Beavers divide and conquer at ONU and Ashland

Beavers divide and conquer at ONU and Ashland

By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

ADA/ASHLAND, Ohio - The Buffton University track and field teams split up to find success as the distance runners made the short trip to Ada for the A.J. Cody Invitational at Ohio Northern University, while the rest of the group headed for the Ashland Alumni Open to take on a largely Division II field.

A pair of school records were on the menu for the Beavers at ONU, starting off with junior Alexis Cash (Gaines, Mich./Lake Fenton) bringing home a victory at 3000 meters in a school-record time of 11:01.16, breaking the record of 11:03.27 set in 2008 by Sarah Humphrey. Sophomore Bailie Barrington (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) sat behind Cash most of the way before locking down a second-place finish in 11:08.06. Senior Jennie Matteson (Guysville/Alexander) had a late charge to kick into a third-place finish in 11:10.35.

Later in the day, junior Dakota Frost (Edgerton/Hicksville) added his name into the record book as well, taking home his own 3000 meter record with a time of 9:20.60, shattering the record originally set by Ryan Schadewald in 2012, when he ran a time of 9:36.59.

Meanwhile in Ashland, the sprinters, jumpers, and throwers were taking on the conditions and a group of NCAA Division II competitors.

The highest finisher for the Beavers came from senior Keyon Camden (Wayne/Elmwood) whose clearance of 5 feet, 8.75 inches was good for third place in the high jump competition.

A pair of freshmen saw personal bests in the sprints in Ashland. Christian Parker (Urbana/West Liberty) started the day with a time of 11.66 seconds in the 100, while Dalton Taynor (Troy/Miami East) sprinted his way to a time of 23.33 seconds in the 200 for a best of his own to gain momentum for next weekend's HCAC Championship.

Taynor led the way in the javelin with a personal best of 42.10 meters (138 feet, 1 inch) which was over five meters better than his previous best, putting him just shy of the automatic HCAC qualifier, while freshman Brandon James (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) added a personal-best of 33.75 meters (110 feet).

Junior John Jones (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) also added a new lifetime best in the discus with a toss of 38.39 meters (125 feet, 11 inches).

Senior Maelinn Delong (Archbold)  led the way for the women with a personal-best toss of 38.79 meters (127 feet, 3 inches) in the hammer throw, putting her inside the top 10 on the HCAC performance list.

The Beavers now look ahead to next weekend's HCAC Outdoor Championships at Mount St. Joseph. The meet starts on Friday, April 26 at 3 p.m. and will continue on Saturday, April 27 at 11 a.m.

-BEAVERS-