By Nate Smith
April 15, 2002
School records have seemingly been falling all season for the Bluffton women's track and field team, and Saturday's Yellow Jacket Classic was no exception. But the story of the day arguably came from the men's pole vault, where Clint Dillon broke the school record by a full foot, nearly qualifying for the national championships in the process.
Dillon's performance Saturday at Defiance College came as no surprise, as the talented vaulter had been winning almost every competition to this point. He finished second in this meet, but took advantage of the best weather the Beavers have encountered yet this season to set a new personal-best and Bluffton record at fifteen feet. His performance helped bolster a strong overall showing by both squads at the meet.
The men and women from Bluffton each brought home one individual championship from the meet, with Rick Orr winning the shotput for the men and Laurel Miller claiming first in the triple jump for the women. Meanwhile, Dillon's performance in the vault only highlighted a strong Beavers contingent in that event. Fred Yoder finished fourth at thirteen feet, and Randy Hart finished sixth at twelve feet.
Aside from the men's pole vault, two women's records also were broken in the meet. Rachel Szydlowski broke the school record in the women's 5000 meters, in a time of 20:09, while the women's 1600 meter relay team of Amanda Habegger, Miller, MaryAnna Morgan and Jana Hammer took second overall in a time of 4:23.67 to beat the old record by a full second.
The sprinters on that women's relay team also enjoyed a fine day in their individual events. Aside from winning the triple jump, Miller also finished third in the 100 meter hurdles, running her best time (16.85) in two years at Bluffton. Habegger finished fifth in that same race, then ran the 400 meters back-to-back with her hurdles race, finishing fourth in a personal-best time of 63.73. Hammer also had a strong day in the sprints, placing third in the 100 and fourth in the 200, running season-best times in both races. Katie Snyder grabbed the other top five finish on the women's side, throwing nearly 90 feet in her first javelin competition to finish third.
Other athletes who placed on the men's side were Ryan Nusbaum, Jason Lehman, and Chris Mackey. Nusbaum placed in both the 100 and 200, running a season-best time of 11.40 in the shorter race. Lehman, meanwhile, claimed top five finishes in three different events. He ran a season-best time in the 110 hurdles (16.75) while finishing fourth, and backed that up with a season-best performance in the long jump (19' 4.25") to place second, and a jump of nearly 36 feet in his first-ever triple jump competition. Mackey led three Beavers runners under 53 seconds in the 400 to take sixth in that event with a time of 52.02.
Bluffton has their two biggest meets remaining on the schedule, starting with the All-Ohio Division III Championships this weekend. The Beavers will be at Otterbein on Friday night, and at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday.