By: Connor Gulick, Head Cross Country Coach
TIFFIN, Ohio - The Beavers kicked off the season at the inaugural Larry Brown Invite hosted by Heidelberg University on Friday, Jan. 16. While many members were making their collegiate debut at this meet, the lights weren't too bright for the Beavers as they came away with several huge performances.
The shot put crew kicked off the day and saw a lot of consistency in the young crew led by Freshmen Tony Smith (Toledo/Sylvania Southview) with a throw of 10.70m. "Every throw raised the standard, progress showed, consistency mattered, and this is only the beginning," Coach Kenny Equitz said how his group performed in their first meet of the season.
On the distance side, junior Micah Dodson (Wooster/Central Christian) kicked off this season in the mile with a time of 5:39.98. Senior Jarrod Roudebush (Coshocton) took on the rare 1000 and showed out, running a time of 2:55.93 which was a 6-second PR for him in the event.
On the sprints side, the squad was led by the returning All-HCAC duo of sophomores Jalen Jackson (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway) and Devin Homan (Dayton/Stebbins). Both Homan and Jackson had PR performances in the 200-meter dash with times of 23.68 and 23.74, respectively. Those times have them both sitting in the top eight after the first weekend. Jackson also finished 7th in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.23 seconds and had a PR in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.74 which also places him 8th in the HCAC while Homan took runner up in the 500 with a time of 1:09.77.
Other PR's in the sprints group was sophomore Hassan Greene (Jacksonville, FL/Bishop Snyder) with PR's in the 60 with a time of 7.51 and the 200 with a time of 24.44, Senior Niegel Payne (Detroit, MI/River Rogue) with a PR in the 200 with a time of 25.06, Sophomore Seth Bova (Bellevue) with PR's in the 200 with a time of 25.12 and the 400 with a time of 1:01.89, and senior Devin Hogan (Warren, MI/Fitzgerald) in the 200 with a time of 26.19. In the 60-meter hurdles, freshmen Quince Reese (Killeen, TX/Ellison) had quite the debut in the event as he finished 5th with a time of 8.85. This time puts him top 3 in the HCAC as well as 3rd all-time in school history in the event.
On the women side, junior Amelia Adams (Celina) stole the show as she had a big day in high jump and pole vault. Adams cleared 1.50 meters in high jump, finishing 4th in the field and in the top 3 of the HCAC as well as 2.75 meters in pole vault which placed her 3rd in the meet and top 5 in the HCAC.
On the distance side, freshmen Katie Garrison (Caldonia/River Valley) made her indoor debut in the mile and finished in a time of 7:27.18. "I thought the squad had a great first meet of the season. The sprints had a tough day and handled it very well and with how youthful the throws and distance crews are, it was great so to see where weare at and where we can go throughout the rest of the season," Distance Coach Connor Gulick said about the first meet of the season.
On the throws side, they were led by freshmen Alana Alexander-Davis (Sandusky) with a throw of 7.95 meters.
"Starting off the season at Heidelberg was an amazing opener for us. We couldn't have be more proud of how they came ready," Head Coach Chris Scott stated n on how the squad performed to start the year.
The Beavers will head back to Tiffin next week for the Jeremy Croy Classic hosted by Tiffin University.
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