By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
TIFFIN, Ohio- On Friday night, the Beavers hit the road for their second meet of the season at the Tiffelberg Open. This course was familiar to many of the Beavers, as it is a frequently raced high school course and many members of the team have raced the course in the past. At a small meet with less runners to chase down along the way, the athletes really had to push themselves to catch the next person.
The gun went off, signaling the start of the meet with the Men's 8k Race at 6 p.m. Pushing past the hills and finishing first for Bluffton with a great race was sophomore Cole Kropka (New London), setting a new personal record of 28:00 and placing 16th overall! In second for the Beavers was junior Alex Montross (Perrysburg), placing 18th overall with a time of 28:36. Not far behind him, freshman Aidan Gatchell (Dunkirk/Hardin Northern) raced his first collegiate 8k, running a PR of 28:52 and earning 21st place overall, while finishing third on the team. Also setting a personal record after racing his first collegiate 8k was freshman Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) with a time of 30:54. "I was impressed with how our freshman handled the jump to the 8k," said Coach Gulick, head of the cross country program. Sophomore Braeden Horn (Galion) also had an excellent race, finishing in 26th place and PR'ing with a time 29:18. The men's team finished in 4th place.
Following the men's race, the women's 5k Race kicked off at 6:45. Striding across the line and securing a 7th place overall finish was sophomore Basil Gates. Gates had an excellent performance on the day, finishing with a Bluffton-best time of 20:45. Coming in 2nd place for the Beavers was junior Jenía Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's), placing 15th with a time of 22:30, and racing 34 seconds faster than the previous week's meet. Finishing 3rd on the team and 19th overall was sophomore Olivia Daugherty (Bradford). Daugherty raced her heart out for a time of 23:48, completing her first full 5k, due to injury, since the first meet of the 2021 cross country season. The women's team finished the Friday evening meet in 3rd place.
Coach Gulick was very pleased with the efforts and performance of the team on Friday. He explained his thoughts on the team's direction for the season by saying, "This meet was a great step forward on both sides coming off a short week. There were a lot of improvements that were made in a short amount of time."
The Beavers returned home for a week of training before welcoming Transylvania on Saturday, Sept. 17.
-BEAVERS-
