By: Britton Boyle, sports information assistant

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Beavers were in action on Saturday, Nov. 7, when they traveled to Manchester for a head-to-head matchup with the Spartans which was also part of the Virtual Series. It was their last race of the season and wrapped up their 2020 cross country campaign.

The male Beavers were led by sophomore Max Chandler (Liberty Township/Lakota East), who despite kicking a lap early, still finished with an impressive time of 27:17, a new PR for the event. Second and third for Bluffton went to freshman Alex Montross (Perrysburg) and sophomore Britton Boyle (Middletown). The freshman duo of Ethan Ly (Celina) and Carter Richey (Fostoria/Hopewell-Loudon) closed out the scoring five for the men's team which placed 5th.

Finding himself in the top 20 for season-long Virtual Series, Ly finished 12th with three top 13 finishes this fall. Montross and Boyle made it three Beavers in the top 25 of the final season standings as Bluffton came in 6th on the men's side.

On the women's side, Bluffton was led by a trio of freshmen who all finished within one second of each other in a wild kick to the finish line. First place went to Miranda Billman (Castalia/Margaretta) who finished with a time of 24:58. Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's) and Makenzie Brownrigg (Davison, Mich.) fought hard to the end and gave the women a great front scoring punch. Fourth place for the Beavers went to freshman Brooke Barnes (Ashland/Crestview) and fifth went to freshman Cheyenne Null (Norwalk/St. Paul). Three women in the top nine powered the Beavers to an outstanding third place finish on Saturday!

Brownrigg tied for 11th in the 2020 Virtual Series, while Freewalt was just a few ticks back in 16th overall. Billman also cracked the top 25 in the Virtual Series. The Bluffton women capped off the season in 5th place when all the meets were tallied up. 

The Beavers will begin prepping for indoor track and hope to continue building on the momentum they've built this fall.

-BEAVERS-