By Jordan Hill, sports information assistant
Results: http://www.bluffton.edu/sports/trackandfield/2012/0428.htm
I All-HCAC release
The Bluffton track and field team concluded its official season at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship meet on Friday and Saturday April 27-28, hosted by Franklin College.
Both men and women placed 8th in the conference as Rose Hulman Institute of Technology won on the men's side and Hanover College won the women's title. Two individual event titles, two school records, several top-eight finishes, and multiple personal records highlighted the championship for the Beavers.
Leading the Bluffton women in field events was senior Megan Neal (Arlington). On Friday she won the HCAC title in the hammer throw for the third straight year with a toss of 44.37 meters (145-07 feet). She also threw a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 10.28 meters (33-8.75 feet) to place 7th. Neal came back strong on day two to place 4th in javelin with a throw of 31.75 meters (104-02 feet).
Sophomore Julie Court (Galion) rounded out the field events for the Beavers on Saturday as she placed 6th overall in the discus. Her toss of 30.22 meters (99-02 feet) is also a personal best.
On the track, sophomore Kayla Mullenhour (Delphos/Jefferson) led the team in the 400-meter hurdles. On Friday, she ran a personal best of 68.38 in the preliminaries to take the number-two spot going into finals. Saturday, she dropped her time by two seconds and ran a new lifetime best of 66.48 for second place, just missing the title and the school record by 0.2 seconds.
Sophomore Brandi Dominique (Wauseon) also highlighted the championship meet. During Friday's preliminaries, she set a new school record and personal best in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.40, which was also the fastest time going into finals. During Saturday's finals she ended up placing 7th overall in the event. Dominique also placed 5th in the 1500-meter run with a lifetime best time of 5:04.26.
Leading the Bluffton men was freshman Jeff Parker (Bristol, Ind./Northridge). Parker won the HCAC title in the javelin by 12 feet. His throw of 185-06 feet (56.54 meters) is a new school record and a personal best by almost 20 feet. It is also currently ranked 35th in the nation.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team led the track events with an 8th place finish. The team of freshman Eric Dameron (Galion), freshman Josh Mattoon (Rawson/Cory-Rawson), senior Andy Chaffee (Clarkston, Mich.) and sophomore Aaron Brown (Mechanicsburg) ran a time of 3:43.22.
Several other personal records were set to highlight the meet for the men. Parker and freshman Rob Cook (Convoy/Crestview) both set new personal bests in the long jump with leaps of 6.03 meters (19-09.50 feet) and 5.71 meters (18-09 feet), respectively. Cook also set a new lifetime best in the shot put with a throw of 11.96 meters (39-03 feet). Dameron set a new personal best in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.68. Brown's time of 2:07.01 in the 800-meter is also a personal best.
The conference championship marks the end of a very successful season. With a 20-athlete roster, the team has accumulated 108 personal records during the seven-week competitive season. The team will celebrate these accomplishments during its awards banquet on Sunday, April 29, 2012.
