January 26, 2018

GENEVA, Ohio - A select group of Bluffton track and field athletes traveled to Geneva, Ohio, to compete at the SPIRE Institute Midwest Indoor Open on Friday, Jan. 26. Every one of the six competitors put in a fine performance.

Starting out the evening was the women's Distance Medley Relay (DMR), a mixed distance event comprised of 1200, 400, 800 and 1600 meter legs. Junior JENNIE MATTESON (Guysville/Alexander) set the tone by perfectly running leg one in her projected time. Junior KETURAH WARLICK (East Point, Mich./Clintondale) took the baton and sped off to a quick sprint, handing off to freshman BAILIE BARRINGTON(Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) for the half-mile duty. Sophomore ALEXIS CASH (Gaines, MI/Lake Fenton) dug deeply to anchor in the longest leg of the night, bringing the women home in 13:10.40 for the combined 4000 meter distance.

Contesting the 5000 meters in separate heats were sophomore DAKOTA FROST(Edgerton/Hicksville) and junior JONAH ECKERT (Terre Haute, Ind./West Vigo). Both men ran aggressive races, putting themselves in the front pack of their respective fields, executing the right moves when they were needed. Frost broke his existing school record, setting the new mark at 15:41.22 while Eckert dropped an impressive 36 seconds from his previous best to stop the clock at 16:00.19.

"It is always a bit of a gamble to highlight a few athletes from the team to take them to a big meet with high level competition," said Head Coach Karen Brandt. "There is the risk they won't handle the pressure and we will end up with frustration and a lack of confidence rather than the validation and additional motivation that was our goal. We are so proud of this group. They took the challenge of the opportunity we gave them and like cream, they rose to the occasion."

The DMR personnel will each contest open events Saturday at Findlay along with the rest of the Beavers while Frost and Eckert will resume training with a distance run.

-BEAVERS-