UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Bowling Green State University gymnastics team competed on the road in a split-squad on Friday evening, traveling to the Penn State National Open and SPIRE Collegiate Invitational.
At Penn State, Destiny Fernandes had a personal record of 9.1 seconds in the 60 hurdles, Briana Richard finished third in the long jump at 5.74 and DaMaya Baker notched an 8.82 in the 60 hurdles to pace the Falcons.
Katerina Shuble ran the mile in 4:52.01, less than a second shy of her PR. Also finishing the mile in under five minutes was Kailee Perry (4:59.12).
The Falcons saw a PR from third-place finisher Kristin Groppe in the three kilometer run at SPIRE (10:35.78), with Regina Rose running the event in 10:33.56 to place second.
Destiny Fernandes had a PR in the 60 hurdles, finishing the race in 9.1 seconds.
Katerina Shuble made her season debut in the mile, ending with a time of 4:52.01, less than a second shy of her PR. This is the sixth-fastest time in program history.
Izzy Best had a PR in the mile, completing it in 5:04.73. Also recording a PR was Sabrina Imes, with a mark of 17-8.75 (5.40m) in the triple jump. At the SPIRE Invite, Kristin Groppe PR’d in the 3K, running in 10:35.78.
On Saturday, the Falcons wrapped up competition at the Penn State National Open with another spectacular day, highlighted by top-10 finishers and multiple marks that will be added to the program records.
Richard and Imes placed first and third, respectively, in the triple jump, with both recording a mark that rank in the program’s top 12.
Richard had a season-best mark of 40-8.75 in the triple jump, which is the second-best of her career and eighth-best in school history. Imes had a PR in the triple jump, reaching a mark of 40 feet. That is the 12th-best mark in program history, with only three other athlete recording a better mark.
Zaresha Neal was the runner-up in the shot put. Her mark of 53-11.25 is her best of the season and ranks 14th in school history. Neal now holds five of the top 15 and eight of the top 20 shot put marks in program history.
Kylee Cubbison (fourth) and Olivia Collett (seventh) produced strong results for Bowling Green in the 3K, with both entering the program’s top 16.
Running the 3K for the second time in her career, Cubbison finished fourth at 9:45.8, which is the eighth-best time in program history. Collett had a PR in the 3K, placing seventh in 9:55.15. This is the 16th-best time in school history.
Adding a top-five finish for the Falcons was Bianca Staples, who was fourth in the high jump.
Tianna Mulligan ran the fifth-fastest 600 (1:39.58) in school history, running it for the first time in her career.
The distance medley relay team of Best, Raegan Burkey, Cubbison, and Shuble finished sixth with the seventh-best time (11:56.57) in BGSU history.
Additionally, Katherine Mendenhall (eighth in the high jump) and Jemeila Hunter (10th in the 200) collected top-10 finishes for the Falcons.
The Falcons will travel east to compete in the Akron Invite, hosted by the University of Akron on Feb. 3-4.
