By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - On Saturday, March 25, the Beavers loaded up on the bus early in the morning for a long day of competing at the Cedarville University Yellow Jacket Collegiate Outdoor Open. Weather played a huge role in the marks and times earned on Saturday. With gusts of wind reaching 53 mph consistently, the athletes had their work cut out for them. This large meet had 37 teams signed up to compete, so it provided ample competition!

"Overall, with the weather this weekend, we weren't expecting to have an amazing meet with tons of PRs," explained Head Coach Ben Markison. We knew it was going to be a struggle going into it. I mainly was looking at how we approached the meet itself. I think everyone did an amazing job of staying focused and putting themselves in position to have a great day."

Coach Markison highlighted the performance of athlete Blayden McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood) during this, the first meet of his junior season. McCoy had an excellent performance in the men's 400 meters, running an impressive time of 51.52, which is only 0.4 off of his PR from conference last year. His time was especially impressive, given the windy weather conditions during the race.

The assistant coach who works with the throwers, Stephanie Fox, also commented about the poor weather conditions on the race day, saying that between lightning delays, the wind, and the sheer amount of throwers in each flight, the conditions weren't exactly ideal to throw in. "However," said Coach Fox, "I am really proud of how the throwers handled themselves and overcame the adversity! Furthermore, I'm excited that some were able to pop out PR's even when it was very unlikely for them to do so! It shows me that they are able to throw much farther distances!"

Freshman Coen North (Denver, Colorado/North) set two collegiate PR's at his first college competition, with a discus throw of 27.48m and a mark in the men's javelin competition of 33.12m. His teammate, junior Carter Ritchey (Delphos/Hopewell Loudon), also set a collegiate PR of 22.34m, throwing discus for the first time collegiately. Ritchey finished with a big PR in the javelin, adding four meters to his former college best from two years ago, setting a new PR of 36.40m and finishing in 13th overall!

In the hammer throw, senior Henry Wright (Wooster) set a new PR with a big throw of 34.66m! On the women's side, freshman Paige Smith (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) had her first collegiate throw and set a PR of 24.50m.

Assistant Coach Connor Gulick, who works with the distance athletes, commented on the performance of his athletes by saying, "Solid opener for the outdoor season. Times weren't going to be there today with the nasty wind that was blowing but everyone competed hard, and it still wasn't far off of what their best was. That's exciting to see as we head into the rest of the season when the weather starts cooperating more."

In the men's 5k race, sophomore Cole Kropka (New London) earned a season best of 16:36.

With a tough but solid start to the season, the Beavers are excited to compete closer to home at the 2023 Tiffelberg Open on the campus of Heidelberg University.

-BEAVERS-