April 15, 2017
DELAWARE, Ohio - The All-Ohio Outdoor Track and Field Championship has vexed the Bluffton Beavers for the last 10 years, but not this year. The men’s team, with a squad of only 13 athletes, came to perform and perform they did.
Freshman Stanley Williams (Sterling Heights, Mich./Chippewa Valley) was nothing short of spectacular. Williams began his day with a 23’ 2.75” (7.08 meter) long jump that bested the field of 19 men. The mark was a PR for Williams both indoors and outdoors as well as a new outdoor school record, breaking the old mark that had stood since 1997. In the preliminary round of the 100 meters, Williams qualified for the 8-man final with a new PR of 10.87 seconds which he obliterated in the final with a new school record 2nd place 10.70 (FAT) clocking. The mark of 10.6 which stood since 1991 is a hand time which converts to 10.84 when using the NCAA accepted conversion to electronic (FAT) timing. To cap his outstanding day, Williams placed 5th among 20 in the 200 meters, running into a strong headwind to clock 22.85.
In a display of savvy racing, sophomore Quincy Salcido (Van Wert) also came home an All-Ohio champion and school record holder. Over a total field of 26 competitors, Salcido blazed to 48.94, taking down the record that had stood since 2006. Coming off last weekend’s 2nd place finish in the All-Ohio Multi-Event Championship, junior Kyle Knezovich (Utica) chalked up two more podium-place finishes with a tie for 2nd in pole vault where he cleared 14’ 6.75” (4.44 meters) and placed 8th in javelin with a toss of 147’ 10” (45.07 meters). In the 1500 meters, senior Jack Fisher (Norwalk/St. Paul) finished a strong 4th in the field of 23 despite having to hurdle a fallen competitor before the end of the first lap and running the remainder of the race with flapping shoe laces that had come undone in the melee.
In the field events, freshman Keion Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Central) placed 6th of 19 in the shot put with a 45’ 11.75” (14.01 meter) PR performance while junior Erick Benge (Monrovia, Ind./Monrovia) PR’d in the hammer with an 8th place finish in the field of 29, throwing 156’ 03” (47.63 meters). The final podium finisher was sophomore Jonah Eckert (Terre Haute, Ind./West Vigo) who in the heat and rising winds of the early afternoon put forth a gutsy effort in the 10,000 meters where he placed 8th in the field of 23.
Among the women, junior D’Nae Reese (Columbus/Upper Arlington) regained a lot of form in both of her events. She placed 3rd among 23 in the discus with a throw of 134’ 11” (41.12 meters) and PR’d in the hammer where she finished 4th in the field of 36 with a heave of 152’ 09” (46.56 meters). On the track, sophomore Keturah Warlick (East Point, Mich./Clintondale) continued to improve her 100 meter time, clocking 12.79 seconds.
“I am really happy to see how Stanley and Quincy are responding to their training,” said sprint coach Jared Krout. “I think the biggest key has been the consistency of their training the past few weeks. Today’s performances are a direct reflection of the work they have done up to this point. Train hard, train smart and the results will follow.”
The Beavers travel to Ohio Northern University on Friday Apr. 21 and Saturday, April 22 to compete in the Polar Bear Invite, their final tune-up prior to the HCAC championship at the end of the month. Field events start at 3 p.m. on Friday and resume at 11 a.m. Saturday while track events commence at noon on Saturday.
-BEAVERS-
