During the winter months, sometimes staying home is best.

That’s exactly what the BG women’s track and field team will do for the rest of January, as the Falcons will seek a team title in the comforts of home, before traveling to Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., next month.

The first of the three January home meets, the BGSU Challenge, was held Saturday inside Perry Field House.

The Falcons placed fifth in the 10-team field, edging two of five Mid-American Conference schools. Central Michigan won the event with 135.5 points, while Dayton finished as the runner-up.

Jeanette Pettigrew won the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.75 seconds for BG’s lone individual victory.

Other top three finishers for BG included Heather Conger placing third and setting a personal record in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:14.56, Sabrina Forstein placing second in the pole vault with a height of 3.65 meters, and the 4×400 meter relay team consisting of Jeanette Pettigrew, Saisha Gailliard, Allison Weimer, and Heather Conger, who placed third with a time of 3:58.77.

Andrea Pereira de Almeida and Felicia Jefferson each scored fourth-place finishes with times of 18:18.16 and 26.22 seconds in the 5,000 meter run and the 200 meter dash, respectively.

BG coach Cami Wells thought the team did well, considering the strength of the field and the meet being the team’s first of the season.

“I was really pleased with our first effort as a team this season,” she said. “We really stepped up to the level of competition; they didn’t let that intimidate them.”

However, she recognized there is room for improvement before the team’s next meet.

“We scored in the majority of events, but we want to work on the events we didn’t score in, continue to be consistent in our efforts and not get down on ourselves,” Wells said.

BG continues its schedule Friday with the Jane Hermann Invitational. The meet will be held inside Perry Field House beginning at 5 p.m.