January 28, 2007

CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The Bluffton University track and field team travelled to Cedarville on Friday, January 26, 2007, to take part in the Cedarville University Collegiate Indoor Invitational. The Beavers competed against top competition which included Moorhead State, Saint Joseph's, Central State, Wright State and the host Yellow Jackets who took home top honors in both the men's and women's team events. The Bluffton men placed 10th out of 15 teams while the women finished in 13th place out of 16 squads.

Senior Shandon North (Galion/Galion) picked up where he left off last year, bringing home the Beavers' best finish of the day, a third place showing in the 400 meter dash with a time of 52.25 seconds. North was also a member of Bluffton's 4x400 meter relay team which crossed the line in 3:39.47 for a fifth place finish. His 4x400 team members were junior Tyler Fairchild (Toledo/Whitmer), senior Johnny Ichrist (Toledo/Whitmer) and freshman Collin Wagner (Pettisville/Pettisville).

Freshman Jason Fisher (Rockford/Parkway), also an offensive lineman on the Bluffton University football team, garnered a pair of eighth place finishes in field events at Cedarville. In the shot put, Fisher had a toss of 12.82 meters (42-00.75). His weight throw of 11.69 meters (38-04.50) put him in eighth place as well.

Rounding out the top 10 finishers for the Beaver men was Fairchild, who ran a 2:10.54 in the 800 meters for 10th place.

On the women's side, sophomore Ashley Smith (Delta/Delta), who was a member of the Bluffton women's soccer team in the fall, led the way for the Beavers with two top 10 placements and an 11th place finish in the 200 meters (28.92). She placed sixth in the triple jump (29-09.75) and seventh in the 400 meters (65.91).

Junior Bree Fetterman (North Royalton/Padua Franciscan) ran a 21:05.87 for a ninth place finish in the 5000 meters.

Sophomore Karyn Davis (Liberty Center/Liberty Center) put up Bluffton's highest finish in the women's field events with a ninth place toss of 10.47 meters (34-04.25).

The Bluffton indoor track and field team will return to action on Saturday, February 3, 2007, when it travels to Anderson University. The meet is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

-BEAVERS-