SPRINGFIELD, Ohio- After having to take a week off from competing due to COVID-19 protocols, the Beavers resumed competition at the Wittenberg Steemer Meet on Saturday, Jan. 29, to go up against some tough Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 competition.
The field events kicked off the meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday. In the women's weight throw competition, junior Emma Payne (Hicksville) finished in 9th place out of 39 contestants with a throw of 12.95 meters. Many of the throwers established new personal bests, including junior Henry Wright (Wooster), setting a PR in the men's weight throw with a toss of 10.73 meters. Junior Maggie Hartzler set a PR of 11.10 meters. In the women's shot put competition, freshman Ayanna Mackey (Dayton/Northridge), with 9.34 meters, and junior Alessa Deal (Springfield/Southeastern), with 8.37 meters, both set new PRs, each throwing almost a whole meter farther.
Coach Stephanie Fox, head of the throwers, was unable to be present on Saturday, but said, "I'm really proud of the throwers for bringing the hype and acting as a team even though I wasn't present. I am even more proud at the fact that even though it wasn't the most ideal situation with me being gone, they still pushed themselves to do some impressive things."
In the men's long jump competition, sophomore Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) had three jumps that were over 6.51 meters, with his best effort being 6.70 meters and placing him 6th overall. Fellow sophomore Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) also PR'd by .34 meters with a big jump of 6.25 meters.
The running events started at noon on Saturday. Coach Ben Markison, who works with the sprinters, commented on the athletes' effort and work at the meet, saying "Honestly, I am pleased with my group all around yesterday." In the open 400-meter race, Markison commented on the races of both the male and female athletes. On the women's side, these athletes included freshman Kailea Greathouse-Kerr (Manchester, Ind./Manchester) (1:04.52) and freshman Kinsey Meyers (Stryker) (1:07.64), who each matched their seed times. The men who raced in the 400-meter race were freshman Russell Lough (Westerville/Indian Creek) (51.85), freshman Jayden McConnell (Sunbury/Big Walnut) (52.94), sophomore Blayden McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood) (53.50), junior Morgan Adams (Dublin/Coffman) (1:00.10), and freshman Payton Mikesell (Lima/Bath) (1:00.94). "The open 400m went really well. I'm pretty sure everyone had a season best if not PR for the indoor 400. It was Russell's and Kailea's first collegiate meet, and both had great races," said Coach Markison.
In the women's 60-meter dash, freshman Epiphany Johnson (Lima/Elida) also had a great race, placing 5th with a time of 8.83.
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, Gist placed 3rd with a time of 8.46, breaking his old school record, and is currently sitting 39th on the national list for Division 3. "His time was great," explained Coach Markison, "but it wasn't a clean race which is good to see because there is still a lot of room for improvement."
On the distance side, everyone had a tough race where they were able to work together and help each other improve from the previous meet. In the men's 4x4 competition, the spectators were on the edge of their seats as they watched the tight race. The team is comprised of McCoy, McConnell, Lough and freshman Simon Shawk (Galion) and they finished with a time of 3:32.29, which was faster than their seed time by eight seconds.
Director of the Program and Head Coach, Scott Black was excited about the team's efforts and opportunity to compete, saying, "After having to miss a week of practice and competition due to COVID-19, it was great to see how motivated everyone was going into this meet, resulting in numerous PRs and season bests.
This weekend, the Beavers will travel to Michigan to compete at the Concordia University Ann Arbor meet on Friday, Feb. 4.
-BEAVERS-
