The women’s track and field team is now 20 incoming athletes richer as it finishes up its recruiting cycle.
Head coach Lou Snelling said they start recruiting at the beginning of February and go as late as June.
“It’s not a one day deal,” Snelling said. “With some girls it’s an involved process — some girls sign quick, which was our first 11 and then some take a little more time, which were our second group of nine.”
Snelling is excited about the new class and things they will bring to the team, one being depth to the roster.
“We have 43 girls on our roster now and that is critical for our sport with the number of events and seasons — cross country, indoor and outdoor,” Snelling said.
The nine most recent signees were comprised of sprinters, cross country distance runners and throwers.
The ability and talent they bring are going to compliment their program, Snelling said.
“Some girls will be immediate impact and others will be more developmental over the next couple of years,” Snelling said.
Kera Lamotte, a new sprinter for the Falcons, earned All-Ohio honors her junior and senior year and she brings a winning tradition according to James Williams, Assistant Track and Field Coach for Sprints/Relays/Hurdles/Jumps.
“We are very happy to have Kera bring her sprinting ability to BGSU and look forward to the contributions she will make,” Williams said.
Matt Conly, assistant track and field coach for throws, said he was excited for new recruit Kayla Velasquez to join the throws group.
“[Kayla] will be able to come in and add depth for us right away,” Conly said. “Kayla will also add to a strong class of discus throwers — we now have three girls coming in that will be training together in discus and will have an immediate impact for us in that event.”
For incoming and returning athletes they are working and training from events coaches and getting a lot of the base work under their belts for next year.
“We are really excited about our recruiting class considering the late start we got, but we are also excited about our next on,” Snelling said. “We won’t hear from them until next February but we are five steps ahead of the game at this point.”