January 11, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite a chaotic start to the semester due to the extreme weather conditions and the delay to the start of classes, the men's and women's track and field teams took it in stride and resumed their indoor campaign in style at Capital University on Saturday, Jan. 11. From the opening throws events to the meet-closing relay, the Beavers came to perform.
Sophomore Chase Walters (Convoy/Crestview) got the action started with a PR performance in the 35-pound weight throw which netted him 2nd place in the competition and an HCAC conference championship qualifying distance of 49' 7.75". Joining Walters in the final round were junior Jeff Parker (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) as well as sophomores Edgar Gonzalez (Melvindale, Mich.) and Justin Yingst (Houston). During the course of the competition, freshman Jacob Moran (Carey), sophomore Alex Parker (Alger/Upper Scioto Valley) and sophomore Mason Yingst (Houston) produced personal best throws.
In men's high jump, freshman Blake Drewes (Archbold) cleared the bar at 6', also taking 2nd place and qualifying for the HCAC meet. Women's and men's long jump saw superlative performances by freshman Whitney Warnecke (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) and Jeff Parker. Warnecke's jump of 15' 3.25", an indoor PR, won the competition while Parker's distance of 20' 6.50" was runner-up.
In the shot put, the Beavers again advanced four men to the final (Moran, Gonzalez, J. Yingst and M. Yingst), where they finished 4th, 6th, 7th and 9th respectively. Moran, Mason Yingst and Alex Parker threw lifetime PR's while Justin Yingst's performance was a season-best throw.
Action was hot on the track as well. The men's distance medley relay won the event with a team comprised of freshman Jack Fisher (Norwalk/St. Paul), freshman Cameron Huss (Antwerp), freshman Tyrone White (Orrville) and sophomore Josh Edens (Westerville/Central). Senior Martin Russ (Rocky River) ran a PR 4:37 to place 4th in the mile while freshman Joel Jacobson (Franklin/Carlisle) not only advanced to the final of the 60 meter dash with a 7.34 PR, but placed 5th overall by winning his section and posting a faster time than the 6th man in the fast heat.
The men's 4 x 400 meter relay, the last event of the night, capped a quality meet. The quartet of Drewes, Russ, Fisher and White took the lead on the second leg and were edged at the line, 3:35.80 to the Alderson-Broaddus win of 3:35.57. It was an exciting conclusion to a quality meet which saw both men and women finish 3rd among eight teams, with the men only one point behind host Capital.
"I'm impressed with everyone's performance," said first-year throws coach and Bluffton University record-holder Jason Fisher, "Especially with how early in the season we are and how young the throws squad is. I see a lot of room for improvement and anticipate that they will surpass their own seasonal goals."
The Beavers are back in action Friday night, January 17, at the University of Findlay. Field events start at 2:30 p.m. while track action begins at 5 p.m.
-BEAVERS-