By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
NORTON, Ohio- On Saturday, Nov. 11, the Beavers stood at the line for the last time of the 2023 season to compete at the 2023 NCAA Division III Cross Country Great Lakes Regional Championships! The meet was held at Silver Creek Cross Country Course in Norton, Ohio. The course had plenty of rolling hills, but the conditions on race day made for a lot of quick times, including numerous personal records broken!
At 11 a.m., the Bluffton men took off for their 8k race! Charging ahead and leading the Beavers to the finish line was junior Cole Kropka (New London), finishing the race with a quick time of 26:20! Next after Kropka and flying across the line was junior Braeden Horn (Galion), setting a new PR time of 28:04! Freshmen Grant Beasley (Versailles) and Chandler McCafferty (West Liberty/West Liberty-Salem) pushed each other to the finish line, each breaking their previous PR's by over a minute! Beasley finished the race with a time of 28:50, and McCafferty not far behind with a time of 29:21. Finishing seconds away from McCafferty while rounding out the top five was senior Zach Boch (Lancaster), capping his cross country career off with a season-best time of 29:24!
"This past meet was one of the most fun races I have run. I had so much fun competing in cross country, and I am going to miss this sport. It has been a long journey in cross country for me and I love this sport with all my heart. This has been my life for the past nine years and I don't know where I would be without it," quipped Boch
Junior Aiden Brien (Springfield/Kenton Ridge) had an amazing performance on the day as well, finishing off the season with a new PR of 30:12, shedding over a minute off his previous PR time! Senior Ethan Ly (Celina) finished off his senior season with a time of 31:09.
While he was unable to finish out the season, senior Karter Tow (Van Wert/Lincolnview) expressed his love for the sport and the team by saying, "Even though the season didn't last as long as I wanted it to, I'm so blessed I had an opportunity as a transfer student to compete with such a fun and hardworking group of people. I believe their hard work will bring lots of success in years to come."
Head Coach Connor Gulick was proud of the men's performance on Saturday. "A big thing we talk about is taking the steps to improve and I think overall that's what this season was. We had a lot of adversity we fought through as a team and they didn't use that as an excuse," said Coach Gulick. "These men fought hard all year and closed the season well. While we didn't necessarily get the results we wanted at conference, these men rebounded and beat a few schools that beat us at conference in the regional meet. I could not be more proud of this men's team and I'm excited to see what comes for them this track season."
An hour later, the starting gun sounded to start the women's 6k Race. Flying across the line first for the Bluffton Beavers was freshman McKenna Mabry (Ventura, Cal./Buena), shattering her previous PR with a time of 24:04! Coming across the line second for the Beavers was senior Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's), finishing her college career with a lifetime best of 25:32, breaking a PR she had set her first-ever collegiate cross country race her freshman year!
"I couldn't ask for a better way to wrap up my favorite sport," said Freewalt, "After 10 years of running and lots of ups and downs, it is really hard to see it end, but I couldn't be happier to finish out my college career with this team. The team feels like family to me, and I'm very excited to compete this track season with this family."
Next across the line was junior Basil Gates (Galion), finishing closely behind Freewalt with a time of 25:50. Junior Sammie Unger (Kenton) was next, crossing the line in 4th for the Beavers with a new PR time of 26:32! Finishing her career off with a season best was senior Brooke Barnes (Ashland/Crestview), coming in 5th for Bluffton with a time of 27:15."
"I told the team that we were going out with a bang for this last race and that's exactly what we did!" said senior Brooke Barnes. "I have never been more proud of our team or more proud to be a Beaver. Tears were shed and we left it all on that course this weekend. Much love for my team and this sport."
Coach Gulick expressed his pride for the women's team, saying, "This season we had the mantra of 'Small but Mighty' with only five runners, but they really embraced that role this year and did amazing. We were able to shave off 23 points from our conference score a year ago, including putting two runners in the top 15, and had great performances all around this season. This was a step in the right direction for us and I am excited to see what we do when we hit the track come January."
Thankful for a great season, the Beavers returned home where after a period of rest they will continue their training in preparation for the 2023 indoor track and field season!
-BEAVERS-