The BGSU men’s and women’s track teams hosted four other teams as they competed in the BGSU Invitational Saturday at the Perry Field House. BG’s men and women fared well, with the men’s and women’s teams winning five events each.
The men’s team competed against the University of Akron, Hillsdale College, and Detroit Mercy. A team score was not kept.
BGSU’s first place finishers included Josh Cook in the 400 meter dash and the 800 meter run. Cook ran times of 49.87 and 1:59.04 in his respective events.
Senior Chad Kunkle won the 5000 meter run in a time of 15:47.80, and BG’s 4×400 meter relay team won with a time of 3:20.87, nearly 2 seconds faster than the second place Akron team.
BG’s Grant Shadden placed first in the 3000 meter run with a time of 8:41.84. After his race Shadden said, “I felt really comfortable during the race, I got out well, and let the race come to me.” This was Shadden’s first race in two years after suffering from leg injuries.
Bowling Green’s head track coach, Sterling Martin, was “very pleased since this is our first meet of the season. It was a nice first meet across the board. Our sprinters did extremely well, our field event guys scored points, and our distance guys scored points.”
Womens Team
The women’s team competed against the University of Akron, Miami University, Northern Illinois University, and Detroit Mercy.
BGSU’s first place finishers included sophomore Alicia Taylor. Taylor won the 60 meter low hurdles in a time of 8.94 seconds. After her race Taylor talked about the win. “I was just surprised and pleased that I was able to perform well in this event. I’m running a lot of events today.” Taylor was also a part of BGSU’s first place 4×400 meter relay team.
In the field events, Bowling Green had two first place finishers. Kerri McClung won the shot put with a throw of 14.79 meters. Mary Willems won the weight throw with a toss of 17.47 meters.
Also winning events for BG were sophomore Ellen Alkire in the 600 meter run with a time of 1:39.46 and the 4×400 meter relay team with a time of 4:01.28.
The next meet for the Falcons will be on Saturday at Kent State University for the Central Collegiate Championships.
