Shot Put Takes Center Stage At Regional Saturday

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Lexington, Ky. – A successful NCAA East Region Preliminary Round concludes for the Bowling Green State University track and field team Saturday when senior Makenzie Wheat and redshirt junior Aliyah Gustafson compete for a spot at the NCAA Championships in the shot put. The duo will compete at 6 pm, looking to place in the top 12 in the region to earn a spot in Eugene, Ore. BGSU is one of only nine schools to have multiple competitors in the event at the East regional.

Gustafson, in fact, finished 12th a year ago at the meet and made that appearance at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, earning honorable mention All-American status. Wheat is just the second Falcon in program history to qualify for a regional bid four times in her career, and the first to do so under the current two-region system.

Gustafson is seeded No. 35 out of the 48 competitors in the field and Wheat is the No. 41 seed. Wheat will compete in the first of four flights Saturday, while Gustafson sits in the second flight.

Both competitors can take inspiration from teammate Rachel Walny. Walny punched her ticket to the national championships Thursday evening in the 10,000. Entering the meet seeded No. 18, she rocketed up the standings over the final two laps of the 25-lap race and placed 11th. Gustafson, as well, earned her trip to nationals a year ago in the shot put after being seeded No. 19.

With Walny's qualification, Bowling Green will send a competitor to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field National Championships for the fifth consecutive year – the longest streak in program history. BGSU has not sent two student-athletes to the meet since 1998.

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Aliyah Gustafson

Rachel Walny

Makenzie Wheat

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