Men battle top competition at Findlay Open

Men battle top competition at Findlay Open

By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

FINDLAY, Ohio - The Bluffton University track and field team started the 2019 portion of its indoor schedule on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Findlay Open, competing against a couple of the top Division II schools in the region to go along with the NAIA and Division III schools that made the snowy trek on Saturday morning.

The day started with field events taking center stage as freshman Kayla Ferguson (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa) placed third with a best jump of 1.48 meters (4 feet, 10.25 inches). Junior Remi Bower (Deshler/Patrick Henry) also cleared the 1.48 meter bar for a fourth place finish, while junior Sarah Heydinger (Tiro/Buckeye Central) cleared 1.43 meters (4 feet, 8.25 inches), good enough for fifth.

Senior Maelinn Delong (Archbold/Bryan) garnered a finish in the top half of the collegiate field in the shot put, placing fifth out of 10 throwers with a best toss of 10.68 meters (35 feet, 0.5 inches), while sophomore Stephanie Fox(Pickerington/Central) finished sixth out of the college throwers with a toss of 10.47 meters (34 feet, 4.25 inches).

On the track, sophomore Bailie Barrington (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) led the Beavers with a fifth place finish overall, third place out of college runners, in the mile run, crossing with at time of 5:37.74.

Finally in the women's 3000, junior Alexis Cash (Gaines, Mich./Lake Fenton) had a time of 11:14.29, while senior Jennie Matteson (Guysville/Alexander) finished in 11:30.44, placing sixth and seventh, respectively, in their first races of the new year.

On the men's side, the field events were highlighted by an eighth-place finish in the long jump by sophomore Omar Warlick (East Pointe, Mich./Clintondale) with a longest leap of 6.09 meters (19 feet, 11.25 inches). Warlick also placed 12th of 25 in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.79 seconds.

Junior Connor Gulick (St. Louisville/Utica) earned a ninth-place finish in the 20-man field with a time of 4:43.47 in the mile.

Sticking with the distance runners, junior Dakota Frost (Edgerton/Hicksville) placed in the top half of the field in the 3000 meter run, placing 11th out of 26 runners (9:31.35). Senior Jonah Eckert (Terre Haute, Ind./West Vigo) was not far behind in 14th (9:44.50).

The Beavers look to improve on these marks after another tough week of training when they travel to Tiffin University for the Tiffin Dragon Open on Saturday, Jan. 19. The meet is set to begin at 12 p.m. inside the Heminger Center.

-BEAVERS-