The BG track and field team competed in the Raleigh Relays at North Carolina State University this weekend.
The team left North Carolina with strong performances from different athletes and a historic performance from thrower Brooke Pleger.
Pleger threw the hammer for the first time this season, and did not hesitate to show why this is her best event. Her best throw for the weekend was 212-feet-6, which broke the meet and facility record in North Carolina.
The distance currently ranks her third nationally and is the second-best distance in Mid-American Conference history. Along with those records, she shattered the previous school record of 191-7 set by Whitney Hartman in 2008.
Pleger was not the only one with a record-breaking weekend; the 4×200 relay team broke the school record of 1:38.95 with a time of 1:37.95. The team consisted of Janette Pettigrew, Taylor Rambo, Brittany Sinclair and Allison Weimer.
“It was our goal to open our season well [in] the first two meets and there is no doubt that we have done that,” said Head Coach Lou Snelling, “We are so proud of Brooke and the 4×200 squad.”
Three redshirt freshmen competed in the 5000 meter run, and all ran personal bests in the event. Andrea Alt led the way with a time of 17:28.26, placing sixth out of 25 competitors in her heat. Jasmine Redman followed in eighth place at 17:30.45 and Kendra Kezur was 12th in 17:48.73.
Redshirt freshman, Maria Meredith, set her personal best in the 1500 with a time of 4:42.42 and placed 19th out of 128 runners. Freshman Demetra Taylor was 20th of 88 runners in the 100 hurdles with a personal best of 14.39 seconds.
“It was great to see a lot of the youth take nice steps this early in the outdoor season and in their careers,” Snelling said. “Our youth definitely gained experience, running against this type of competition this experience will help us in the short term and the long term.”
In the 400 meter, both Sinclair and Weimer broke the 57 second mark as Sinclair ran a 56.79 and Weimer finished at 56.99.
“It was great to see the improvements this weekend across all of the event groups,” Snelling said. “Now, we have to take advantage of our training and racing opportunities in the month of April and continue to move up the standings.”
The Falcons will be back in action in a week, competing at the Miami [Ohio] Invitational Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6.
