Bowling Green’s women’s track team kept its run of solid performances going this past weekend at the 79th annual Kansas Relays in Lawrence, Kan. The Falcons got many top performances as they competed with some of the best teams in the Midwest.
The top showing for the team was provided by the 4×800 meter relay team, as they won their event with a time of 9:34.28. The team consists of Angela Raizis, Kim Settle, Lyndi Springer and Bridget Dalic.
“It was truly a group effort for us to keep the lead and get the win,” said Raizis. “It was the most amazing feeling afterwards.”
That was not the only distance relay team to turn in a good performance, as the 4×1600 meter team consisting of Jamie Roflow, Andrea Pollack, Kim Settle and Stephanie Hillman finished third with a time of 21:04.58.
“I think everyone did a nice job this weekend. I still feel our times can be faster,” said Pollack. “I am excited to see our times get better and peak at the MAC meet. We want to do a lot better than we did last year.”
“I think this week we got to battle with a different atmosphere,” Raizis said. “The weather was really hot and dry, but we still gave it everything that we had and came out with good results along the way. It was also different because it was in a huge stadium with a pretty big amount of people watching and cheering.”
One of the most consistent athletes on the team, Whitney Hartman, also represented BGSU well. She had a new personal best in the hammer throw of 176’07”, which placed her ninth in the event. That throw tops a personal record she set at the All-Ohio’s two weeks ago. She also had another personal best in the discus, with a throw of 149’0”, placing sixth.
“This weekend was a wake-up call to me,” said Hartman. “It was a very competitive meet with great throwers; it opened up my eyes to a lot of different things. I had a personal record in the hammer throw at 176′ 7″ which is under a foot for qualifying for regionals.”
She also stressed how important the next three meets will be, as she must reach back for that extra foot to qualify for regionals. She does believe that she made a lot of improvements though. Raizis describes Hartman as one who “goes out there and improves all the time.”
The team received a second place finish from Roflow in the 1500 meter run, as she finished with a time of 4:40.03. Also, Nicole Standback finished in sixth place in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.27 seconds.
The team has become a lot closer throughout this season. The long weekend road trips, such as this one to Kansas, can bring a team together over time.
“I feel the people who traveled had time to bond with each other more, which was very good,” said Pollack. “I had a season best in the 5k Thursday night, after having been on the plane earlier that day. So I was very excited about that. I felt as though I gave all I had and felt the most confident I have felt all season.”
That team chemistry is one element the team looks to use against its competition at the Mid-American Conference Championships in less than a month. Another is improved times and performances by each individual.
“I think that some teams in the MAC are going to be surprised when they see BG perform at the MAC championships,” said Hartman. “We have come far since the Indoor MAC Championships.”
“I think we will be in good shape at MAC. We know we can beat Toledo and we have picked up some momentum going to Kansas and now onto Hillsdale this weekend,” Raizis added.
The Hillsdale Relays will be held this weekend in Hillsdale, Mich. The team looks forward to putting on another show and improving even more as they look towards the MAC Championships in a little less than three weeks.
