Aliyah Gustafson Places Tenth At National Championships

Friday, March 9

College Station, Texas

6:15 PM

Bowling Green State University

NCAA Indoor Championships

March 09, 2018 | Women's Track and Field

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

College Station, Texas – Bowling Green State University redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson threw the shot put 53-feet-10.5 (16.42m) and placed 10^th at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships Friday night, hosted by Texas A&M. Gustafson was the first BGSU track and field student-athlete to compete at the indoor national championships since 2001.

National Championships Results

Gustafson missed the nine-person finals by just six inches after shaking off a foul on the first of her three throws. Her second toss carried 53-2.75 and momentarily put her in ninth place. But by the time she returned to the ring for her final throw, she was positioned in 10^th. She did improve her distance on her final throw but came up just short of the needed distance to earn three more opportunities.

Arizona State's Maggie Ewen entered the meet as the top seed and did not disappoint, winning the national championship at 60-8 (18.49m). Louisville's Emmonnie Henderson was second at 58-3.75 and Oklahoma's Jessica Woodard was third at 57-0.

The result cemented a large step forward for Gustafson. Two years ago, she qualified for the outdoor national championships in the shot put as one of 24 competitors and finished last. Just 16 competitors qualify for the indoor championships and Gustafson improved her ranking by 14 spots for the 10^th place conclusion.

"There were higher expectations this year for sure," Gustafson said in comparing Friday's meet to the outdoor national championships two years ago. "It was different than outdoors two years ago because just being there in itself was exciting. This year, making indoors was part of the plan. After I had a great season, making finals became part of the plan. It's important to realize that you just have to go out there and compete. It didn't take my PR to make finals."

The meet concludes a tremendous indoor season for Gustafson and the Bowling Green track and field team. Gustafson broke the school record in the shot put on numerous occasions, closing out her career with a personal best 57-2 (17.42m), a distance that would have placed her third Friday evening. She won the MAC Championship in dominant fashion and added a MAC runner-up finish in the weight throw. The BGSU indoor track and field team finished third at the MAC Championships, its best team result in 19 years.

"Even though she wanted more today, how often does tenth place in the country happen?" BGSU Track & Field Coach Lou Snelling said. "This was a drastically different situation than two years ago. It speaks to how hard she's worked since that point. To get here in a situation where we are realistically talking about possibly being a first team All-American and she's disappointed to finish 10^th in the country."

The BGSU track & field team will have three weeks to refocus for the outdoor season. The Falcons will open the campaign at the Raleigh Relays March 30-31. Bowling Green will then host a dual meet against Toledo April 6 and the MAC Championships will be held at Buffalo May 10-12. The NCAA East Region Preliminary Round will take place in Tampa, Fla. May 24-26 before the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Eugene, Ore. June 6-9.