By: Connor Gulick, Head Cross Country Coach
TIFFIN, Ohio - The Beavers headed back to Tiffin for the second weekend in a row. This time on the other end of town at Tiffin University for the Jeremy Croy Classic on Saturday, Jan. 24. In a meet filled with Division II competition, the Beavers showed that the division doesn't matter as they competed with the best of them.
On the mens side, the sprints group continued dropping time, led by sophomore Jalen Jackson (Memphis, Tenn./Ridgeway), who finished 6th in the 60 finals with a time of 7.24 while also dropping time in the 200 with a PR of 23.70 good for 5th in the meet. Fellow sophomore Hassan Greene (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Snyder) also had a top 10 finish in the 200 with a time of 24.73, finishing 9th.
Other PR's from the sprints were freshmen Jaden Ngufor (London, Ont.) who PR'd in 60 with a time of 7.60 and the 200 with a time of 25.15. Freshmen Demari Bailey (Hiram, Ga.) PR'd in the 200 with a time of 25.16, Robert Jones Jr. (Toledo/Start) dropped nearly a second in the 200 with a time of 25.18 and Deontai Gholson (Trotwood/Trotwood-Madison) dropped time in the 200 with a time of 25.26. Sophomore Seth Bova (Bellevue) broke the 7.70 mark for the first time in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.69.
In the jumps, Greene made is season debut in long jump and already hit a new PR with a leap of 5.67 on his first jump of the season. In the hurdles freshman Quince Reese (Killeen, Texas/Ellison) finished 5th in the 60 hurdles final with a time of 8.84 showing consistency in the event.
On the distance side, junior Micah Dodson (Wooster/Central Christian) had a tough double but attacked it well as he dropped time in the mile from last week with a mark of 5:36.25 and then came back in the 800 on short rest and ran a PR of 2:29.21.
The throws saw every person in the shot-put group improve from last week and they were led again by Tony Smith (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) who had nearly a meter PR with a throw of 11.57 meters. Freshmen Bryson Taylor (New Orleans, La./Abramson Tech Charter) saw a huge jump and wasn't too far off of Smith as he threw 11.12 meters on the day. Freshmen Jordyn Diaz (Ypsilanti, Mich.) also saw improvement as he threw 6.95 meters. "From the first meet to the second, the growth wasn't just on the tape, it was in confidence, consistency, and belief. Same athletes, stronger mindset, higher standards," Coach Equitz quipped on what his crew was able to accomplish.
On the womens side, junior Amelia Adams (Celina) had a busy day in the jumps as she finished tied for 3rd in pole vault with a jump of 2.75 meters and 3rd in long jump with a jump of 4.59 meters qualifying for conference in the process in the event.
On the distance side, freshman Katie Garrison (Caledonia/River Valley) took on the 800 and finished with a time of 3:10.22 finishing top 8 in the event. "I thought they fought really well and their trust in the work and the training they have is starting to show," Distance Coach Connor Gulick said on the meet.
On the throws side, the freshmen duo of Alana Alexander-Davis (Sandusky) and Gabrielle Taylor (Sandusky) were both able to improve from last week as they had marks of 7.98 and 7.71 meters, respectively.
"As everyone continues to improve, meets like these show how the training is going" Head Coach Chris Scott said on the step forward the team took from last week to this week.
The Beavers will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 30, when they make the short trek over to ONU for the Joe Banks Invitational.
-BEAVERS-