Thursday, May 10
Buffalo, N.Y.
10:00 AM
Bowling Green State University
vs
MAC Championships
Falcons Tied For Second After Day One At MAC Championships
May 10, 2018 | Women's Track and Field
Day One Results (.pdf)
Buffalo, N.Y. – The Bowling Green State University track and field team scored 16 points and sits in a three-way tie for second after the opening day of the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday, hosted by Buffalo. Kent State leads with 20 points, while BGSU, Central Michigan and Ohio each have 16. Miami follows with 15 points and Toledo has 11.
GOING THE DISTANCE
- Redshirt junior Rachel Walny ran to a runner-up finish in the 10,000 for the second consecutive year, posting a time of 34:09.46.
- It marked the second consecutive year in which the winner broke the meet record in the event.
- Walny ran at the front of the lead pack for the first quarter of the race and was among a lead pack of three runners for the first half of the race.
- At the midway point, Miami's Maria Scavuzzo took off. Walny worked to stay within striking distance, building separation between herself and Eastern Michigan's Jordann McDermitt, the two-time defending champion in the event. But Scavuzzo was strong enough to hold off any major challenge from Walny.
HAMMERING THE COMPETITION
- Bowling Green was the only program to place two student-athletes in the top six in the hammer throw as Aliyah Gustafson finished fourth and Elizabeth Iversen sixth.
- The duo entered finals in seventh and eighth place but moved up the leaderboard throughout the competition to land in fourth and sixth.
- Combined, the pair scored eight points for the Falcons.
LONG DAY FOR FRAY
- BeJai Fray completed the first four events of the heptathlon, as well as competing in the javelin on the opening day of the MAC Championships.
- Fray set a new personal best in the high jump to finish day one in fourth place. She will finish the heptathlon with three more events Friday morning.
LIVING TO FIGHT ANOTHER DAY
- Redshirt senior Rachel Durbin and sophomore Chasatea Brown qualified for finals in their respective events.
- Durbin placed fifth overall in the 1500 with a time of 4:36.07, less than a second off her PR. She will race in the 12-woman final Saturday.
- Brown placed third in the 400 hurdles by posting a new personal best time of 60.51 seconds, bettering her previous record of 60.60. She will also compete Saturday in the finals.
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
- Senior Cortisha Short and freshman Ryen Draper were unable to qualify for the finals in the 200 despite posting personal best times in the event.
- Short ran the 200 in 24.26 seconds to move into sixth in program history in the event.
- Draper shattered her PR with a time of 24.41 seconds to move onto the all-time leaderboard in eighth place in school history.
THOUGHTS FROM COACH LOU SNELLING
- "It was a solid day. We're tied for second right now, four points out of first. We can't look at that and be disappointed."
- "Our expectations are so high right now for the throws that you walk away from fourth and sixth in the hammer kind of melancholy. They were very solid and had nothing to be unhappy about. But they've largely carried us over the years."
- "Rachel Walny ran very well. To beat her, (Miami's Maria Scavuzzo) had to run a 30-second meet record. You have to give it to her. Maria had a fantastic day and that was the only way Rachel was going to get beat today. There's only been two performances in the history of the conference that has been faster than Rachel. One was tonight and the other was last year."
RELOADING FOR FRIDAY
- Bowling Green will compete in six events Friday on day two of the three-day MAC Championships.
- The day begins with the heptathlon at 11 am as BeJai Fray completes the grueling competition.
- BGSU has three entrants in both the shot put, at 12:30 pm, and the 100 trials, at 2:20 pm.
- Falcons will also compete in the long jump at 12:30 pm, the 400 trials at 1:40 pm, and the 3000 steeplechase at 3:40 pm.
MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
KENT STATE 20, BOWLING GREEN 16, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 16, OHIO 16,
MIAMI 15, TOLEDO 11, WESTERN MICHIGAN 8, BUFFALO 6,
EASTERN MICHIGAN 6, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
200 trials – 12. Cortisha Short 24.26, 14. Ryen Draper 24.41KENT STATE 20, BOWLING GREEN 16, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 16, OHIO 16,
MIAMI 15, TOLEDO 11, WESTERN MICHIGAN 8, BUFFALO 6,
EASTERN MICHIGAN 6, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
400 hurdles trials – 3. Chasatea Brown 60.51
1500 trials – 5. Rachel Durbin 4:36.07, 15. Jessi Lindstrom 4:44.36
10000 – 2. Rachel Walny 34:09.46, 12. Elena Lancioni 36:17.69
Hammer throw – 4. Aliyah Gustafson 180-5 (55.00m), 6. Elizabeth Iversen 174-11 (53.32m), 11. Allie Farmer 160-3 (48.85m)
Javelin – 15. BeJai Fray 114-4 (34.84m), 19. Andrea Weirauch 96-5 (29.40m)
Heptathlon – 4. BeJai Fray 3,027 points
Players Mentioned
Multi-Events
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Sprints/Relays
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Mid-Distance
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Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
Multi-Events
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Distance
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Distance
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Sprints/Relays
/ Women's Track and Field
Distance
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