By Bryson Hartzler

The Bluffton University track and field program ended their season this weekend at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field championships held on the campus of Manchester University.

The Beavers finished the day in 7th place on the women’s side with only 10 women and 8th place on the men’s side with 17 men competing. The Beavers also set two new school records on the day.

The sole event winner was Jeff Parker (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) in the javelin throw for the second consecutive year. Parker’s winning throw reset his school record in the process. His throw of 190-6 led the field by nearly 30 feet.

Coach Lepley was extremely pleased with Jeff’s performance. “I am extremely proud of Jeff’s effort to defend his javelin title and extend his school record.” Parker took 8th place in the long jump with a personal-best jump of 20-2.25

Other top finishers on the day included Zachary Smith (West Unity/Hilltop) in the men’s 5K, finishing in 5th place. Smith was the first freshman to cross the line in 16:06.05. Martin Russ (Rocky River) would finish in 6th place in the men’s 3K steeple chase, running a personal-best time of 10:16.58.

Russ also won his heat of the men’s 1500 and helped the men’s 1600 meter relay finish in 8th place, dropping six seconds off their season-best time. Other members of the relay team included Josh Mattoon (Rawson/Cory-Rawson), Mitch McKenzie (Plymouth) and Joel Schmidt (Berne, Ind./South Adams). McKenzie and Schmidt also ran personal-best times in the 400 intermediate hurdles. Schmidt’s time of 58.40 was the top performance by a freshman and 7th overall.

There were also several personal best performances on the men’s team. Zach Bradley (SHeffield/Brookside) ran a personal best time in the 10,000 meter race, while Edgar Gonzalez (Melvindale, Mich.) had personal-best throws in the shot put, discus as well as the hammer. Alex Parker (Alger/Upper Scioto Valley) and Tyler Keefer (Fayette) also had personal-best throws in the hammer and javelin, respectively.

Maddie Moore (Linn Grove, Ind./South Adams) got the ball rolling on the women’s side Friday evening, setting a school record in the 3,000 meter steeple chase. Moore reset Sarah Humphrey’s record from 2008, dropping 14 seconds off the record while running 12:06.96 to finish in 3rd place.

Moore came back in the women’s 1600m relay, helping the team of Kayla Mullenhour (Delphos/Jefferson), Hannah Krull (Lewisburg/Tri-County North) and Nichole Peterman (Killbuck/West Holmes) to finish in 6th place, dropping 11 seconds off their season-best time.

Peterman also ran a superb race in the women’s 800m, finishing in 4th place with a time of 2:26.48. Mullenhour finished in 6th place in the 400 intermediate hurdles, running a season-best time of 70.19. Elsewhere on the women’s side of the track, senior Alison Janzen (Whitewater,

Kan./Remington) ran an incredibly tough 10,000/5,000 double, taking 4th and 5th, respectively. Janzen ran the 10k in 40:23.78 on Friday evening and came back in the 5k Saturday afternoon, finishing in 19:28.71.

Other place finishers on the women’s side were the 400 meter relay team of Mullenhour, Kristin Schiefer (Bucyrus/Wynford), Krull and Peterman in 7th place and Marcea West-Estell (Toledo/Notre Dame Academy) in the women’s shot put. Tara Murphy (Westerville/Thomas Worthington) ran a PR in the 1500 meters on the way to winning her heat.

Head Coach Karen Brandt was very encouraged by the performances of her growing team. “Today’s HCAC championship is a proud moment in my coaching career. Ten women and 17 men came together as one, with heart, pride, guts and determination to bring every place and every point out of themselves that they could. We’re basically a freshman team on a massive rebuilding campaign. This group has set the bar high. We are all looking forward to the athletes who are choosing to join us next year to continue to take us to bigger and better things.”