The BG track and field team controlled the meet and beat its rival for the second year in a row at the Bowling Green and Toledo Dual Meet.
It was the Falcons’ lone home meet of the outdoor season. In 18 events, they won 12 of the matchups between the two and came in first with a score of 107-75.
It began with the hammer throw competition, where the Falcons took all top three spots of the event. Junior Brooke Pleger came in first with a total throwing distance of 208-feet-7. Redshirt freshman Kori Reiser took second place and Tina Perrine placed third.
Pleger, who remains unbeaten in the hammer throw events, was excited to continue her success and look forwards to future of the team.
“It was exciting … every meet I tried to stay focused and every meet I’ve been able to win so far,” Pleger said. “I think our team’s is looking pretty good … we got a pretty good chance to do some nice stuff this year.”
Reiser, who also came second in the discus, shot put and javelin events, feels great about helping the team be in a good spot for the championship round.
“As a redshirt freshman, it feels awesome to be in a scoring position,” Reiser said. “I know our team is in a building position … it’s exciting to see what we can do and hopefully we’ll place in the top half of the conference this year.”
The Falcons’ success continued in the high jump, with freshman Raven Porter winning the high jump event with a 5-5 score. This was also set a new personal best for her in the event.
The Falcons really began to shine in the running events, winning the 100, 200, 400, 3000, 400 hurdles and relay. Sophomore Alicia Arnold won the 100, freshmen Brianna Johnson won the 200 and Gabrielle Edwards won the 400 meter.
Junior Mackenzie McMillin took over the 3000 meter, winning with a time of 10:38.23. Junior Natalie Sommerville, despite missing her personal best in the hurdles, managed to win the event with her score of 62.64.
Head coach Lou Snelling was impressed with the overall performance of the team as well as beating the Rockets again.
“It was a solid performance, we took care of business,” Snelling said. “Anytime you can beat Toledo, it’s a victory earned.”
The Falcons will have over a week to rest up and prepare for the Mid-American Conference outdoor championships. The event will be hosted by Ohio and will be from May 15-17.
