By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Beavers traveled to Defiance for the Heartland Conference Championships on Saturday, Feb. 19. Bluffton's track and field athletes left it all on the track as they wrapped up the 2022 indoor track season. The meet had a lot of high points, but also a lot of learning moments for the young team as they had a shorter season than expected with less time to prepare for conference competition.
The meet started at 1 p.m. and was an all-day event. The field events kicked off at the same time as the running events, which made for a very loud and energetic atmosphere. In the women's weight throw, junior Emma Payne (Hicksville) placed 6th with a mark of 13.20m. Sophomore Maggie Hartzler (Rittman/Norwayne), PR'd in the weight throw with a mark of 11.23m, placing 10th. Sophomore Amanda Scott (Millbury/Lake) tied her shot put PR from the previous outdoor track season, throwing a mark of 8.59, while freshman Ayanna Mackey (Dayton/Northridge) also PR'd with a throw of 9.79m, landing her a spot in 10th place. In the men's shot put, junior Michael Lindhorst (Lindsey/Woodmore) earned a big PR of 11.13m.
Assistant Stephanie Fox, who works closely with the throwers, was very proud of the athlete's performance this weekend. "I am happy with the throws performance at the HCAC Championships," said Fox. While we may not have gotten the big throws we wanted, everyone still showed up and completed to the best of their abilities. There were some big throws that were unfortunately fouled or thrown in warmups, but the fact that they are able to throw those distances reassures me that they'll be able to do great things in the outdoor season! They are a fantastic group of student-athletes to coach, and I am extremely excited for them to compete in the outdoor season."
In the men's long jump, sophomore Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) took home gold with a jump of 6.52m, while sophomore Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) struck silver with a leap of 6.44m. In the high jump, Gist claimed bronze, jumping a height of 1.84m, followed by freshman Kyle Manns (Ottoville) who placed 5th with a jump of 1.81m. In the women's high jump, freshman Olivia Rider (Celina) notched 5th with a jump of 1.36m.
Assistant Coach Ben Markison commented on individual athlete's performances during the meet. "Desmond had a great meet as a whole. Took first in hurdles, first in long jump, and third in high jump. His day consisted of going event to event with little to no rest and he showed up in every single event and performed really well," said Coach Markison. "Malik had an amazing day in long jump, finishing second. He was seeded 7th coming in and had a big jump in finals that secured 2nd place."
"Sophomore Desmond Gist scored a 33-point total," explained Head Coach Scott Black. In the men's 60m hurdles, Gist won with a time of 8.49 en route to being named the Men's Most Outstanding Jumps Athlete of the Year!
Russell Lough (Westerville/Indian Creek) placed 5th in the 400 Meter race with a time of 52.51, while fellow freshman Jayden McConnell (Sunbury/Big Walnut) was two spots back with a time of 53.13. Sophomore Blayden McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood) took 10th with a time of 53.50. In the 800 meter race, freshman Simon Shawk (Galion) came home 4th with a time of 1:59.91.
The men's 4x200 relay team made up of McCoy, McConnell, Lough and Gist finished with a time of 1:33.59, landing them a spot in 4th place.
"It was great seeing the men come out and far exceed where we were projected coming into the season with a fourth-place finish, narrowly missing out on 3rd. While we knew we were thin on the women's side, there was great effort across the board which led to a number of good individual performances," explained Head Coach Scott Black. Overall, the team competed very well and gave it their all against the best in the conference. The Beavers have high hopes and goals in mind as they rest and begin to train for the outdoor season.
Bluffton will return to action with a trip to Cedarville University for the outdoor kickoff on Saturday, March 26.
-BEAVERS-
