By Bryson Hartzler

The Bluffton University Track and Field program opened up its outdoor season this weekend at the Muskingum Duals on the campus of Muskingum University.

The cool conditions did not keep the Beavers from lighting up the track. Bluffton set several personal bests to go along with numerous top finishers throughout the day in this early season contest, setting up a solid base for the upcoming campaign.

Maddie Moore (Linn Grove, Ind./South Adams) started off the day for the Beavers in the 1500, running a new personal-best time of 5:11.54.

Her second place effort was also a conference qualifier. Moore returned in the 2000m steeplechase, running 8:13.55. Zachary Smith (West Unity/Hilltop) also had a solid performance in the 1500m.

Smith ran 4:13.25 to finish in second place and qualify for the conference meet. Smith’s time was one hundredth of a second from qualifying for the All-Ohio meet.

Nichole Peterman (Killbuck/West Holmes) was a second place finisher in the 800, running a time of 2:30.28.

Peterman’s time was also a conference qualifier. Kayla Mullenhour (Delphos/Jefferson) was also a second place finisher on the day in the 400m hurdles, finishing in 73.01. Her time qualifies her for the conference meet and the All-Ohio meet.

Several other top finishers and PR’s came from all across the track and field. Adrian Ramirez (Archbold) and Josh Cunningham (Poquoson, Va.) ran personal-best races in the 3k, placing second and fifth.

Alison Janzen (Whitewater, Kan./Remington) took second in the 3k, running 11:21.86. Colin McCloskey (Sylvania/Northview) followed suit with a second place finish, running an outdoor best time of 2:02.35 in the 800m.

In the throwing arena, Jeff Parker (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) had a good day in the hammer and javelin. Parker took fifth in the hammer with a personal-best throw of 115-1 and a second place in the javelin with a throw of 149-8.

Chase Walters (Convoy/Crestview) joined his teammate with a third place finish in the hammer with a throw of 127-0. Julie Court (Galion) had a solid day on the women’s side with a personal-best throw of 106-7 in the hammer and a third place finish in the discus with a throw of 100-11.

In the short sprints, freshman Calib Alexander (Ocala, Fla./St. John Lutheran) finished in second place in the 100m, and Hannah Krull (Lewisburg/Tri-County North) ran a personal best in the 200m

Coach Brandt was pleased with the start of her young team, “It was good to start with a small meet in surprisingly good conditions to shake off the rust and fine tune for our southern trip to Washington and Lee next week. Despite the heavy workload this week in training, it was helpful in making the transition from the indoor season to the outdoor season.

The Beavers will head south next weekend to compete in the Washington and Lee Track and Field Carnival in Lexington, Virginia. The two-day meet will kick off on Friday, March 22, with the distance events.