By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio- On Friday, Sept. 1 at 6 p.m., the 2023 Bluffton University Cross Country season officially kicked off! The hot, sunny evening made for some great conditions for the season opener at the Nature Preserve! The Beavers went into the race excited to see what the start of the season has in store for the team after a long summer of training!
At 6 p.m., the meet kicked off with the start of the men's 6k race. Leading the Beavers with a time of 18:55 was a newcomer to the Bluffton team, Karter Tow (Van Wert/Lincolnview), finishing 11th overall! Tow was the 3rd Division III athlete to cross the line Friday evening. The next across the line for the Beavers was junior Cole Kropka (New London), setting a 6k PR with a time of 20:28! Kropka was followed by junior Braeden Horn (Galion), who sped to a new 6k PR of 20:50!
Junior Alex Montross (Perrysburg) also set a new 6k PR, finishing the race with a time of 21:14. Sophomore Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) finished a great race by setting a new PR of 21:23! Also setting a great new PR was junior Aiden Brien (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) with a time of 23:16!
Newcomers Grant Beasley (Versailles), Chandler McCafferty (West Liberty/West Liberty-Salem), Micah Hutchinson (Wooster), and Micah Dodson (Wooster/Central Christian) set personal records this weekend with it being their first collegiate cross-country race! Beasley finished up a great first 6k race with a time of 21:59. The next freshman across the line was McCafferty in 23:35, followed by Hutchison at 24:06. Dodson ran a time of 24:15.
At 6:50 p.m., the gun blast signaled the start of the women's 5k race! Leading the Beavers was senior Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's), racing a faster time than her previous year's season opening 5k as she finished with a time of 21:54! The next athlete across the line was junior Sammie Unger (Kenton) who finished an amazing race with a time of 22:04! Also in the pack was junior Basil Gates (Galion), finishing with a time of 22:20. These top three finishers for the Beavers finished within 20 seconds of each other! Also besting her previous year's season-opening 5k time was senior Brooke Barnes (Ashland), finishing with a time of 24:21.
Head Coach Connor Gulick is starting his second cross country season coaching the Beavers! He was proud of the performance of the athletes and expressed his thoughts on the start of the season by saying, "This was a very solid start to the season for both squads. The work everyone put in was evident. We faced quality teams from both D2 and D3 and no one was phased by that. There are things we can still work on, but it was definitely an exciting night!"
The Beavers dive into another week of training, excited for another opportunity to compete! Their next competition will be at Cedarville for the All-Ohio Championships on Friday, Sept. 15!
-BEAVERS-
