FINAL RESULTS

YPSILANTI, Mich. – Lou Snelling paused for a moment to take it all in.

Joined by his team of family that included wife, April, and children, Louie and Madie, in the throws area of EMU's Bowen Field House, the 14^th-year head coach grinned from ear to ear as he wrapped his arms around them huddled together.

His other team of BGSU track & field athletes and coaches were smiling and cheering with as much emotion and jubilation as they watched the moment unfold.

They were all in conjunction with the same celebration – commemorating a Falcon MAC Indoor Championships title for the first time since 1999.

"It was a cool moment," Snelling said. "I'll remember that one for a while."

That snapshot was a culmination of a two-day display that showcased true team effort and resilience, competing as one.

"It wasn't about a small handful of people scoring a bunch of points," the MAC Coach of the Year said. "Sometimes, you see championships won that way. This was a truly collective effort, which is what I love and what we want to keep doing."

Entering the final day in third as a team, Trista Fintel's second place showing in the shot put (15.56m) helped the Falcons soar into first place and score a total of 95 points.

They never surrendered their placement.

In what was perhaps the biggest turning point of the weekend for BGSU, Bianca Staples and Sabrina Imes took first and second in the triple jump to help cushion the advantage after the shot put. The junior duo put up PRs, as Staples jumped 12.59 meters and Imes 12.46. Imes's leap was originally called foul, but BG challenged, and the decision was reversed.

Kylee Cubbison kicked off the running events with a runner-up finish in the mile with a mark of 4:44.76, providing much-needed points for the Falcons.

Bowling Green continued to build on their lead as DaMya Barker (8.59) and Morgan Patterson (8.63) took fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 60m hurdles. Then, Kiersten Franklin proceeded to place fourth in the 60m dash with a mark of 7.49 seconds.

The Falcons led by as many as 24 points after the freshman duo of Reese Reaman (2:10.01) and Rachael Hoover (2:12.16) came in third and sixth in the 800m.

Franklin, a Division II transfer from Cedarville, then took fourth again – this time in the 200m with a mark of 24.41.

Cubbison's performance in the 3,000m is what put the cherry on top for the Falcons and sealed the team title.

In what was her fourth race of the grueling, two-day weekend, the junior laid it out all on the line for her team. Not even in the top eight for most of the race and into the final lap, she massively kicked into a high gear and ended in sixth with a time of 9:44.18 to score.

For good measure, the 4x400m relay squad of Franklin, Reagan Campbell, Reaman – who won MAC Freshman of the Year honors – and Barker placed seventh (3:54.54) during the final event of the meet.

Bowling Green bested Akron (79 points) and two-time defending MAC champions Eastern Michigan (77). The Falcons also became the second women's-only program (with no men's team) to win a MAC Indoor title, joining NIU who won it in 2021.

"I'm really proud of these young women," Snelling said. "All of our different event groups contributed heavily, and how we supported each other this weekend was really pivotal. We talked about how it's something that we had to hold on to."

"A big piece of it is you have to come together, and that's how you win championships."

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