The Bluffton University track and field team took home some significant hardware when the All-Heartland Conference outdoor awards were handed out on Thursday, May 2.

The lone conference champion for the Beavers was senior Jennie Matteson (Guysville/Alexander) who defended her title at 10,000 meters on Friday night with a final time of 40:49.02 en route to First Team All-Heartland Conference.

A trio of women notched Honorable Mention All-HCAC acclaim. Arie Cox (Ontario) dropped 40 seconds off of her career best to grab third in the 10,000 meters, posting a time of 41:54.35. Fellow Junior Alexis Cash (Gaines, Mich./Lake Fenton) finished third in the 5000 meters with a time of 18:35.99. Senior Maelinn Delong (Archbold/Bryan) finished third in the shot put with a throw of 37 feet, 10.75 inches (11.55 meters) and fourth in the hammer with a toss of 137 feet, 5 inches (41.89 meters).

The top finisher on the men's side was freshman Noah Judd (Columbia City, Ind.) who took home second place in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 1.75 inches (6.75 meters). For his efforts, he earned Second Team All-Heartland Conference.

The 4x100 meter relay team of Christian Parker (Urbana/West Liberty), Daniel Williams (Lansing, MI/Waverly), Dalton Taynor (Troy/Miami East) and Omar Warlick (East Pointe, MI/Clintondale) secured Honorable Mention All-HCAC by virtue of their third place finish in a time of 43.61 seconds.

Bluffton junior Ciana Hostetler (Sugarcreek/Garaway) and junior Joshua Ehlers (Defiance/Tinora) were also recognized by the HCAC by being placed on the All-Conference Sportsmanship team for the 2019 outdoor season. The 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 court.