The BG women’s track and field team traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the Simmons Harvey Invitational this past Saturday. Although no team scores were recorded, there were some stand out performances from the Falcons.
Sophomore Tiera Parker set a personal best to win the triple jump with a jump of 37-feet-10 and a career best time of 7.85 in the 60. Senior Jeanette Pettigrew and sophomore transfer Alicia Arnold finished just in front of her in the 60.
Pettigrew finished in second place with a time of 7.63 and Arnold finished right behind her with a time of 7.72. Arnold rounded out the Falcons 60 meter dash group with a fourth place finish.
The Falcons won one event and placed second in two others against teams like Michigan, Notre Dame, Detroit, Siena Heights and Concordia. There were also numerous unattached and club runners competing at the meet.
Parker’s leap of 37-10 in the triple jump was almost 10 inches longer than her previous career best and was enough to beat Notre Dame’s Kelly Burke by more than a foot.
It was the best triple jump performance by a Falcon since Erica Wilson jumped a 38-6 in 2007.
Senior transfer Tina Perrine competed in the weight throw and finished second with a toss of 55-1. Arnold finished fourth in the long jump but had a season-best leap of 18-6.
The 1600 relay team of Pettigrew, Demetra Taylor, Taylor Rambo and Brittany Sinclair placed third in 3:54.21, more than five seconds faster than the program’s season-best this year.
Freshman Makenzie Wheat placed third in the shot put with a throw of 43-10 and Raven Porter was fourth in the triple jump with a jump of 35-5.75.
The Falcons also had two eighth place finishes, one by freshman Gabrielle Edwards in to 200 meter dash and the other by senior Natasha Greggs in the 400.
BG will host its second and final home indoor meet of the season Friday night for the Tom Wright Open field event. It will begin at 5 p.m. while the running events will begin at 6 p.m.
