Falcons Excel On Opening Day Of East Region Preliminary Round

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Tampa, Fla. – The Bowling Green State University track and field team will send multiple competitors to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships for the first time in 20 years. Redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson finished third in the shot put at the NCAA East Region preliminary round, while redshirt junior Rachel Walny placed fifth in the 10,000. The top 12 finishers in each event advance to the national championship.

The only other competitor during the first day of the regional was redshirt senior Elizabeth Iversen. She threw a personal best in the shot put and just missed a nationals bid by placing 13^th – 19 spots better than her No. 32 seed entering the meet.

THE SHOT PUT

Aliyah Gustafson and Elizabeth Iversen both saved their best throws for their final throws. Gustafson tossed the shot 57-feet-2.75 (17.44m) on her last attempt, while Iversen threw 52-9.5 (16.05m) on her final chance.
For Gustafson, the throw locked in her third trip to an NCAA National Championship. She competed in the outdoor national championship in 2016 and the indoor national championship earlier this year.
Iversen's throw was a new personal best and put her in second place after the first 24 competitors. With the top 24 seeds remaining, Iversen slid into a tie for the final qualifying berth to the national championships. By virtue of the tiebreak (comparing each competitors' second-best throw), Iversen was nudge for the last spot.
Gustafson entered the regional championship as the No. 3 seed and tied for the second-best performance of the day. Iversen was seeded No. 32 among the 48 competitors and finished 13^th.
Gustafson's distance of 17.44m is the second-best performance in program history, behind only her 17.52m throw to win the MAC Championship two weeks ago.
Iversen's throw places her second in school history in the shot put. Only Gustafson has thrown further, doing so on six different occasions (including Thursday).

THE 10,000

Despite oppressive humidity and lightning delays that kept the race from beginning until 10:25 pm, Rachel Walny posted the fourth-fastest time in program history in the 10,000m.
Rachel Walny ran in the lead pack throughout the entirety of the race, placing fifth in 34:04.44.
Walny was the only runner from the Mid-American Conference to place in the top 12 and qualify for the national championship.

NOTABLE

In Lou Snelling's seven years as head coach of the Bowling Green track and field program, 23 student-athletes have competed at the NCAA regional meet. Those student-athletes equaled or exceeded their seed 21 times.
With both Aliyah Gustafson and Rachel Walny advancing, Bowling Green will now make an appearance at the outdoor national championship for the sixth consecutive year. However, it will be the first time the program has sent more than one competitor since 1998.
Gustafson becomes the first Falcon to compete at three track & field national championships since Brooke Pleger did the same from 2013-15. Gustafson competed in the shot put at the 2016 outdoor national championship, as well as earlier this year at the 2018 indoor national championship. She was a second-team All-American at the latter meet, placing 10^th. She finished 24^th in 2016 to earn honorable mention All-American status.

QUOTABLE

"We've found what's working for Aliyah as far as training goes. It paid off today. Shot put is her event so she's confident in it. With how well everything's gone this year, she knows what she needs to do. I don't need to worry about what I'm going to get out of her on any given day." – Throws Coach Derrick Vicars
"Liz did everything I asked her to. She attacked today and put it all out there. I was very proud of how she competed. She put herself in position and sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. To finish her career with an outdoor PR is a great way to go out." – Throws Coach Derrick Vicars
"Rachel ran a savvy and confident race, making good decisions throughout and displaying nice wheels at the end. This was a very different experience for her compared to last year, demonstrating the steps she has taken in that time." – Head Coach Lou Snelling

UP NEXT

Gustafson and Iversen will compete in the discus at the NCAA regional meet Friday at 1:15 pm. Gustafson is the No. 20 seed, while Iversen is seeded No. 40 in the 48-woman field.
On Saturday, Gustafson will conclude her regional by throwing the hammer at 8:45 am as the No. 35 seed.

NCAA EAST REGION PRELIMINARY ROUND
BGSU RESULTS

Shot put – 3. Aliyah Gustafson 57-2.75 (17.44m), 13. Elizabeth Iversen 52-9.5 (16.09m)
10000 – 5. Rachel Walny 34:04.44

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Aliyah Gustafson

Elizabeth Iversen

Rachel Walny

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