By: Jenia Freewalt, sports information assistant
Photos: Zach Slone

HANOVER, Indiana- On Friday, April 29, the Bluffton Track and Field Team hit the road for one final competition. The 2022 HCAC Outdoor Championship began with prelims and select field events on Friday, with the majority of the running events and the rest of the finals and field events on Saturday. This competition was filled with PR's and notable achievements earned by the Bluffton Beavers.

Kicking off the weekend for the Beavers were some impressive achievements made by the throwers. "The majority of the throwers PR'd in multiple events," said Assistant Coach Stephanie Fox, who worked with the throwers, explained. Junior Emma Payne (Hicksville) had a stunning performance in the hammer. Payne had a massive PR of 43.19m, earning a bronze medal for her third place showing on the podium. Sophomore Maggie Hartzler (Rittman/Norwayne) had another amazing performance in the hammer, setting a PR of 39.29m (previous PR being 33.00m) while placing 8th overall and scoring a point for the Beavers. "What had me most excited was the fact that Maggie (Hartzler, sophomore), Amanda (Scott, sophomore), and Emma (Payne, junior) all hit above 43 meters in their throws, unfortunately Emma was the only one that didn't foul her 43+ PR. All three women need to realize how great they are in this event, and I think the conference finally showed them just how good they are and how great they can be," said Fox, who is very optimistic about the performance of the team as a whole this weekend.

Payne also set a PR in the women's discus with a throw of 34.32m. In the women's shot put, Hartzler set a new PR with a mark of 9.13m.

For the men, junior Dakotah Bunn (Millbury/Lake) PR'd in the shot put with a big throw of 8.29m. Also in the shot put, freshman Bowden Jerome (Canal Winchester) set a new PR with a mark of 7.39m. Jerome set PRs in all of his events this weekend, throwing 29.56m in the hammer and 21.25 in the discus.

Also performing well on the day was junior Henry Wright (Wooster), setting a PR with a throw of 37.08m in the discus, while also setting a PR of 33.37 in the hammer.

Being the only javelin thrower on the team for the weekend, junior Michael Lindhorst (Lindsey/Woodmore) gave it his all with little practice and set a PR of 32.34, optimistic that he will see big results as he moves into his senior season!

In the men's high jump the Beavers scored big, taking home gold and bronze! Freshman Joey Bonham (Vanlue) leaped to first place with a big jump of 1.94m. "He took a big step forward and showed up when it mattered the most," said Assistant Coach Ben Markison who works with the sprinters and jumpers. In addition, freshman Kyle Manns (Ottoville) ended his freshman season placing 3rd with a PR of 1.85m. Kyle also took 3rd in the men's 400m hurdles, setting a new PR of 57.66.

Also bringing hardware home was sophomore Desmond Gist (Detroit, Mich./Trenton). Gist sprinted to first place in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.99. He also placed 3rd in the long jump with a distance of 6.75m, 4th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 57.87, and 5th in the high jump with a height of 1.75m.

Sophomore Malik Waters (Lima/Perry) placed 7th with a long jump of 6.33m.

In the men's 400 meters, sophomore Blayden McCoy (8th place) freshman Jayden McConnell (6th place) and freshman Russell Lough (3rd place) all qualified for finals while setting PRs in the prelims. Lough (Wintersville/Indian Creek) took 3rd in the finals, breaking the 50 second barrier for the first time, running a 49.65 on Saturday. McConnell (Sunbury/Big Walnut) finished 6th, setting a PR of 50.77, and McCoy (Fresno/Ridgewood) placed 8th with a time of 51.10.

One of the highlights of the weekend was the gold-medal performance of the 4X400 team which ran away with first place, finishing nearly two seconds (3:21.64) in front of runner-up RHIT! McCoy, Gist, Lough and McConnell would not be denied as they made it three champions on the men's side.

On the women's side, junior Madalynn Schifer (Bucyrus) finished 6th in the 100m dash with a time of 13.05 and 7th in the 200m dash with a time of 27.61. Freshman Olivia Rider (Celina) took 5th in the high jump with a leap of 1.39m. Freshman Epiphany Johnson (Lima/Elida) finished 7th in the long jump (4.66m). In addition, freshman Kinsey Myers (Stryker) set new PRs in both the prelim of the 400m, as well as her lead off leg of the 4x4. Her time was 1:04.42.

In the steeplechase, freshman Cole Kropka (New London) scored points, placing 7th with a time of 10:47.92. Sophomore Zach Boch (Lancaster) set a new PR of 36:07.51 in the men's 10k.

The 800 meters saw freshman Simon Shawk (Galion) post an impressive performance, coming off and battling injury while still racing a time of 2:01.56. Freshman Tyson Lesher finished the season by setting a new PR of 2:05.02. Senior Austin Hernandez (Marion/Ridgedale) capped off his college career off with an outstanding race in the 800m, setting a career best of 2:09.38.

Finishing up her college career with an outstanding race was Hope Nixon (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe). She left it all on the track with a time of 5:44.70 in the 1500m, finishing 2nd in her heat. Also in the 1500, Brooke Barnes (Ashland/Crestview) ran a great race and set a PR of 5:45.84, and fellow sophomore Jenia Freewalt (Delphos/St. John's) raced for the second time since the fall due to injury, taking off 25 seconds from the previous weekend's race to finish with a season best of 6:00.47.

Happy with how the meet went, but never satisfied, the Beavers take a week off before beginning to train for their next seasons in either cross-country or indoor track. All the coaches and the athletes are optimistic about the future of the team in the seasons to come.

-BEAVERS-