March 22, 2014
LEXINGTON, Va. - To escape the frigid grip of winter, the Bluffton University men's and women's track and field team traveled to Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Va., for the two-day Track & Field Carnival on March 21 and 22. The sunny, warm conditions helped to produce some fine results including a champion, two new school records and a number of championship qualifiers.
Highlighting the weekend's performances was the debut of freshman TREY EVERETT (Sidney/Fairlawn) who brought home 1st and 2nd place finishes. In the high jump, Everett bested a field of 14 competitors with his 6' 7.50" PR clearance, nearly breaking the school record. Of the 48 performances currently listed on the national qualifying list, Everett stands 2nd. Everett's 21' 9" long jump landed him 2nd in a field of 16. Both results qualify Everett for the All-Ohio and HCAC conference championship meets.
Freshman BLAKE DREWES (Archbold) also had a big day in the high jump adding 3.25 inches to his previous best, clearing 6' 3.50" to place 3rd as well as qualify for All-Ohio and HCAC. Junior JEFF PARKER (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) landed in 5th place in the long jump, 20' 4.25", to qualify for All-Ohio. Parker opened his season with a flourish in the javelin as well, tossing the spear 180' 4" for All-Ohio and HCAC qualifiers and placing 4th among 18 men. Rounding out a quality weekend, Parker advanced to the final round of shot put, placing 9th, while freshman JACOB MORAN (Carey) opened the season with a put of 43' 8", good for 6th overall in the field of 29.
Establishing new school records were freshman TERRILL WEBB (Kenton) and sophomore COLIN MCCLOSKEY (Sylvania/Northview). Webb cleared the bar in the pole vault at 9' 6.50", qualifying her for All-Ohio and HCAC. In his first race at 10,000 meters, McCloskey broke the record which has stood since 1984 with a time of 33:07.59, placing 5th in a field of 17, and qualifying him for the HCAC meet.
The middle and distance events produced a number of other quality, qualifying performances as well. Freshman JACK FISHER (Norwalk/St. Paul) finished 5th out of 37 in the 800 meters with 1:57.89 and narrowly missed the 1500 meter school record with his 4:06.40, good for 7th place among 31 competitors. Senior MARTIN RUSS (Rocky River) PR'd in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a 5th place 10:11.14 finish. Freshman ANNA HAIRSTON(Mansfield/Ontario) returned to competition after a season of basketball to post a 19:37.33 double qualifier at 5000 meters while JOSH EDENS'(Westerville/Central) 16:11.56 effort will take him to the All-Ohio meet.
The hurdles and sprints were rewarded with a number of qualifying performances as well. Senior KAYLA MULLENHOUR (Delphos/Jefferson) posted the 3rd fastest time in the 400 meter hurdles, 69.06, despite hitting the first two hurdles and racing into a strong head wind. Freshmen TY WHITE(Orrville) and Blake Drewes posted 400 meter times of 51.34 and 51.44 respectively, good for 7th and 9th in a field of 27. Freshman WHITNEY WARNECKE (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) also qualified for the HCAC meet at 100 meters.
Head Coach Karen Brandt was pleased with the weekend's results. "A great deal of hard work has taken place over the winter in horrid conditions. Our athletes are young and we ask a lot of them to step up to collegiate level training and competition. I'm really pleased when I see them take on the challenges and produce results they, their coaches, and the University are proud of. We pressed them hard this weekend to bring out their best as the mild conditions we traveled to may be some of the best we see all season. It was gratifying to see so many of them rise to the occasion. We had a number of athletes tackling new events like the steeple and 5000, difficult events in their own right, and handle them well as novices. I'm looking forward to the season progressing."
The Beavers will compete Saturday, March 29 at the Defiance College Dick Small Invitational. Action begins for both track and field events at noon.
-BEAVERS-