By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant

TOLEDO, Ohio- On Friday, Oct. 15, the Beavers traveled through the rain to Ottawa Parks Golf Course in Toledo for the Terracotta Open hosted by Lourdes. With rolling hills and sharp twists and turns, the course was especially difficult in the rainy and muddy conditions. Runners proceeded with caution when racing to stay on their feet.

The meet started with the women's 5k race, where the Beavers placed 4th. Leading Bluffton was freshman Basil Gates (Galion) with a smart and strong race that landed her a 5th place finish with a time of 20:25 in spite of the slippery course. Following Gates were sophomore teammate Miranda Billman (Castalia/Margaretta) in 18th place with a time of 22:16, and fellow freshman Sammie Unger (Kenton) in 21st place with a time of 22:19.

Following the women's competition, the gun sounded for the start of the men's 8k race. The course consisted of a repetitive loop, which meant that not only had the course been torn up from the girls race, but with every lap that the boys ran through, the course got muddier and more difficult to keep traction on. Leading the Beavers was sophomore Alex Montross (Perrysburg) running a gutsy race that resulted in him placing 10th with a time of 29:20. Following Alex were his freshman Tyson Lesher (Millbury/Genoa Area) placing 16th with a time of 30:36, and freshman Adam Menser (North Ridgeville) in 21st place with a time of 30:59.

Head Coach Scott Black expressed his feelings about the team's performance this weekend by saying, "While times were certainly impacted by the poor weather, I was really impressed by the performances across the board and think we took a major step forward as we head into the conference meet."

The Beavers are now a mere two weeks away from the HCAC Championship at Blue River Memorial Park. They return home to start their pre-conference training process.

-BEAVERS-