By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
Photos by: Zach Slone
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind.- "It was a great day to be a Beaver!" said Coach Connor Gulick, referring to the outcome of the Manchester University Invitational on Saturday. The sunny weather and gentle gusts of wind throughout the day made excellent race conditions and resulted in numerous personal records being set on the day!
Kicking off the meet were the field events. In the men's hammer throw, senior Michael Lindhorst (Lindsey/Woodmore) is currently ranked 5th in the conference with a big throw of 44.72 meters that earned him a PR and 6th place at the meet! Senior Henry Wright (Wooster) also had a big throw in the hammer, PR'ing by 4 meters with a throw of 38.48m while placing 10th!
In the women's hammer, freshman Paige Smith (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) set a new PR with a throw of 26.36 meters. Ranked 10th in the conference is junior Amanda Scott (Millbury/Lake). Scott placed 8th on Saturday with a throw of 37.93 meters. Currently ranked 6th in the conference is senior Maggie Hartzler (Rittman/Norwayne) with a great mark and PR in the hammer throw of 42.13m, finishing in 4th place. Senior Emma Payne (Hicksville) had an excellent performance on Saturday, placing 3rd with a throw of 42.84 meters, and she is currently ranked 4th in the conference!
In the men's javelin, freshman Coen North (Denver, Col./North) had an outstanding performance, throwing 10 meters farther than his previous PR, earning 3rd place with a throw of 30.71 meters!
In the men's discus, Lindhorst is currently ranked 10th in the conference with a throw of 33.01 meters on Saturday, while Wright is ranked 8th in the HCAC after a PR throw of 38.70 which was good for 5th. North also set a PR with a throw of 43.07 meters. Junior Carter Ritchey (Delphos/Hopewell Loudon) also had an amazing performance, setting a new PR of 23.12 meters
Payne is currently ranked 10th in the conference with a throw of 34.25 meters in the discus after a 6th place finish Saturday.
Junior Markus Finley (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North) is ranked 4th in the conference with a big PR throw of 14.25 meters in the shot put.
Assistant Coach Stephanie Fox, who works with the throwers, was thrilled with the performance of her athletes on Saturday. "I am incredibly proud of the throws today! All they needed was some good weather and I knew they would do exceptionally well," exclaimed Fox. "We had nine total PRs within the throws group! I'm excited to see how the rest of the season goes.
In the men's high jump, sophomore Joey Bonham (Vanlue) scored 2nd place with a height of 1.80 meters! Sophomore Olivia Rider (Celina) placed 6th in the women's high jump with a height of 1.40 meters.
Junior Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) took 3rd in the long jump (6.37m). Freshman Dontrayell Thomas (Madera, Cal./Edison) came in 7th with a jump of 5.48m.
The running events were underway shortly after the start of the field events. In the men's 1500 meters, junior Ethan Ly (Celina) led the Beavers, setting a quick new PR of 4:09.98 and finishing in 8th place. Following Ly was sophomore Cole Kropka (New London), setting a new PR after a great race with a time of 4:18.47. Freshman Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) flew across the line to set a new PR of 4:37.25, followed closely by sophomore Braeden Horn (Galion) who set a new PR of 4:38.40. Also setting new PR's in the men's 1500 were senior Morgan Adams (Dublin/Coffman) with a time of 4:45.63, and sophomore Aiden Brien (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) with a time of 4:51.95! Securing a season best in the event with great races as well were junior Zach Boch (Lancaster) with a time of 4:38.00, and sophomore Tyson Lesher (Millbury/Genoa Area) with a time of 4:48.45.
In the women's 1500 meters, sophomore Basil Gates (Galion) won the heat and placed 9th overall with a new PR of 5:20.99 after a quick race! Junior Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's) flew across the line, earning a season best of 5:41.34! Her teammate Sammie Unger (Kenton) also had a season best of 6:07.55.
Ly had an excellent performance in the men's 800 meters, earning a new PR of 2:01.39. Also earning season bests in the 800 were Adams with a time of 2:11.98 and freshman Roudebush following closely with a time of 2:14.99.
"Just about everyone had a PR or season best today, which is a great boost of confidence on essentially what was a training week for us," said Coach Gulick, who works with the distance athletes. I'm excited to see how these kids wrap up the season over these next few weeks!"
"I think our 400 groups had really solid races this weekend," explained Head Coach Ben Markison who works closely with the sprints, jumps, and hurdles athletes, "Especially Russell, Kailea, and Kinsey." Sophomore Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) sped across the line in the men's 400 with a time of 50.24, placing 2nd and earning a season best! Also earning a season best and placing 2nd was sophomore Kinsey Myers (Stryker) in the women's 400 meters, with a quick time of 1:05.12. Setting a new PR was sophomore Kailea Greathouse-Kerr (Manchester, Ind.), giving it her all for a great time of 1:02.72 and placing 1st overall!
"Overall, the nice weather gave us all a great idea of where we're currently at and reflects the hard work that everyone has been putting in," says Coach Markison. "With the warmer weather carrying over into this weekend, I'm excited to see a lot more great performances and PRs from the team as a whole."
The Beavers ger ready to head back to Tiffin and Heidelberg this weekend for a competition that spreads across the whole weekend for an opportunity against some big competition. With the promise of good weather again this weekend, the Beavers will work to keep the momentum going into next weekend's competition!
