All-American hammer thrower Brooke Pleger will open her season this weekend as the track and field team travels to Cincinnati for the All-Ohio Championships.
Head coach Lou Snelling says her debut, along with other returners, will be exciting to see.
“Brooke will be opening up the hammer and this is her first game outdoors, so we’re expecting big things there,” Snelling said.
Jeanette Pettigrew will return this week after not performing at the Ohio Cherry meet last week. Snelling said she’ll return to perform in the 100, long jump and the relay events.
The Falcons will look to continue going forward with their progression this weekend as they are currently ranked fourth among schools in the Mid-American Conference.
According to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, Bowling Green is ranked at number 62 in the country, two spots above their preseason ranking at No. 64. Akron ranks first in Mid-American Conference as the number 27 in the country.
The Falcons previous two meets have seen athletes such as redshirt junior Brittany Sinclair, senior Tina Perrine and redshirt freshman Mackenzie Wheat, perform very well. Their most recent meet, the Ohio Cherry Blossom in Athens, saw the Falcons’ come first in four different events.
Wheat won first place in the shot put with a throw of 46-feet-11 and came close to hitting an automatic-qualifying mark. Sinclair came in first place in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:03.13 and Perrine came first in the discus.
Junior Natalie Sommerville also made an impact at the meet, placing third in 400 hurdles. Redshirt freshman Kori Reiser, in particular, did well also coming in second in the discus and hammer throw events. With May and the MAC Outdoor championship slowly approaching, Snelling said that the practices are geared toward getting ready for the championship.
“We’re still hitting the practice really hard, our goal revolves around May and the end of June,” Snelling said. “We’re really working hard at it and it’s been a week of hard work.”
Looking at the next few games, Snelling believes these next three weeks will be vital for the team to get into a good spot for the championships.
“Really these next three weekends are going to be pretty big in terms of going into conference,” Snelling said. “Those meets are going to determine a lot, so this is a really important time.”
The All-Ohio Championship start at 1 p.m. Friday, April 11 at Gettler Stadium in Cincinnati.
