Sports Information Staff Report
April 10, 2004
Both the men's and women's track and field teams for Bluffton finished first on Saturday at the Yellow Jacket Classic, hosted by Defiance College. The women finished first out of five teams, scoring 204.5 points to 2nd-place Defiance's 135. The men finished first out of seven teams, outscoring 2nd-place Defiance 143.5 to 75.
The women's team also saw a number of school records broken in the meet, led by Jana Hammer. The junior sprinter took first in both the 100 and 200 meters. She tied her school record in the 100 meters with her winning time of 12.77, while breaking the school record in the 200 meters with her winning time of 26.28. Hammer also ran on the Beavers' 4x100 meter relay, which also set a new school record with their time of 50.33. Hammer was joined on that relay by Cindy Allan, Rita Muether, and Amanda Habegger. Habegger also claimed another new school record in the meet, as the junior hurdler placed second in the 100 meter hurdles, with a time of 16.12. Muether, meanwhile, came near her own school record in the 400 meters, winning in a time of 61.23. Allan went on to place 2nd in the 100 meters (13.33), 3rd in the 200 meters (27.44), and 2nd in the long jump (14-10).
Another school record that didn't last for long at this meet was the 5000 meters. After breaking the record just last week, sophomore Jennifer Creamer lowered the standard once again, taking a half-second off her own record, as she placed third in a time 19:33.96. Rachel Noirot also tied her own record in the pole vault, and is now joined there by freshman Jamie Shores. Both vaulters cleared 8' 6" in the competition. Other event winners for the Bluffton women included Kimleeta Davis (long jump - 15' 6") and Michele Bailey (discus - 117' 5").
The Bluffton men had no shortage of top performances either en route to capturing their first invitational title of the year. Colby Bright was a double-winner for the Beavers, placing first in both the 400 meters (50.42) and the long jump (20-8.5). Bright also ran anchor on Bluffton's winning 1600 meter relay team, along with Dan Rosebrock, Jason Lehman, and Shandon North. Lehman picked up two other top-3 finishes during the meet as well, placing 2nd in the 400 meter hurdles (60.98) and 3rd in the 100 meters (11.33). North, meanwhile, finished a close second to Bright in the 400 meters with a season-best time of 50.58. Another event winner for the Beavers was Clint Dillon, who won his third consecutive pole vault competition. After clearing a winning height of 14' 6" on his first attempt of the competition, Dillon narrowly missed on improving his provisional mark. Dillon also finished 2nd in the high jump (5-10).
Other event winners for the men included Andy Schiefer (3000 meter steeplechase - 10:38.08), Jeremy King (high jump - 6-0), and Steve Myers (discus - 142-5). Myers also finished third in the shot put with a season-best toss of 45-8.75. Other top performances included Dan Rosebrock (1500m - 4:13.08), Jordon Bruner (1500m - 4:14.58), Johnny Ichrist (800m - 2:05.94), and Josh Espinoza (pole vault - 13-0).
Bluffton's men and women will both be in action this next Friday and Saturday, when they travel to Ohio Wesleyan for the Division III All-Ohio Championships. The women's outdoor season record currently stands at 26-13, while the men's record is 25-17.