By: Connor Gulick, Head Cross Country Coach
The Beavers took the short trip up I-75 to Findlay for the Flag City Tune-Up in the last meet before the HCAC Indoor Championships and the team came ready to compete on Friday, Feb. 21.
Jumps kicked off the day and the long jump group showed out as senior Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) made his season debut with a leap of 6.82 meters, placing 3rd and it ranks 3rd in the HCAC. The freshmen duo of Hassan Greene (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Snyder) and Keith Dailey (Moody, Texas/Moody) continued to find their stride in the event as both broke their previous best multiple times, finishing with leaps of 5.64 and 5.49, respectively. Senior Joey Bonham (Vanlue) made his season debut in triple jump and finished with a 12.60 meters, winning the event on the day with the 5th-ranked jump in the HCAC.
On the throws side, sophomore Kenny Johnson (Thompson Station, Tenn./Independence) made his season debut and finished with a throw of 11.71 meters.
Moving over to the sprints side, freshman Jalen Jackson (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway), in just his second week back from injury, had a strong performance, running PR's in both the 60 with a time of 7.23, and 200 with a time of 23.86. Junior Devin Hogan (Warren, Mich./Fitzgerald) also had PR's in both the 60, with a time of 8.12, and 200, with a time of 26.97. Freshmen Jase Bailey (Orlando, Fla./Olympia) and Brenen Wilson (Dayton/Stebbins) also brought home PR's in the 60 with times of 7.70 and 7.76, respectively.
In the 400, senior Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) took home the win with a time of 51.07, then came back in the 200 later in the meet and ran a PR of 23.10, ranking him 9th in the HCAC. Gist also had a busy day on the track, winning the 60 Hurdles with a time of 8.24, finishing 3rd in the 400 with a time of 51.77, and placing 5th in the 60 dash with a time of 7.00.
On the distance side, the 800 duo of junior Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) and freshmen Malcolm Hudson (Villa Rica, Ga./Villa Rica) both hit new PR's of 2:10.00 and 2:18.99, respectively.
"We finished off our final regular season meet on a high note before conference and I couldn't be more proud of how they came to compete," said Head Coach Chris Scott on how he feels the team is looking going into Championship Saturday.
On the women's side, sophomore Amelia Adams (Celina) kicked off the day with a 7th place showing in high jump (1.48m) and then came back with a new season best in pole vault with a leap of 2.68m.
On the sprints side, freshman Darbie Dillon (Mount Gilead) continued to drop time, this time in the 200 with a time of 29.72.
On the distance side, freshmen Sara Smith (Mansfield/Madison Comprehensive) continues her strong freshman campaign in the mile as she sped to a massive 10-second PR, running 5:33.66 and placing herself 4th all-time at Bluffton in that event. Freshman Kamryn McDonald (Marion/Harding) also saw her mile PR streak continue, finishing in 6:22.96.
"This was the exact type of meet we were looking for as we head into conference," said Distance Coach Connor Gulick. "The message going into this meet was go out and don't be afraid of taking a chance and the team did just that and the results showed from that. This was a great confidence boost heading into conference."
The Beavers will be back in action on Saturday, March 1 for the HCAC Indoor Championships hosted by Anderson University.
-BEAVERS-
