Zaresha Neal

Photo by: David Dietrich, BGSU Athletics

Photo by: David Dermer

Photo by: Scott W. Grau

Position:
Throws
Class:
Freshman
High School:
Findlay
Hometown:
Findlay, Ohio

2022-23
(Indoor)

All-MAC first team (Shot Put)
Three-time MAC Field Athlete of the Week (Feb. 1, Feb. 15, Feb. 22)
Earned the BGSU Female Medal of Honor at the Ziggys, the athletic department's end-of-year awards ceremony
Won her second consecutive MAC Championship in the shot put with a mark of 16.99m, more than 2m better than the runner-up
Also won the event at the GVSU Big Meet with a mark of 17.19m, matching her PR and ranking 20^th in the NCAA
Won the shot put at the Silverston Invitational (16.76m), Akron Invite (16.64m), and Tom Wright Open (15.71m), with each mark leading the MAC
Threw 16.44m at the Penn State National Open, placing second
Holds three of the top 10, six of the top 15, nine of the top 20, 13 of the top 25, and 15 of the top 30 shot put marks in program history
Academic All-MAC

(Outdoor)

All-America second team (Discus)
All-MAC first team (Discus and Shot Put)
NCAA Championship qualifier (Discus)
NCAA East Regional qualifier (Discus and Shot Put)
Four-time MAC Field Athlete of the Week (March 22, April 5, April 12, April 19)
Finished 15th in the discus at the NCAA Championship, throwing 174-7.00 (53.23m) and earning second-team All-America honors
Won two MAC titles, throwing the shot put 52-10.00 (16.10m) and the discus 174-8.00 (53.23m)
Finished 10^th in the discus at the NCAA East Regional, throwing 174-2.00 (53.10m) to exceed her seed by 10 spots and punch her ticket to the NCAA Championship
Also exceeded her shot put seed at regionals, recording a mark of 53-9.75 (16.40m) to finish 17^th after entering as the No. 23 seed
Threw a season-best shot put mark of 53-10.25 (16.41m) at the Jesse Owens Classic and a season-best discus mark of 179-1.00 (54.58m) at the Texas Relays, which is the second-best in school history
Recorded the fourth-best discus mark in school history at the Jesse Owens Classic (53.85m)
Won the shot put and discus at the Tennessee Invite and Blizzard Buster
College Sports Communicators Academic All-District

2021-22
(Indoor)

Named BGSU's Female Junior Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Ziggys, the athletic department's end-of-year awards ceremony
Earned second-team All-American in the shot put, finishing 13^th nationally (53-8.50)
MAC Field Athlete of the Week (February 16)
Named MAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week on March 16
Logged eight of the team’s top nine marks in the shot put, including the top four
Won the event six times, including the MAC Indoor Championship (56-0.50)
Also won at the Doug Raymond Invite (56-4.75), Akron Invitational (55-2.00), Michigan Invitational (52-3.75), Youngstown Holiday Classic (51-7.50), and Chippewa Invitational (50-10.75)
Academic All-MAC

(Outdoor)

Named the Chi Alpha Sigma Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year, a national recognition from the college athlete honor society
Threw 54-10.75 in the shot put at the NCAA East Preliminary, placing tenth and qualifying for the NCAA Championship
Won the discus at the MAC Outdoor Championship, throwing 177-8.00
Set a school record and won the discus at the Len Paddock Invitational (181-6.00)
Won the shot put at the Raleigh Relays (55-1.00), Clark Wood Open (52-4.75), and Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (50-2.00)
Placed first in the discus at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (171-10.00)
Finished second in the shot put at the MAC Outdoor Championship, throwing a season-best 55-5.50)
Placed 18^th in the shot put at the NCAA Championship, throwing 54-6.00
MAC Field Athlete of the Week (April 6)
First-team All-MAC
Academic All-MAC

2020-21
(Indoor)

Second Team All-MAC
MAC runner-up in the shot put, throwing 52-feet-5.5 (15.99m) to earn the silver medal
Posted a personal best distance of 52-6.75 (16.02) to win The Big Meet
Won three other meets during the season, including the Jack Skoog Invite, the BG Opener, and the dual meet against Toledo
Surpassed the 51-foot mark in five of the six meets she competed in
Was named a MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete, a 'best of the best' list of student-athletes who earned both all-conference and academic all-conference honors

(Outdoor)

Competed in the shot put and discus 16 times for BGSU, placing in the top ten on 13 occasions
Finished first in the discus at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (173-8.00) and Rocket Invitational (167-2.00) while logging a runner-up finish at the Gibson Invitational (166-9.00)
Won the shot put at the Blizzard Buster (51-3.00) and Rocket Invitational (51-9.75) while adding a runner-up finish at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (50-2.00)
Placed third in both events at the MAC Outdoor Championship, throwing 51-0.00 in the shot put and 170-8.00 in the discus
Earned ninth in the A Division of both events at the Texas Relays, reaching marks of 164-11.00 in the discus and 51-1.00 in the shot put
Qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary, finishing 13^th in the discus (172-4.00) and 29^th in the shot put (50-7.25)
Academic All-MAC
USTFCCCA All-Academic

2019-20
(Indoor)

Did not compete

2018-19
(Indoor)

Did not compete

(Outdoor)

Academic All-MAC
Threw shot put, discus and hammer for the Falcons, qualifying for NCAA Regional competition in the shot put and discus
Flirted with a trip to the national championships in the discus, placing 16^th with a mark of 170-feet-2 (51.88m)
That finish was 10 spots higher than her entry seed of No. 26
Finished fourth at the MAC Championships in discus and fifth in shot put for the Falcons
In discus, posted a season-best distance of 171-feet-4 (52.23m) at the Virginia Challenge
With that throw, ranks fourth in the discus in school history
Was just three inches shy of that distance at the MAC Championships at 171-1 (52.16m)
Was second in the discus at the Ball State Challenge
Has recorded three of the top six discus performances in school history
Placed 38^th at the NCAA regional meet in the shot put with a mark of 49-0.75 (14.95m)
One of just 13 throwers at the regional to record a distance of at least 14.80m on all three of her attempts
Won the shot put at Miami’s Blizzard Buster with a distance of 50-10.25 (15.50m)
Posted a season-best distance of 51-7 (15.72m) at the Lyles/Wood Invitational
That mark places her fourth in program history in the event
Finished as runner-up in the shot put at the Toledo Dual
Threw the hammer twice, posting a season-best distance of 145-7 (44.38m) in the Ball State Challenge

2017-18
(Indoor)

Threw weight throw and shot put for the Falcons, qualifying for the MAC Championships in the shot put
Had a personal best distance of 45-feet-11.75 (14.01m) in the shot put at the Meyo Invitational
Was third in the shot put at the BG Opener and fourth at the Tom Wright Open
In the weight throw, earned a mark of 51-3.75 (15.64m) at the Findlay Throws

(Outdoor)

Redshirted

PERSONAL BESTS
Indoor Track and Field
Shot put: 56-4.75 (17.19m), Doug Raymond Invite (2/12/22) and GVSU Big Meet (2/10/23)
Weight throw: 51-3.75 (15.64m), Findlay Throws (1/27/18)
Outdoor Track & Field
Shot put: 55-5.50 (16.90m), MAC Outdoor Championship (5/13/22)
Discus: 181-6.00 (55.34m), Len Paddock Invitational (5/7/22)
Hammer throw: 145-7 (44.38m), Ball State Challenge (4/12/19)