SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - A pair of Bluffton University men's tracksters kicked off their 2023-24 campaign at the Wittenberg Tiger Collegiate Opener on Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023.

Junior Joey Bonham (Vanlue) tied for 2nd in the high jump with a leap of 1.93 meters (6 feet 4 inches). He came up just shy of his personal record as a Beaver.

Cole Kropka (New London) shaved 20 seconds off his personal record in the 5000 meters, placing 5th with a time of 15:54.76. He will continue training with the school-record time of 15:40.13 (Dakota Frost  - 2018) firmly in his sights. Distance Coach Connor Gulick had this to say about Kropka's performance, "Cole had a great opener. He closed out cross country on a high note and carried that momentum into this meet. I think this race was just a glimpse of things to come this year."

The full squad will make its debut on Friday, Jan. 19, when Bluffton Track and Field makes the short trip to Ohio Northern in Ada.

-BEAVERS-