The BG women’s track team will compete at home today against Cincinnati, Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, and University of Toledo. After facing tough competition from several conferences last weekend, the Falcons are chasing a win heading into this meet. “We certainly hope to come away with a victory,” head coach Scott Sehmann said.
One of the highlights of the meet will be the distance events, as BG faces distance rival Toledo. The Falcons will be led by their top distance runner, Amber Culp, who had a personal best in the 3000 meters last weekend in Ann Arbor. Culp’s competition in the 3000 meters will most likely come in the form of Stephanie Dobberfuhl, Jackie Baumgartner, and Megan Tittle, who placed ninth, tenth and eleventh respectively in last weekend’s Central Collegiate Conference Championships at Eastern Michigan.
“We will try to balance our attacks for the 800 [meters] all the way up to the 5000 meters. If we have a balanced attack, we’ll have a good meet,” Sehmann said.
BG also looks to be competitive in the sprint events.
“We are starting to find a few more individuals who have stepped up in sprints,” Sehmann said after last weekend’s meet. “We’re looking to do well there come conference time.”
Cincinnati will also bring a competitive squad to the meet. The Bearcats took first in several events at last weekend’s Otterbein Invitational in Westerville, Ohio.
“Cincinnati has typically been a competitor in Conference USA,” Sehmann said. “We expect them to be competitive.”
The Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) Mastadons will also be taken as serious competition by the Falcons. The Mastadons competed in their first meet of the 2004 indoor season just last weekend. IPFW’s Gina Pruitt came away from this meet with a new school record in the 600 meters (1:47.23).
“Fort Wayne is in their third or fourth year. They are slowly building a program and I’m sure they’ll be competitive along the way,” Sehmann said.
The tough teams BG faced last weekend in Ann Arbor can only benefit them as they try for a win against MAC rival Toledo as well as IPFW and Cincinnati. Today’s meet will serve as another chance for the team to work on their goals of consistency and conditioning, as well as dropping their times.
The meet will be held at the Perry Field House. Field events will begin at 5 p.m., followed by the track events.
