By: Ben Hershberger, sports information intern
April 23, 2007

MANCHESTER, Indiana - The Bluffton University track and field team traveled to Manchester College on Saturday, April 21, 2007 for the Spartan Classic. Both the men's squad and the women's squad finished with high finishers all day long, however, there were no team scores kept during the meet.

Freshman JASON FISHER (Rockford/Parkway) led the way for the men as he claimed three finishes in the top three, including the lone 1st place finish on the day for the Beavers in the shot put event. Fisher gained his top honor with a heave of 14.32 meters in the event. He then went on to take 3rd in the discus throw with a mark of 40.22 meters, as well as 3rd in the javelin throw with a toss of 43.36 meters.

Also posting strong finishes for the Beavers were JOHNNY ICHRIST (Toledo/Whitmer) and COLLIN WAGNER (Pettisville/Pettisville). Ichrist, a senior, took 3rd in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:04.43 while Wagner, a freshman, took 2nd in the 3,000 meter Steeplechase with a time of 11:18.00.  

Ichrist and Wagner teamed up in the 4x400 meter relay, along with fellow sprinters TYLER FAIRCHILD (Toledo/Whitmer) and SHANDON NORTH (Galion/Galion), to take 2nd place in the event with a time of 3:32.59.

For the women, sophomore ASHLEY SMITH (Delta/Delta) led the way for the Beavers with strong performances in the running events as well as field events. Smith took 3rd place in the 400 meter dash with a time of 1:04.19. She also placed 3rd in the women's long jump with a leap of 4.53 meters. Smith then went on to help her teammates place 2nd in 4x100 meter relay (55.30) and 3rd in the 4x400 meter relay (4:33.87) as she was a part of both squads.

Joining Smith on the relay teams were fellow Beavers SARAH BINKLEY (Bluffton/Cory-Rawson), SARAH HUMPHREY (Upper Sandusky/Upper Sandusky), and CHANTEL MANGRUM (Jackson, Tenn./Jackson Christian). Binkley also finished 3rd individually in the women's 200 meter dash with a time of 28.23 seconds. Mangrum had a strong individual performance of her own in the javelin with a throw that measured 25.13 meters which was just behind the second place throw of 25.14 meters

Sophomore KARYN DAVIS (Liberty Center/Liberty Center) had a strong showing in the shot put for the Beavers as she took 2nd place with her toss of 10.92 meters.

The Bluffton track and field team will host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships this Saturday, April 28, 2007. The meet is scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

-BEAVERS-