By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant
DELAWARE, Ohio - The Bluffton University track and field teams traveled to Ohio Wesleyan University to partake in the Marv Frye Invitational on Friday and Saturday, April 5-6, and came home with several personal bests and conference qualifiers.
The men's team placed 6th overall in the field of 10 teams, while the women were 10th.
The 4x100 meter relay team, consisting of freshman Daniel Williams (Lansing, Mich./Waverly), junior Christian Parker (Urbana/West Liberty), freshman Dalton Taynor (Troy/Miami East), and sophomore Omar Warlick (East Pointe, Mich./Clintondale) brought home first place with a time of 43.35 seconds, which is the second fastest time in the HCAC this season.
Freshman Brandon James (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) was also the champion in one of his events, the 400 meter hurdles, with a time of 56.87 seconds. James also placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 41 feet, 5.25 inches and fourth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.28 seconds.
Junior Justin Kauffman (Smithville) vaulted an outdoor best vault of 13 feet, 0.75 inches, good enough for third place overall and his best mark of the outdoor campaign.
Junior John Jones (Cincinnati/Walnut Hills) added points for the team in the hammer throw with a fifth place finish throw of 140 feet, just under his season best.
Moving back to the track, junior Connor Gulick (St. Louisville/Utica) continued his fantastic junior season with a personal best in the 1500 on Saturday, as he ran a time of 4:10.20 and placed fifth in the field of 38 runners. Junior Dakota Frost (Edgerton/Hicksville) took ninth with a time of 4:11.01.
The 4x400-meter relay team of James, Warlick, Gulick, and Noah Judd (Columbia City, IN) also scored fifth place points with a time of 3:29.98, their best time of 2019 and slotting them into the top half of the HCAC in the event.
On the women's side, junior Tori Bowen (Wapakoneta/Elida) continued her dominance in the pole vault, taking home first place with a best of 11 feet, 9.75 inches and tying her season best.
Senior Maelinn Delong (Archbold/Bryan) added a third place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 126 feet, 8 inches, while sophomore Stephanie Fox (Pickerington/Central) added a pair of eighth place finishes in both the hammer and discus.
On the track, sophomore Bailie Barrington (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) scored another personal-best at 800 meters with a time of 2:23.56, moving her to third-best in the HCAC.
At 5000 meters, senior Jennie Matteson (Guysville/Alexander) ran a time of 19:53.07, while junior Arie Cox (Ontario) went 20:16.57 to finish seventh and eighth, respectively.
Junior Alexis Cash (Gaines, Mich./Lake Fenton) added an eighth-place finish in the 1500 with a time of 5:02.05, which is her season-best.
The top sprinter performance came from senior Keturah Warlick (East Point, Mich./Clintondale) as she tied for eighth place with a time of 27.47 seconds.
The Beavers will return to Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, April 13 for the All-Ohio Division III Championships. Field events are set to start at 10 a.m. when the 10,000 meter races start on the track. The remainder of the running events are scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
