Butler Wins Hammer Throw As Falcons Open MAC In Championship Form

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Muncie, Ind. – Kaila Butler and a trio of hammer throwers set the tone early as Bowling Green State University opened day one of the MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in strong fashion Thursday at Ball State University. The Falcons sit in third place after the first day of the three-day meet with 26 points. BGSU is just three points behind Central Michigan and Akron atop the league standings.

DAY ONE RESULTS

BUTLER WINS MAC TITLE IN THE HAMMER THROW

Redshirt sophomore Kaila Butler entered the MAC Championships as the top seed in the hammer throw, ranked among the top 15 nationally. But performing with the target on her back was a new experience and she put the championship away early.
On her first attempt of the day, Butler threw 202-feet-7 (61.76m), five feet further than any other competitor would reach all day.
In fact, Butler had four tosses of at least 200 feet and was the only competitor to reach that distance during the meet.
Butler's second throw of the day was her best as she pushed the mark to 209-9 to win the MAC Championship by more than 12 feet.
Butler became the fourth Falcon to win the hammer throw MAC Championship, joining Heather Nordgren (1996), Lisa Keegan (1999) and Brooke Pleger (2013, 2014, and 2015).
Butler redshirted the 2018 outdoor season, but finished fourth at the MAC Championships as a true freshman in 2017. At that meet, she threw 184-8, almost 18 feet shorter than Thursday's performance.

Kaila Butler talks about winning the MAC Championship in the hammer to open the 2019 MAC Championships! pic.twitter.com/L26tbEiUK4
— BGSU XC/Track (@BG_XCTrack) May 9, 2019

GUSTAFSON, FARMER PICK UP MORE POINTS IN HAMMER

Redshirt senior Aliyah Gustafson placed third and senior Allie Farmer finished seventh in the hammer throw in supporting roles to Kaila Butler.
Gustafson threw 194-feet-7 (59.31m), posting that distance on her final throw of the day, to place third. The six points she earned for the team gives her 100 career points at MAC Championships during her career. A four-time MAC Champion in the indoor/outdoor shot put (as well as an indoor championship in the weight throw), Gustafson will compete as the top seed in her primary event Friday.
In her final collegiate performance, Farmer placed seventh in the hammer throw at 173-2 (52.79m). Although it was the fifth time she has competed in an event at the indoor or outdoor MAC Championships, it was her first finals appearance and first time earning a podium spot.

Aliyah Gustafson has now scored 100 career points at @MACSports Championships.

2016 Indoor - 4
2016 Outdoor - 10
2017 Indoor - 14
2017 Outdoor - 7
2018 Indoor - 18
2018 Outdoor - 21
2019 Indoor - 20
2019 Outdoor - 6 (and counting)
— BGSU XC/Track (@BG_XCTrack) May 9, 2019

WALNY BATTLES TO RUNNER-UP FINISH

Redshirt senior Rachel Walny is no stranger to being a contender for the MAC Championship in the 10,000, but after missing much of the outdoor season, the question remained whether or not she would be able to once again position herself near the top of the standings.
Despite not competing in a 10,000 meter track race since last year's NCAA Outdoor National Championships, Walny led for most of Thursday evening's competition before settling for her third career second-place finish. She ran a time of 34:53.64, which should earn her a trip to the NCAA Regional qualifier with a chance to advance to the NCAA National Championships for the third time in her career.
Walny's time was the tenth-fastest in program history even though it was more than a full minute slower than her personal best of 33:48.22.
With three second-place finishes and a third, Walny scored 30 points at the MAC Outdoor Championships in the event in her career.

Rachel Walny is your MAC runner up in the 10,000. pic.twitter.com/3qfJCuPBkZ
— BGSU XC/Track (@BG_XCTrack) May 9, 2019

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?

Junior Chasatea Brown qualified for the finals in the 400 hurdles for the second consecutive year. In 2018, Brown was the MAC runner-up in the event.
Entering the meet seeded sixth, Brown ran 61.59 seconds and earned the fourth-fastest time heading into Saturday's 10-woman final.

OTHER PERFORMANCES

Sophomore Ryen Draper set a personal best time of 24.38 seconds in the 200 but was the fastest runner to miss finals in the event. She tied for the tenth-fastest time in the prelims.
Redshirt sophomore Allison Holahan ran the 1500 trials in 4:48.59 to place 14^th overall. She entered the meet as the No. 18 seed.

FROM HEAD COACH LOU SNELLING

"It was a good day one for us. We have to be happy with that. Kaila walked away with her first MAC title and that's special. The hammer throw was a great start to the meet for us."
"Rachel (Walny) was very gutsy. It was definitely not the perfect run-up to the meet or the perfect season for her. Mentally, that can be tough to deal with, but she was in a good place today. You have to appreciate the consistency she has had in her career. That doesn't come along too often."

UP NEXT

Bowling Green returns to the track for day two of the MAC Championships Friday at 3:30 pm.
The Falcons will compete in the shot put, long jump, 400 trials, 800 trials and 3000 steeplechase Friday. BGSU has three entries in both the shot put and the 400.

MAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 29, AKRON 29, BOWLING GREEN 26, OHIO 17,
KENT STATE 15.5, MIAMI 10, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 7, BUFFALO 6.5,
TOLEDO 6, BALL STATE 5, WESTERN MICHIGAN 4, EASTERN MICHIGAN 1

Hammer throw – 1. Kaila Butler 209-9 (63.94m), 3. Aliyah Gustafson 194-7 (59.31m), 7. Allie Farmer 173-2 (52.79m)
200 trials – t10. Ryen Draper 24.38
400 hurdles trials – 4. Chasatea Brown 61.59
1500 trials – 14. Allison Holahan 4:48.59
10,000 – 2. Rachel Walny 34:53.64

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