By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
CINCINNATI, Ohio- The Bluffton University Beavers traveled back to Mount St. Joseph University for one final showdown to cap off the 2023 indoor track and field season at the HCAC Championship Meet! After a full season of training and a lot of hard work, the Bluffton athletes gave it their all against the conference competition, resulting in numerous PRs and conference placements. Any finish of 8th place or higher scored points for the team.
The HCAC meet kicked off at 1 p.m. with the start of both field and running events. In the men's high jump, the Beavers took up most of the podium! In 4th place was junior Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) with a big jump of 1.87m. Making the podium and bringing home the bronze was sophomore Joey Bonham (Vanlue), securing 3rd place with a jump of 1.90m. Standing in the second-place spot on the podium and earning silver with an outstanding leap of 1.93m was sophomore Kyle Manns (Ottoville)!
In the women's high jump, sophomore Olivia Rider (Celina) scored a point for her team, placing 8th with a jump of 1.42m.
In the long jump, junior Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) had a quality jump, securing 4th place in the HCAC (6.30m). In addition, Gist placed 2nd (6.67m), taking home the silver medal!
It was a good day for the Bluffton University throwers! Scoring points in the weight throw were senior Michael Lindhorst (Lindsey/Woodmore), placing 8th with a PR toss of 13.72m, and senior Henry Wright (Wooster) coming in 7th with a big throw and a PR of 13.93m.
In the shot, junior Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) finished a great indoor season off with a PR throw of 13.96m, earning a spot in 6th place while scoring points for the Beavers!
Also having an excellent performance on the day was freshman Paige Smith (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) who set a new PR of 10.15m in the women's shot put.
"I'm happy with the performances I saw today," said Assistant Coach Stephanie Fox, who works with the throwers. "Many of the throwers proved to me that they're hungry for more. Some of them didn't have the throws they wanted, but they still put everything they had into their competition. While I enjoyed the indoor season, I'm ready and eager for the outdoor season to start. I think that's where the throwers truly shine."
The running events kicked off with the women's 5k Race. Junior Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's) left it all out on the track, placing 9th with a time of 20:48 which established a new season best!
The women's distance medley relay team earned points, placing 7th overall with a time of 15:56. The unit was comprised of junior Miranda Billman (Castalia/Margaretta), sophomore Kinsey Myers (Stryker), junior Brooke Barnes (Ashland/Crestview) and sophomore Sammie Unger. (Kenton)
The men's DMR also scored a point , placing 8th overall! The team was comprised of sophomore Braeden Horn (Galion), freshman Darien Tolbert (Riverside/Stebbins), freshman Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) and sophomore Alex Montross (Perrysburg), and they finished the relay with a collective time of 11:51.
In the men's 3k, Horn gave it his all, striding across the line and earning a quick new PR of 10:17.
"I thought the team competed really well today," said Assistant Coach Connor Gulick who works with the distance athletes. "They really left it all out there today and the results showed. All the work that these kids have done over the course of the year showed today. I think we are going to be set up really well for the outdoor track season!"
The men's 60m hurdles competition was dominated by Gist, who took home the gold with a superb time of 8.28. He also had a stellar performance in the 60m dash, securing 2nd place with a time of 7.06.
In the women's 60m dash, senior Madalynn Schifer (Bucyrus) finished out her indoor season with a great race, placing 6th with a time of 8.20.
Points were scored for the men's team by sophomore Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) in the 400 meters where he placed 6th overall with a time of 51.57. Also placing 6th and scoring some points with an excellent race was sophomore Simon Shawk (Galion) in the men's 800m race with a time of 2:02.07.
Sophomore Kailea Greathouse-Kerr (Manchester, Ind.) finished a great race in the women's 400 meters with a time of 1:02, earning 4th place overall!
The Bluffton University relay teams had a great performance this weekend! In the women's 4x2 Relay, a team comprised of Schifer, freshman Paige Massie (Alvada/Arcadia), Myers, and sophomore Kailea Greathouse-Kerr (Manchester, Ind.) placed 2nd overall with a time of 1:53! The men's 4x200 relay team finished in 3rd overall. The team, comprised of junior Blayden McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood), sophomore Jayden McConnell (Sunbury/Big Walnut), Lough and Gist finished the quick race, setting a new school record time of 1:32!
The meet ended with the 400 meter relays. The women's 4x4 relay, comprised of Greathouse-Kerr, Barnes, Myers and Massie, placed in 6th with a time of 4:36.
The men's 4x400 relay came down to the wire! With the eyes of everyone in attendance on them, McCoy, Shawk, Lough and anchor Jayden McConnell came out on top, bringing home the gold with a school-record time of 3:27!
Head Coach Ben Markison was very proud of the overall performance of the team, and reflected by saying, "The meet went really well overall. I think we lost some points here and there which always happens, but we definitely stepped up and stole some points by going out there and just competing which you love to see! All and all, it was a great team effort on the men's side to finish 3rd with 79 points (this ties for the highest finish and is the most ever scored by our men's team at the HCAC Indoor Championship). The team as a whole has made tremendous progress and I'm expecting it to carry over to the outdoor season."
After the final scores were tallied, the results showed the Bluffton men's team placing 3rd and the women's team taking 8th overall! Happy with some great performances but never satisfied, the Beavers returned home to take some time to recover before beginning training for the 2023 outdoor track and field season!
-BEAVERS-
