Aliyah Gustafson Wins MAC Championship In The Shot Put

Friday, May 11

Buffalo, N.Y.

11:00 AM

Bowling Green State University

MAC Championships

May 11, 2018 | Women's Track and Field

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

Results Through Day Two (.pdf)

Buffalo, N.Y. – Redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson won her third career MAC Championship and the Bowling Green State University track and field team sits in third place with 37 points after the second day of the three-day MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by Buffalo.

GUSTAFSON DOMINATES FOR ANOTHER TITLE

Redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson broke her own school record in the shot put and posted the second-best performance in MAC Championship history to earn a gold medal.
Gustafson effectively ended the hopes of the rest of the field when she threw 56-feet-10 on her first toss of the afternoon. No other competitor finished within even four feet of that throw.
On her second attempt, Gustafson broke her own school record with an attempt of 57-5.75 (17.52m), breaking her previous best of 56-11.5 (17.36m). The mark ranks her among the top 10 in the country this year.
Gustafson also won the 2016 MAC Championship in the shot put and posted an indoor MAC Championship in the event in February.

ADDING UP MORE POINTS

Senior BeJai Fray closed out a difficult weekend by finishing third in the heptathlon. Fray sat in fourth place after the opening day (four events) of competition, climbed into third following the first event Friday, and held on for the bronze medal.
Fray's 4,883 points in the heptathlon were the second-most in program history, behind only the 5,217 she scored a year ago to place fourth at the MAC Championships.
Senior Elizabeth Iversen placed fourth in the shot put by throwing 50-feet-10 (15.49m). That result gave the Falcons two of the top four places in the event and 15 team points when combined with Gustafson's record-breaking effort.

OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

Bowling Green had three entrants in the 100 trials. While none of the three qualified for finals, senior Cortisha Short (12.03 seconds) and freshman Savannah Nevels (12.11) posted personal bests, while senior Dorresha Green (12.08) ran a season-best time.
For Short, the 12.03 time moved her up to the eighth-fastest woman in program history.
Kelsie Mothersead recorded a season-best time of 11:56.83 in the 3000 steeplechase.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH LOU SNELLING

"Aliyah put it away early and there was never a question. It was an extremely impressive performance and puts her eighth in the country. If you look at the consistency in which she's thrown lately, it makes the bigger throw more realistic."
"It was a great senior year for BeJai. Health wise, everything wasn't quite there for her during the outdoor season. She had to gut it out and still finished third in the conference."
"We need to take advantage of the opportunities we have left tomorrow. On the track, can we walk away with a few points here and there? From a field perspective, discus could be our make-or-break event."

THE FINAL DAY

Bowling Green will compete in eight events Saturday with multiple opportunities to score points.
BGSU starts the day at 11 am with the discus and the high jump, before moving to the track for the 400 relay at noon. Following that race will be the finals of the 1500, the triple jump, the finals of the 400 hurdles, the 5000 and the 1600 relay.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
AKRON 56, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 40, BOWLING GREEN 37, TOLEDO 32,
KENT STATE 32, WESTERN MICHIGAN 26, MIAMI 22, OHIO 22,
EASTERN MICHIGAN 22, BUFFALO 12, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 8, BALL STATE 2

100 trials – 15. Cortisha Short 12.03, 17. Dorresha Green 12.08, 18. Savannah Nevels 12.11
400 trials – 17. Ryen Draper 57.38
3000 steeplechase – 18. Kelsie Mothersead 11:56.83
Heptathlon – 3. BeJai Fray 4,883
Shot put – 1. Aliyah Gustafson 57-5.75 (17.52m), 4. Elizabeth Iversen 50-10 (15.49m)
Long jump – 13. Kyla Paster 18-2.25 (5.54m)