By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
Photos by: Zach Slone
TIFFIN, Ohio- The wind was strong but the Bluffton University Beavers were stronger at the Tiffelburg Collegiate Open on Saturday, April 1. With a mix of wind, rain, and hail, the conditions were not exactly ideal for PR's and season bests, but that did not discourage the Beavers from giving it their all!
The meet kicked off with field events. In the women's hammer throw, junior Amanda Scott (Millbury/Lake) set a new PR with a big throw of 38.97 meters!
"I'd have to say that the throws did well this week!" said Assistant Coach Stephanie Fox who works with the throwers. "For how crappy the weather was, they really pulled through and stuck it out together. I'm excited to see what they can do with good weather."
Junior Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) took 2nd place in the long jump with 6.67 meters! Junior Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) placed 6th with a jump of 6.40m, and sophomore Joey Bonham (Vanlue) finished 8th with a leap of 6.17m!
Kicking off the running events was the men's steeplechase competition. In 4th place was junior Ethan Ly (Celina) with a time of 10:50, followed closely by sophomore Cole Kropka (New London) who placed 5th with a time of 11:05!
After a lightning delay paused everything after the first event, the meet continued with higher winds but the events were in full swing!
In the women's 1500 meter race, sophomore Basil Gates (Galion) set a new PR of 5:38! Sophomore Sammie Unger (Kenton) set a season best in the 1500 meters with a time of 6:18.
In the men's 1500 meters, junior Alex Montross (Perrysburg) flew across the line, earning a season best with a time of 4:40. Also in the 1500, freshman Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) set a PR of 4:51, followed by senior Morgan Adams (Dublin/Coffman), who set a new PR after a great race with a time of 4:53. Following Adams was junior Aiden Brien (Springfield/Kenton Ridge), finishing with a PR of 4:58!
In the men's 5k race, sophomore Braeden Horn (Galion) had a stellar performance, finishing the race with a big PR of 17:15, which was 16 seconds faster than his previous PR! Following his teammate across the line was junior Zach Boch (Lancaster), earning a season best after a great race of 17:38.
"Overall, I was happy with the weekend!" said Coach Gulick, who works with the distance athletes. We saw a lot of improvements despite another week in undesirable weather. The work that everyone has been putting in is starting to show, even if overall time isn't showing right now. I think once we get some better weather, the times will really start to drop."
In the men's 400 meters, sophomore Jayden McConnell (Sunbury/Big Walnut) finished 7th with a time of 52.47! Also in the 400 was sophomore Kyle Manns (Ottoville) who took 10th with a time of 53.39, followed closely by sophomore Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) who placed 11th with a time of 53.45!
In the women's 100 meters, senior Madalynn Schifer (Bucyrus) placed 10th with a time of 13.3 seconds! Schifer also finished 7th in the 200 meters with a time of 27.86.
Head Coach Ben Markison reflected on the performance this weekend by saying, "The team as a whole did a great job of preparing themselves again to compete in less-than-ideal conditions. We're having a lot of solid performances and I'm excited to see what that translates to when we finally get some great weather! Hopefully we'll be able to see a little bit of that at Manchester this coming weekend.
After a tough weekend at Tiffin, the Beavers return to continue training in preparation for the rest of the season! They will compete next at Manchester University on Saturday, April 8.
-BEAVERS-
