Bowling Green Ready for Trip to Columbus for Jesse Owens Classic

Friday, April 21

Columbus, OH

Fri: 1 p.m. // Sat.: 11 a.m.

Bowling Green State University

Jesse Owens Classic

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

April 20, 2023 | Women's Track and Field

Live Results Schedule of Events (PDF)Heat Sheets (PDF)Meet Info (PDF)

Falcons will compete in two-day meet hosted by Ohio State

By: by David Dietrich, BGSU Strategic Communications

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Bowling Green Falcons will remain in Ohio for the weekend, competing in the Jesse Owens Classic on April 21-22. Hosted by Ohio State University, the meet will take place at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. Friday's events start at 1 p.m., then Saturday begins at 11 a.m. Live results for the meet will be posted HERE. Full meet information is available HERE. This is Bowling Green's first time competing in an outdoor meet at OSU since 2018.

Below is the schedule of events for both days:
FRIDAY
Field Events (begin at 1 p.m.)
Javelin
Hammer Throw
Long Jump

Track Events (begin at 4:30 p.m.)
400 Hurdles
1500
200
5K

SATURDAY
Field Events (begin at 11 a.m.)
Shot Put
Triple Jump
Pole Vault
High Jump
Discus

Track Events (begin at 1 p.m.)
100 Hurdles Prelims
100 Prelims
4x100 Relay
400
800
100 Hurdles Finals
100 Finals
3K Steeplechase
4x400 Relay

The full schedule can be found HERE. Heat sheets are available HERE.

Breaking Down Bowling Green
The Falcons had one of their most impressive weekends of the season, split between the Bryan Clay Invitational and We Fly Challenge. At the Bryan Clay Invite, three Falcon freshmen had a PR. Izzy Best (800), Kylee Cubbison (5K), and Regina Rose (5K) each set a personal record, with Cubbison running 16:51.28 to rank sixth in school history. That same night, the field athletes dominated for the Orange and Brown in Muncie. Zaresha Neal (discus) and Mateya Haintz (hammer throw) each finished first, then freshmen Bianca Staples (high jump) and Jenna Lucas (javelin) had third and fourth-place finishes, respectively.

Bowling Green carried the momentum into Saturday, with at least one student-athlete recording a personal record or season-best in every event. This included wind-aided PRs in the 100 from Brianna Richard and Alexis Parchman, as well as in the 200 from Jemeila Hunter, Darian Braddix, Parchman, and Alexsia Davis. DaMya Barker (400), Raegan Burkey (800), and Kristin Groppe also had PRs, while Emma Hellwege made her collegiate debut and ran the team's fastest 1500 of the season. In the field, Richard and Sabrina Imes had outdoor season-bests in the triple jump, placing first and third, respectively. Placing second in the event was Bianca Staples, putting all three Falcons in the program's outdoor top 10. Kennedi Bailey made her outdoor debut in the shot put and finished fourth, pacing a strong throwing unit that featured a runner-up shot put finish from Zaresha Neal.

Relays were also a highlight of the weekend for BGSU, with the 4x100 team of Parchman, Hunter, Richard, and Braddix running the fourth-best time in program history at 45.78. Only three other quartets have recorded a faster time. The 4x400 team of Barker, Braddix, Hunter, and Staples won at 3:47.90, the team's fastest time of the season and MAC's second-best time. On Wednesday, April 19, Zaresha Neal was named MAC Field Athlete of the Week for the fourth time in as many chances this season. She has earned recognition seven times during the 2023 season, the most in the MAC. In her career, she has nine MAC Field Athlete of the Week honors, with five of them coming during the outdoor season.

Up Next
Bowling Green travels to Louisville for the Clark Wood Invitational, held on April 28-29. Full meet information will be posted on the Track and Field page of BGSUFalcons.com.

Follow the Falcons
Be sure to follow the Falcons track and field team throughout the season on social media.
Twitter – @BGAthletics and @BG_XCTrack
Instagram – 'bgfalcons' and 'bg_xctrack'
Facebook – 'BGSU Athletics'
YouTube – 'Falcon Athletics'