February 27, 2016
ANDERSON, Ind. - A trio of Beavers traveled to Anderson University on Saturday, Feb.27 to compete in the Fred Wilt Invitational as they continued their quest for NCAA championship berths.
Sophomore D’Nae Reese (Columbus/Upper Arlington), while the last of the Beavers to compete on the night, provided the icing on the cake as she re-set the school record she had established several weeks ago, getting the 20-pound weight out to a distance of 56’ 0.5”, good for 2nd in the competition but more importantly, 16th on the current NCAA performance list.
In women’s pole vault, junior Terrill Webb (Kenton) cleared 12’ 3” to place second overall but first for collegiate athletes. While the clearance does not better her previous best of 12’ 5.50”, it was an important jump as it allowed her to further hone her technique for the upcoming championship meet. Webb is currently in a tie for the 5th-best clearance in the nation among Division 3 athletes.
Senior Edgar Gonzalez (Melvindale, Mich.) was also second in men’s 35-pound weight throw with a toss of 55’ 9.75”. Like Reese, Gonzalez owns the 16th-best performance nationally.
Bluffton throws coach Jason Fisher won the men’s weight competition with a distance of 61’ 7.75” but fell short of his goal of achieving the standard necessary for qualification to the upcoming U.S. National Indoor Track & Field Championship.
“As a group of coaches, we are quite happy to have athletes of this quality continuing to compete after the conference championship,” said Head Coach Karen Brandt. “To have three vying for national competition is a long way from where the program was when I arrived four and a half years ago. I am fortunate to have Bluffton alum as coaches who wanted to come on board to help us build the kind of program they would have liked to have had when they were Beavers. Coach Dillon and Coach Fisher are willing to work hard and travel to help their athletes achieve their goals.”
Reese, Webb and Gonzalez will compete Saturday, March 5 in the Polar Bear Last Chance Meet at Ohio Northern University. The final list of athletes accepted in to the NCAA championship will be announced Sunday, March 6 with the meet to follow March 11-12 at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.
-BEAVERS-
