The BG Track and Field team will send 16 athletes to Eastern Michigan University for the Mid-American Championships this weekend.
This will be a two day event with the Falcons first event starting at 10:30 am while Saturday is a finals only day.
The Falcons have had the past two weeks off to prepare for its biggest meet of the indoor season. Nothing changed in their preparations for this weekend, the Falcons just continue to work on its fitness and improve every day.
“It has been what we have done all year that has us prepared for this weekend,” said coach Lou Snelling.
The Falcons qualified in 19 events with 16 different athletes competing in those events. This is a big step from this past year at this time for the team, especially with the change to the qualifying rule.
Last year teams could bring whoever they wanted with a limit of three in an event. This year, the top 20 in each event can qualify for the championships.
“Bringing this many athletes shows us moving in a positive direction as a program,” Snelling said. “This group is hands down better than last year’s MAC championship group.”
With 11 of the 16 qualifiers being either freshmen (seven) or sophomores (four) the nerves are for sure to come up before and during the meet. That could hurt the Falcons in terms of team points, as the seven freshmen will be competing in individual events.
“It is natural to have nerves associated with this time of the year,” said Snelling. “We just have to handle them the right way, and put them away when we need to.”
A few events could end up being high finishes for many Falcons when the Saturday events come around. There is standout athlete Brooke Pleger who placed fifth in the MAC for this weekend has a chance to make the podium with a good performance this weekend.
In the 400 individual event the Falcon’s Allison Weimer has put herself in a position to grab some points for them team as she is placed in the top 15 in the MAC. That vaults her right into the thick of what should be a very competitive race come Friday afternoon. Falcons Taylor Rambo and Brittany Sinclair will also compete in the event.
The 4×400 meter relay has the chance to be another great finish for the Falcons. With the group of Taylor Rambo, Felicia Jefferson, Brittany Sinclair and Weimer in anchor they could very well compete for a podium spot. They are currently placed seventh in the MAC with the teams in front of them having a time a few tenths of a second better.
“4 x400 has chance to be in that top three range if we can handle the pressure and nerves,” Snelling said. “It will be nice to see who else will step for us.”
