Bowling Green State University Athletics
Friday, March 9
College Station, Texas
6:15 PM
Bowling Green State University
vs
NCAA Indoor Championships
Aliyah Gustafson Competes For Shot Put National Title Friday
March 07, 2018 | Women's Track and Field
College Station, Texas – Bowling Green State University returns to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships for the first time in 17 years when redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson competes in the shot put Friday night. The event is scheduled to begin at 6:15 pm ET and Gustafson is seeded No. 8 of the 16 competitors who will vie for a national title.
Live Results
"It's such a huge accomplishment just to qualify," BGSU Track & Field Coach Lou Snelling said. "Walking away with first team All-American status (a top eight finish) would be a massive accomplishment, but one that's within reach for her."
BGSU has not sent a representative to the indoor national championships since Stephanie Heldt competed in the high jump in 2001. The only other BGSU student-athlete to ever compete at the meet in the shot put was Nikki Lessig, who qualified in both 1994 and 1995 and earned All-American status with back-to-back seventh place finishes. The Falcons have not scored at the meet since 1998 when Huina Han finished fourth in the triple jump.
Despite the limited opportunities at the indoor national championships, Gustafson is a veteran with national championship experience. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in the shot put in 2016, finishing 24th overall and earning honorable mention All-American status. In fact, BGSU has sent representatives to the outdoor track and field national championships in each of the past five years.
The school record holder in the shot put, Gustafson won the MAC Championship in the event. She never finished lower than third in a meet this year and broke the school record three times during the 2018 indoor season. In fact, she was so dominant at the MAC Championships that the worst of her six throws at the meet would have won the league crown.
Gustafson enters the meet with a qualifying mark of 17.42m (57-feet-2). The top mark in the country belongs to Arizona State's Maggie Ewen at 19.20m. She is the top returning finisher from a year ago, placing fourth at the 2017 indoor national championships. Five others in the 2018 field also competed for the national championships in 2017.
The final qualifying spot came from Wisconsin's Banke Oginni at 16.93m. Gustafson is the only competitor from the Mid-American Conference among the 16 qualifiers and is also the only qualifier from a non-Power 5 school. Eight of the 16 qualifiers are seniors and another seven are juniors. UCLA's Alyssa Wilson is just a freshman.
-----
Fans can follow Aliyah Gustafson's national championship journey at BGSUFalcons.com as well as on social media. On Twitter, fans can follow @BGAthletics and @BG_XCTrack. On Instagram, please follow @bgfalcons and @bg_xctrack.
Live Results
"It's such a huge accomplishment just to qualify," BGSU Track & Field Coach Lou Snelling said. "Walking away with first team All-American status (a top eight finish) would be a massive accomplishment, but one that's within reach for her."
BGSU has not sent a representative to the indoor national championships since Stephanie Heldt competed in the high jump in 2001. The only other BGSU student-athlete to ever compete at the meet in the shot put was Nikki Lessig, who qualified in both 1994 and 1995 and earned All-American status with back-to-back seventh place finishes. The Falcons have not scored at the meet since 1998 when Huina Han finished fourth in the triple jump.
Despite the limited opportunities at the indoor national championships, Gustafson is a veteran with national championship experience. She qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in the shot put in 2016, finishing 24th overall and earning honorable mention All-American status. In fact, BGSU has sent representatives to the outdoor track and field national championships in each of the past five years.
The school record holder in the shot put, Gustafson won the MAC Championship in the event. She never finished lower than third in a meet this year and broke the school record three times during the 2018 indoor season. In fact, she was so dominant at the MAC Championships that the worst of her six throws at the meet would have won the league crown.
Gustafson enters the meet with a qualifying mark of 17.42m (57-feet-2). The top mark in the country belongs to Arizona State's Maggie Ewen at 19.20m. She is the top returning finisher from a year ago, placing fourth at the 2017 indoor national championships. Five others in the 2018 field also competed for the national championships in 2017.
The final qualifying spot came from Wisconsin's Banke Oginni at 16.93m. Gustafson is the only competitor from the Mid-American Conference among the 16 qualifiers and is also the only qualifier from a non-Power 5 school. Eight of the 16 qualifiers are seniors and another seven are juniors. UCLA's Alyssa Wilson is just a freshman.
-----
Fans can follow Aliyah Gustafson's national championship journey at BGSUFalcons.com as well as on social media. On Twitter, fans can follow @BGAthletics and @BG_XCTrack. On Instagram, please follow @bgfalcons and @bg_xctrack.
Players Mentioned
Throws
/ Women's Track and FieldBGSU In the Nest : Track and Field
Tuesday, June 10
Lou Snelling Post-MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Interview (May 17, 2025)
Wednesday, May 21
Lou Snelling Post-Meet Interview (December 7, 2024)
Wednesday, December 11
BG TF : Coach Snelling Postmen
Saturday, January 13