falcons ranked among the top 20 in the MAC are listed below.

100 – 2. Dorresha Green 11.99, t9. Cortisha Short 12.30, 12. Kyla Paster 12.35
200 – 7. Cortisha Short 24.84
400 – 7. Taylor Rambo 56.65
1500 – 11. Rachel Durbin 4:39.55
5000 – 2. Rachel Walny 16:37.18 (AQ), 4. Rebecca Schott 16:59.51
10000 – 4. Elena Lancioni 37:06.71
400 hurdles – 15. Chasatea Brown 1:05.34, 19. Paige Geatz 1:06.80
1600 relay – 7. Bowling Green 3:55.30
Long jump – t7. Kyla Paster 18-1.5 (5.52m)
Triple jump – 7. Kyla Paster 37-8.75 (11.50m)
Shot put – 2. Makenzie Wheat 48-8 (14.83m) (AQ), 6. Aliyah Gustafson 47-3.5 (14.41m)
Discus – 9. Kayla Velasquez 143-1 (43.62m), 12. Aliyah Gustafson 135-11 (41.42m)
Hammer throw – 2. Kaila Butler 187-4 (57.10m) (AQ), 8. Kayla Velasquez 171-4 (52.23m)

REGIONAL RANKINGS
In most events, the top 48 individuals in the region advance to the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round. Currently, three Falcons are inside the cutline, with Rachel Walny leading the way in 33^rd place in the 5000. All Falcons ranked among the top 50 in the region are listed below.

5000 – 33. Rachel Walny 16:37.18
Shot put – 34. Makenzie Wheat 48-8 (14.83m)
Hammer throw – 35. Kaila Butler 187-4 (57.10m)

NATIONAL RANKINGS
From the NCAA East Region Preliminary Round, the top 12 finishers will advance to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field National Championships. Currently, four Falcons rank among the top 100 in the nation in an event, led by Makenzie Wheat's 61^st place ranking in the shot put. Each of those in the top 100 are listed below.

5000 – 71. Rachel Walny 16:37.18
Shot put – 61. Makenzie Wheat 48-8 (14.83m), 95. Aliyah Gustafson 47-3.5 (14.41m)
Hammer throw – 68. Kaila Butler 187-4 (57.10m)

MAC AUTO BIDS
During the opening weekend of competition, BGSU earned three Mid-American Conference automatic qualifying bids. Rachel Walny earned a spot in the 5000 field, while Makenzie Wheat and Kaila Butler did the same in the shot put and hammer throw, respectively. A year ago, the Falcons carried 10 MAC auto qualifying marks into the league championship meet. Among those who earned an auto bid a year ago, Raven Porter (high jump), Aliyah Gustafson (shot put) and Kayla Velasquez (hammer throw) remain in competition this year.

THE BUTLER DID IT
Freshman Kaila Butler debuted in the hammer throw at the Raleigh Relays with one of the top performances in program history. She threw 187-feet-4 to earn a MAC automatic qualifying bid and currently ranks second in the MAC. In fact, it moved her to fifth in program history in the event and second among BGSU freshmen all-time.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS
"We talked about just competing. Just beat the person in blue and yellow and that's all we're worried about. Historically, the weather hasn't been great and it doesn't look like that's going to change this year. We don't have a lot of weekends after this, so it would be nice to use this weekend as a springboard for the rest of the season." – Lou Snelling, Head Coach

BUILDING MOMENTUM
BGSU completed the indoor track and field season in late February by placing fourth at the MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The finish was the team's best result since 1999. That came on the heels of the squad's third place finish at the MAC Cross Country Championships in the fall. A year ago, Bowling Green placed sixth at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships and will look to use the momentum from the fall and winter to improve upon that result.