BGSU women’s track and field claimed their first crown since 1981 in Track and Field this past weekend at the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships, hosted by Ohio University in Athens.
The victory marks the first time in program history that the Falcons swept the conference championships in both indoor and outdoor track.
Head coach Lou Snelling completed a sweep of his own, winning MAC Coach of the Year honors. This award marks the second recognition of his career following his receiving the same award during this year’s indoor season.
“I have a lot of pride for every facet of the program…there were so many moments where we were down, and they just made the decision to not accept that and fight back,” Snelling said.
The road victory wasn’t a certain thing throughout the events.
Here’s how it went down:
Day 1
The first day of competition was about hanging around and staying in contention for the Falcons.
Trista Fintel showed that her indoor weight throw victory was no fluke when she repeated the feat with a hurl of 63.23m. She marks the fifth Falcon in six years to win the MAC’s hammer throw title.
Rachael Withrow notched the next best placement for the day, claiming second place in the 10,000m with a time of 35:20.87. Junior Regina Rose also scored in the event with a sixth-place finish.
Jenna Lucas rounded out scoring for the day, placing seventh in the Javelin event and ending the first day of competition positioned fifth in the Heptathlon.
The Falcons ended the first day’s competition with 23 points, which left them in a tie with Eastern Michigan for third place, trailing only Miami’s 33 points and Akron’s 29.
Day 2
Fintel continued her dominance in the throwing events, claiming the shot put title, making her only the second thrower to ever win both events at the MAC Championships.
Morgan Patterson bolstered the Falcons’ score with a silver medal in the long jump, leaping 6.17m.
Lucas finished out the heptathlon in sixth place, earning points for the team bolstered by her third place finish in the Javelin throw among Heptathletes.
Numerous Falcons qualified for finals between the first two days, keeping the Orange and Brown in contention, and only trailing Kent State heading into the final day of competition.
Day 3
Sabrina Imes and Bianca Staples picked up where they left off at the indoor championships, placing first and third, respectively, in the triple jump event, massively boosting BG’s team score.
The 4x100m relay team of Patterson, Alexis Parchman, Erinae Coleman, and Kiersten Franklin finished fourth overall. The team had other contributions as well, with Franklin placing fourth in the 200m and third in the 100m.
DaMya Barker had an excellent showing of her own, placing third in the 100m hurdles and eighth in the 400m hurdles.
Katherine Mendenhall tied for third in the high jump, finishing the field events for the Falcons.
As was the case throughout the season, the distance runners showed out on the final day of competition.
Kylee Cubbison won the 1500m title and placed second in the 5000m. Rachael Hoover placed second in the 800m run, and Reese Reaman joined a teammate in both of her races, placing fourth in the 800m and sixth in the 1500m.
The final icing on the cake was a strong showing in the 4x400m relay, where Franklin, Reagan Campbell, Hoover, and Parchman took fifth place.
When all was said and done, the Falcons’ 130 points were enough to claim the MAC Championship, comfortably topping Eastern Michigan’s 115 and defending champion Kent State’s 113.5.
Snelling attributed the team’s success to their work ethic and commitment.
“You have to give so much credit to the girls for being able to believe and buy in and just keep getting through the adversity,” Snelling said. “There’s a lot of grit to make that happen.”
