Bowling Green State University

The Bowling Green State University track and field team begins the 2011 indoor season in earnest on Saturday, Jan. 15 when the squad hosts the annual BGSU Challenge.

Six teams join the Falcons for Saturday's meet. The opponents include three Mid-American Conference foes – Ball State, Western Michigan and Miami. The other competing teams will be Dayton, Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne, and Spring Arbor.

The meet begins at 11:00 a.m. with 20 lb. weight throw, which will be followed by the shot put. The long jump and pole vault competitions also help kick off the meet, with the high jump and triple jump following those events. The shot put, high jump and triple jump are tentatively scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. start.

The ten track events begin at noon with the 5000m race. The 60m and 60m hurdle preliminary races take place after the 5000 meters, and they are followed by the mile run and the 400m race.

The 60m and 60m hurdles finals take place after the 400 meter run, at approximately 1:50 and 1:55 p.m., respectively. The final five events, in order, are the 800m, 200m, 500m, 3000m and 4x400m relay.

The top eight places in each race will score points, on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale.

Tickets at Perry Field House will be $5 for adults, $3 for youth (18 and under), and $2 for college students with a current school indentification. Current Bowling Green students with an ID may enter at no charge.

Results will be posted shortly after the conclusion of the meet at www.bgsufalcons.com; live stats can be also be accessed at bgsufalcons.com or here.

The 2011 BGSU track and field team enters the season with a strong mix of youth and depth that will aim to build upon what the team achieved in 2010.

Sophomore Jeanette Pettigrew returns to lead the team's corps of sprinters. At last year's BGSU Challenge, Pettigrew won the 60 meters and followed that with two more victories in the event during the indoor season. At the All-Ohio Championships, she set a personal-best time of 7.61 seconds, within one-tenth of a second of the BGSU record.

In the mid-distance events, several Falcons return after strong 2010 showings. Both Heather Conger and Barbara Powers, in their final seasons as a Falcon in 2011, registered their top 2010 times in the 800 meters at the BGSU Challenge. Powers is also perhaps the most accomplished returning distance runner, as she provided the team's best times of all returning athletes in the 3000 meters and the mile run during 2010.

The team also return the bulk of its field event stars. Tatijana Jacobson, Brittani McNeal and Janelle Campbell, who registered the top scores in the high, long and triple jump events in 2010, each return. Ashley Harris is also back after leading the team in the shot put and weight throw last season. Perhaps the biggest hole to fill on the entire team will be in the pole vault event, in which Sabrina Forstein ended her Falcon career in 2010 by setting the BGSU record for pole vault height.

In anticipation of this weekend's meet, head coach Cami Paulson said, “We are extremely excited for the season to start and thrilled to be hosting this weekend. We look forward to competing against strong MAC competition right away in Miami, Western Michigan and Ball State. Dayton also has a strong, balanced team, and IPFW and Spring Arbor have some strong individuals who will provide great competition in all areas.”

According to Paulson, the team is in a good place with their training and attitude. Pleased with the progress made by the returning athletes, she looks forward to seeing them compete on Saturday.

Paulson's goals for the meet include a larger view. She said, “We want to see progress in all areas. We have more depth across the board this season and look to build on each performance week after week to be our best for both the indoor and outdoor MAC Championships.”

The indoor championship meet has special meaning for the Falcons this season, as BGSU is the host for the event. Paulson added, “We take pride in the fact that we have the opportunity to host the indoor conference meet this season and look to represent the university to the best of our ability to show that this team has built on the progress of the past and that we are ready to take it to a new level competitively.”

Aside from the MAC Indoor Championships and the BGSU Challenge, the Falcons will host two other meets in 2011. During the indoor season, the team will host the Tom Wright Classic on Jan. 29. BGSU will host the Northwest Ohio Relays during the outdoor season on March 26.

Falcons Host BGSU Challenge on Saturday to Begin 2011 Season