By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
ADA, Ohio- On Friday and Saturday, the Beavers traveled to Ohio Northern University to compete in the Mike Becraft Invitational at Ohio Northern which was their last regular season competition before the HCAC Outdoor Championships at Hanover on April 29-30.
Kicking off the meet on Friday were a pair of field events, with the remainder of the competition on Saturday. In the women's hammer throw, sophomore Amanda Scott (Millbury/Lake) PR'd with a throw of 37.26m. "Everything is finally clicking for her!" said Assistant Coach Stephanie Fox, who works with the throws. Also in the women's shot put, junior Alessa Deal (Springfield/Southeastern) set a PR with a throw of 7.35m.
In the men's hammer, junior Michael Lindhorst (Lindsey/Woodmore) set a PR with a throw of 43.79, placing 9th, and he threw javelin for the first time, setting a new PR with a throw of 31.3m. "With only six practices to go off of for javelin, he's doing pretty well and if he sticks with it, he'll start seeing the distances he wants to see next year!" says Coach Fox.
Also in the men's hammer, freshman Bowden Jerome (Canal Winchester) PR'd by three meters, throwing a mark of 29.45m. Jerome also threw discus for the first time this weekend, setting a PR of 20.33m.
The Beavers had some impressive marks from junior Lindhorst, junior Henry Wright (Wooster), and junior Dakotah Bunn (Millbury/Lake) in the disc. Lindhorst set a new PR with a throw of 36.10m. Wright set a new PR of 36.56m on Saturday as well! "He looked very good in his technique and I'm excited to see what he does at conference," explained Coach Fox. Bunn, who had only practiced discus for six days prior to the meet, PR'd by two meters this weekend, throwing a mark of 22.83m.
On Saturday, the Beavers returned to Ohio Northern University for the remainder of the field events, as well as all the running events. In the men's long jump, sophomore Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) jumped a lifetime best on his final attempt, setting a PR of 6.46m and placing 5th overall.
In the men's high jump, freshman Joey Bonham (Vanlue) set a new PR with a height of 1.85m, taking home silver.
In the men's 110m hurdles, sophomore Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton) set a PR of 14.80 which places him 26th in the nation!
In the women's 100 meters, junior Maddy Schifer (Bucyrus) set a new PR of 12.93m. "Maddy had a big day," explained Assistant Coach Ben Markison who works with the sprinters and jumpers, "She broke 13 seconds and 27 seconds for the first time in the 100 and 200. The 100 was a .17 second PR, and the 200 was a .79 second PR." In the 200 meters, Schifer set a new PR of 26.86, placing 7th overall.
"Also in the women's 200 meters, freshman Kinsey Myers (Stryker) broke 29 seconds for the first time, and was able to shave of .5 from the last time she ran it," said Coach Markison. Myers set a PR with a time of 28.70.
In the men's 100 meter dash, freshman Kodi Cooper (Harper Woods, Mich.) dropped .25 seconds, setting a new PR of 11.00 while placing 8th.
Cooper also set a new PR in the 200 meters with a time of 22.61, shaving .16 seconds off of his previous best. In addition, freshman Jayden McConnell (Sunbury, Ohio/Big Walnut) and Russell Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) both set new PR's in the 200 meters. McConnell set a personal best of 22.62, and Lough set a new PR of 22.50.
The Beavers had numerous PR's, saw a couple athletes return to competition after dealing with injuries and had athletes trying events for the first time. "Overall, we had a lot of good performances, and the meet served as a good tune up for conference next week," said Head Coach Scott Black. The team goes back for one more week of training before heading to Hanover for their final competition of the season against the best competition from the HCAC.
-BEAVERS-
