The BG track team recorded their best finish of the young season Saturday at the Tom Wright Classic, sporting seven first place finishes, along with a host of personal records en route to a satisfying overall performance.
Included among the array of Falcon victors were three athletes – Kara Butler, Sabrina Forstein and Rachel Doughty – who recorded their first top finishes of the season.
“I thought our team did a very nice job of continuing to build,” said coach Cami Wells. “We were able to be aggressive and take advantage of our opportunities.”
The meet was a non-scoring affair; however, the fact the Falcons would have won had a score been kept did not seem to temper Well’s enthusiasm for her team’s showing.
“We weren’t really too bothered by the meet being non-scoring,” Wells said. “It allowed some athletes unattached to the University to come out and compete and also allowed us to try out some different combinations. Overall, I think we got what we needed to out of this weekend.”
Forstein, who had missed the previous two meets due to mono, got her season off to an auspicious start by taking first place in the pole vault with a personal best of 3.66 meters.
“Sabrina is very tough mentally and physically,” Wells said. “She never allowed her illness to get her down. She kept working very hard.”
Running this week without visual impairment, Heather Conger repeated her winning performance in the 800, establishing a new personal record of 2:19.54. Conger won last week’s 800 while running half blind due to eye problems.
“Heather was able to adjust her contact solution so hopefully her eye problems are behind her,” Wells said.
In another repeat performance, Whitney Hartman took first place in the weight throw for the third straight week. After struggling with her distance the past couple of meets, Hartman shattered the competition with a throw of 18.54 meters. It was the first time she had eclipsed the 60-foot barrier all season.
“I just kept working on my technique all week in practice, just trying to establish a rhythm,” Hartman said. “I think this week has given me the confidence to go forward and try and improve for the rest of the season.”
Also taking first place honors for the Falcons were TaKarra Dunning (shot put), as well as the 4×400 relay team of Ashley Spates, Jackie Necamp, Saisha Gailliard and Conger.
The Falcons will travel to Central Michigan next Friday for a quadrangular meet beginning at 5 p.m.
