In the largest Toledo Invitational in years, the Falcons recorded 40 top 10 finishes and 10 athletes finished in the top 10 of multiple events. There were 22 different universities and colleges represented in the 25th anniversary of the Invitational, including BG’s Mid-American Conference rivals Toledo and Central Michigan. Coach Cami Wells said the meet was an ideal set-up given its competition and timing. ‘This was a decently sized meet with decent competition, and it gave us a chance to stay close to home with finals coming up and compete with our entire squad,’ Wells said. BG would have no athlete finish lower in 18th in their event, and Wells was satisfied with the overall performance of the team. ‘I was very pleased with the effort of the team,’ she said. ‘We wanted to have a good team effort leading into the MAC meet, and we got a good overall team effort with several strong performances in several events.’ Sophomore Heather Conger (2:17.01) won the 800 meter run, and freshman Saisha Gailliard finished second (2:21.38). Sophomore Autumn Dettman won the 1500 meter run with a time of 4:45.02, and senior Kara Butler was the first of the five Falcons to finish in front of anyone else in the 3000 meter run. Butler ran it in an outdoor personal best 10:16.27, 13 seconds ahead of sophomore Ashley Fischer, who finished second. Senior Jamie Roflow won in the 3000 meter steeplechase (10:57.66) with fellow senior Kylie Korsnak the runner-up. Other accomplishments to note include new personal records for Sally Kandie and Tara Weiss in the 5000 meter run and Jackie NeCamp in the 400 meter run.’ ‘ ‘ The throwers had a strong showing in the Invitational as well. Senior TaKarra Dunning won the shot put with a season best throw of 15.08 meters, and senior Whitney Hartman placed second in the shot put and won the discus throw (46.10 meters). Freshman Jessie Rowland set a personal record in both the discus throw and shot put as did freshman Ashley Harris in the discus. Sophomore Brittani McNeal won the long jump with a distance of 5.93 meters (third all-time in BG history), and she added 6.5 inches to her previous best and just missed the regional mark. In addition, she set a personal record of 11.37 meters in the triple jump. The Falcons will next be in action when they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to participate in the Michigan Invitational May 9. The majority of the team will take next weekend off to prepare for the MAC meet but the throwers and 1500 meter runners will compete at Michigan, Wells said. ‘I am pleased with the progress the team has made this season and look forward to the MAC meet and the future of the program,’ Wells said.