February 23, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Earning First Team All-Heartland Conference honors at the Indoor Heartland Conference Track and Field championships following victories in their respective events were senior Edgar Gonzalez (Melvindale, Mich./Melvindale) and junior Terrill Webb (Kenton). They highlighted a day of numerous school records and even more personal records as the men placed fourth while the women took seventh at Defiance College on Saturday, Feb. 20.
The most impressive Beaver performance of the day came when Edgar Gonzalez smashed the school record that had been held by now Bluffton throws coach Jason Fisher. Gonzalez heaved the 35-pound weight 17.49 meters or 57’ 4.75”, a distance which currently places him 13th on the NCAA Division III national performance list. Webb continued her dominance in the pole vault, claiming a 5th consecutive title in the five combined indoor and outdoor HCAC championships she has contested to date. Her clearance broke the championship record she had previously set and established a new Defiance facility record.
Sarah Hunter (Mt. Blanchard/Riverdale) had a fantastic day with a 2nd in the 800, 3rd in the 400 and anchoring both the 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 meter relays to season-best times. The 2nd place finish in the 800 meters added up to Second Team All-HCAC honors for Hunter after she earned Indoor Track & Field Freshman Athlete of the Year in 2015. Also collecting Second Team All-HCAC hardware was D’Nae Reese (Columbus/Upper Arlington) who continued her superb throwing with a 2nd place in the women’s 20-pound weight throw.
A third place performance by the women’s distance medley which was composed of Devony Miller (Findlay/Liberty-Benton), Hannah Krull (Lewisburg/Tri-County North), Miranda Hostettler (Glenmont/West Holmes) and Alissa Hauke (Hillsboro) placed all four women on the Honorable Mention All-HCAC list. They were joined by Jack Fisher (Norwalk/St. Paul) and Kyle Knezovich (Utica) from the men's squad. Fisher took over four seconds from his year old mile record for a 3rd place finish and he went on to do an impressive double by finishing 4th in the 800 meters less than an hour later. Almost simultaneously Kyle Knezovich (Utica) established a new record in the pole vault, bettering the mark he had set earlier in the season by three inches while placing 3rd overall.
In conjunction with the All-HCAC honorees, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference also announced the All-HCAC Sportsmanship Team. Senior Hannah Krull and sophomore Erick Benge (Monrovia, Ind./Monrovia) were selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team from Bluffton. This award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field/court of competition.
“In 27 years of coaching, I have never had the honor of seeing so many of my team’s school records fall in such quick succession,” said Head Coach Karen Brandt. “What a testament this is to the spirit, toughness and competitiveness of our athletes and coaches.” Webb, Reese and Gonzalez will compete at Anderson University this Saturday, Feb. 27, as they continue their training aimed at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship meet March 11-13 at Grinnell College in Iowa.
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