By Daniel Gedney

sports reporter

Amber Culp qualified for the regional championships in the 3000-meter steeplechase Friday evening in Columbus, Ohio. Culp took first place in the event with a time of 10 minutes, 56.62 seconds.

“Amber had a real strong effort, she’s worked very hard this year on barriers in practices…I think she is probably as good as anybody around in this part of the country as far as technique goes,” head coach Scott Sehmann said.

Several Falcons also set personal best times over the weekend at the All-Ohio Championships. Melissa Krueger ran a lifetime best in the 1500-meter race, finishing third with a time of 4:39.12. Alicia Taylor ran a lifetime best in the 100-meter hurdles, finishing third with a time of 13.87. The 4 X 100-meter ran a season best time of 48.13, good for a fifth place finish.

“It certainly builds a lot of confidence when you can go out and do those things, hopefully that will carry over week to week the rest of the way,” Sehmann said.

Overall, the Falcons finished seventh in a 14-team field with a team score of 57. Host Ohio State finished first with a score of 156.50, followed by Akron (105), Ohio University (104.50), Kent State (95.50), Cincinnati (85) and Ashland (59.50) to round out the six schools that placed ahead of the Falcons. Eighth through 14th place were occupied by: Dayton (46), Findlay (29), Toledo (26), Central State (16), Wright State (10), Youngstown State (7) and Tiffin (5).

In the sprint events, the Falcons were led by Valerie Holland and Erin Leeper in the 200-meter dash. Holland and Leeper finished 13th and 14th respectively with times of 26.00 and 26.04. Amber Walker paced the Falcons in the 400-meter dash, placing fourth with a time of 57.82.

Leslie Carden and Niki Suitor led the way for the Falcons in the 5000-meter run. The two runners placed 11th and 12th with times of 18:38.20 and 18:46.51 respectively. Kristin Spicer paced the Falcons in the 10,000-meter run, placing fifth with a time of 39:00.14. Beth Scheall and Caroline Kipchaba also ran well in this race finishing eighth and 10th with times of 41:41.79 and 43:24.46 respectively.

Amy Henry had a strong for the Falcons in the hurdles. She placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.27 and seventh in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:06.76.

In addition to Culp’s regional qualifying time in the steeplechase, Cyndi Bostdorff and Emily Jackson also ran well for the Falcons in this event. The two runners placed eighth and ninth with times of 12:06.16 and 12:15.32 respectively.

In the field events, Nicole Carter placed fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 36 feet, 04.00 inches. Kerri McClung once again led the Falcons in the shot put, finishing eighth with a mark of 45″ 05.25.” She also led the Falcons in the discus throw, placing 17th with a mark of 124′ 03.” Mary Willems was the top Falcon in the hammer throw, finishing eighth with a mark of 172′ 00″. Brooke Allen took fourth for BG in the javelin throw with a mark of 123′ 10.”

The team has reached the mid-point of the season and has one month until the Mid-American Conference Championships.

“Right now I feel were are in better shape than we were during the indoor season,” Sehmann said. “We have more people that are ready to score and more people are going to be more competitive and are confident in what they’re doing…hopefully they’ll keep their sights set on getting better.”

Next up for the Falcons is a trip to Des Moines, Iowa to compete in the Drake Relays on April 23 at 9:00 a.m.