BGSU women’s track and field finished third overall in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday and Saturday in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.
Placing ahead of the Falcons’ 86 points was runner-up Kent State (101) and champion Akron (104). This placement marks the fourth time the Falcons have been in the top three at the indoor championships since 2017-18, and ties for the best result in that span outside of the first-place finish the Falcons earned last season.
In the 60-meter finals, Kiersten Franklin’s second-place finish and Kiera Bonds’ sixth-place finish gave the Falcons more points in the event than any other team.
The 200-meter proved less fortunate for the Falcons, as Franklin, the only Falcon to make the finals, found herself disqualified in the finals.
Reagan Campbell’s 400-meter performance of 56.21 seconds was enough to finish fourth in the race but Akron dominated the points in the event by claiming the top two places.
In the 800-meter, Rachael Hoover fought for a tightly contested third-place finish in a competitive field where the difference between second place and missing the finals entirely was only about 2.5 seconds.
Another of the strongest showings for the Falcons came in the mile run, where Kylee Cubbison was joined by Hoover, placing second and sixth place, respectively. The Falcons were one of only two teams with multiple scorers in the mile, the other being Toledo, who would go on to finish fourth, comfortably behind the Orange and Brown.
Cubbison would contribute points in the 3000-meter as well, running a fourth place time of 9:30.25 in the finals.
Lexi Panning was the lone scorer in the 5000-meter for the Falcons, placing seventh overall.
Morgan Patterson tied the high mark for individual Falcon finishes, placing second in the 60-meter hurdles.
The Falcon 4×400-meter relay team of Campbell, Tyyetta Herman, Syerra Greber, and Franklin placed fourth overall in the race. The top two teams of the meet would earn much of those places in the relay, as Akron and Kent State went first and second themselves to help cement their ultimate finishes.
The Distance-Medley Relay team for the Falcons turned out to be the only Champion on the Track for the Falcons, as the team of Reese Reaman, Herman, Marissa Boone, and Cubbison beat runner-up Toledo by a full two seconds to win.
Sierra Brinson was the standout thrower for the Falcons, managing a 5th place finish in the Shot Put event. Brinson ended up as the only place for the Falcons across throwing events.
Kiera Bonds led the field event scoring with her second place finish in the long jump, only missing first place by .07-meters.
Bianca Staples and Sabrina Imes were joined by Bonds in the triple jump, the only Falcon event with three individual scorers in the finals. Staples led the way in fourth, while Imes and Bonds claimed seventh and eighth, respectively.
The Weight Throw, an event where the Falcons failed to place, proved to be a massive boon for Akron, as the Zips placed first, second and seventh in the event.
Jenna Lucas managed a sixth-place finish in the Pentathlon, an event where eventual runner-up Kent State helped their position significantly, scoring all three of their athletes in the top seven of the event.
The Falcons held third place at the end of the meet’s first day but found themselves unable to advance as Akron and Kent State placed a significant gap by placing three athletes in the scoring of multiple events.
Despite failing to repeat, the finish was strong for the Falcons, who boasted the largest individual place gap, as 21 points stood between them and fourth place Toledo.
With indoor competition concluded, the Falcons will begin the quest to defend their outdoor title as outdoor competition begins at Miami University’s Blizzard Buster meet on March 20.
