By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
NEW CONCORD, Ohio- On Saturday, Jan. 27, the Beavers left the Dam and traveled to Muskingum University for their second meet of the 2024 indoor track season.
Kicking off the meet were the field events. Setting a new PR in the men's shot put was sophomore Antonio Garrett (Murfreesboro, Tenn./Stewart's Creek), earning a mark of 10.60m!
Scoring 3rd place overall in the high jump was junior Joey Bonham (Vanlue) with a jump of 1.92 meters!
An hour after the start of the field events was the start of the running events! In the men's mile, senior Ethan Ly (Celina) had a great race, setting a new PR with a time of 4:48! Finishing closely behind Ly was sophomore Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton), who also had a great race, setting a new PR time of 4:56.
In the women's mile, junior Basil Gates (Galion) set a speedy new PR of 5:58! Gates also had a great showing in the 800 meters, earning 9th place with a time of 2:49. Freshman McKenna Mabry (Ventura, Cal./Buena) took 8th overall with a quick time of 2:37.
"I think this was a step in the right direction," said Connor Gulick, who works primarily with the distance athletes "We got to see everyone more in their main events and the work that they have put in is evident. Some things we can still work on, but with a month to go before conference I'm excited to see it when we put it all together."
Flying across the track in the men's 60m dash was freshman Kalel Murray (Cincinnati/Mount Healthy), setting a new PR of 7.56 seconds. In the 60m hurdles, junior Jace Nutt (Miamisburg/Valley View) set a quick new PR of 9.18 seconds!
Soaring across the line and earning a new PR of 28.95 seconds in the women's 200m dash was junior Kailea Kerr (Manchester, Ind.).
Junior Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) had a stellar performance on the day, winning the men's 400 meters with a speedy time of 51.60! Senior Blayden McCoy placed 10th overall in the 400 with a time of 53.54.
The Bluffton men's 4x200 team made school history, breaking the school record with a time of 1:32.48! This record-breaking team was comprised of senior Blayden McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood), senior Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton), junior Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) and senior Simon Shawk (Galion). The Beavers took silver at Muskingum on Saturday.
"This was a solid meet overall," said Head Coach Ben Markison. "I think each event group had a lot of good performances on the day, and you can definitely see the improvement from our first meet to this meet. I'm confident there will be a lot of PRs coming in the next few weeks leading up to conference."
After a long day on the road, the Beavers returned to Bluffton for another hard week of training. They make the short trip to Ohio Northern's Joe Banks Invitational on Friday, Feb. 2.
-BEAVERS-