This weekend the BG track and field team will split up for their contests.
Jeanette Pettigrew, Andrea Alt and Jasmine Redman head out to compete in the Mt. SAC relays in Walnut, Calif. in a two-day meet. The rest of the team will be heading out to Kentucky to compete in the Bluegrass Classic in Lexington.
After winning the hammer throw in her first outdoor event this season, redshirt junior Brooke Pleger looks to continue her winning ways when the Falcons do split meets this week.
Pleger will be looking to have similar success like she did this past week in Cincinnati at the All-Ohio championships meet. Not only did she win the hammer throw event, but she also ranks third in the nation currently with a distance of 214-feet-4.
The success didn’t stop for her there, as she was also named the Mid-American Conference field athlete of the week. This marks the fifth time Pleger has been received this honor in her college career.
Junior Krystin Reiser also had a memorable performance at the last meet. She made the ninth-highest score in heptathlon program history. In two days, Reiser compiled a total of 4,529 points, setting new personal best in five events and tying her bests in the other two. Her score was 300 points higher than she had ever done before.
The other eight higher scores were achieved by BG alumni Becky Barnett and Ginger Lake.
Head coach Lou Snelling was very impressed with her performance and how she’s been progressing this season.
“She’s been good so far, she improved her score by almost 400 points,” Snelling said, “That’s the hard work she’s been putting in over the last year and it’ll be interesting to see how much of a step she can take.”
Pettigrew will be looking to put forth another strong effort in her last year as she took first place in the 100 meter, setting a new personal record in the progress. Her record of 11.89 seconds improved her time of 11.91 seconds at the season-opener meet in Raleigh.
Despite the Falcons competing in two different locations they still hope to do well and continue preparing for the MAC outdoor championships near the end of the spring.
Snelling hopes to see Jeanette, Alt and Redman come up big while seeing the other groups improve on their skill.
“For the California group, we want to see big things and have them take advantage of that kind of environment,” Snelling said. “For Kentucky we want to see more improvement and how much we can up our game.”
The Mt. SAC Relays takes place at Hilmer Lodge Stadium and starts April 17 at 6 p.m. and concludes Saturday, April 19. The Bluegrass Classic starts April 19 at 9 a.m. at the Kentucky Track & Field Complex.
