April 16, 2016
DELAWARE, Ohio - After braving the cold and wind six days ago at the Ohio Wesleyan Marv Frye Invitational, the Bluffton University men's and women's track and field team returned to OWU to warm and sunny conditions for the Division III All-Ohio Championship.
Shattering her own outdoor school record by nearly a foot, junior TERRILL WEBB (Kenton) stamped her ticket to the NCAA national championship with a clearance of 12' 6". In doing so, she won the competition in a 25-woman field, earning her first All-Ohio title. It was a good day all around for the vault crew as sophomore KYLE KNEZOVICH (Utica) PR'd, placing in a tie for 3rd with a clearance of 14' 6" while freshman SARAH OLIVER (Lexington) continued her weekly improvement record with another best clearance. Also in the field, senior EDGAR GONZALEZ (Melvindale, Mich./Melvindale) PR'd in the hammer throw, placing 3rd in a field of 24, with a toss of 167' 2" (50.96 meters). Gonzalez's mark, like Webb's, leads the HCAC performance list by a significant margin.
On the track, a number of runners saw big improvements. At 1500 meters, sophomore KRIS LYONS (Vickery/Margaretta) produced a nearly 20-second PR while freshman DEVONY MILLER (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) chopped 10 seconds from her best, coming within a second and a half of the school record. Sophomore ALISSA HAUKE (Hillsboro) had a breakthrough race at 800 meters, erasing seven seconds from her previous best while freshman JACOB HILL (Dayton/Wayne) continued to improve in the 3000 meter steeplechase with a 20-second drop in time. At 200 meters, sophomore THADDEUS PHILLIPS (South Bend, Ind./Riley) produced a 23.08 clocking, taking two tenths from his previous best with sophomore SARAH HUNTER (Mt. Blanchard/Riverdale), continuing her return to form with a nice 26.88 best at the same distance. Knezovich continued to drop his time in the 400 meter hurdles, running 56.52. Also doing nicely in field events were freshman ZACH PACHIS (Massillon/Massillon Christian) with a shot put PR and senior ARON GIBSON (Caledonia/River Valley) with a season best in discus.
Bringing the meet to a sizzling close for the Beavers was the women's 4 x 400 squad of Webb, senior HANNAH KRULL (Lewisburg/Tri-County North), Miller and Hunter. The quartet dropped a full eight seconds from their previous best outdoor time, running 4:10.53, moving them well up the order of HCAC teams who will compete at the upcoming championship.
"Despite fighting some technical issues on the runway, Terrill was able to rely on her training to accomplish two of her goals for this season: earning her first All-Ohio win and placing herself in good position for the NCAA outdoor championship," said vault coach Clint Dillon. "The icing on the cake was that her clearance was also a new school record. Moving forward, this clearance allows us to focus on the HCAC championship and our preparations for the NCAA meet."
The Beavers will travel to Ohio Northern University on Friday, April 22, and Saturday, April 23, to compete in the Polar Bear Invitational. Men's and women's hammer and javelin will be contested on Friday, starting at 3 p.m. Field events resume Saturday at 10 a.m. with track events commencing at noon.
-BEAVERS-