By: Connor Gulick, Head Cross Country Coach

The Beavers made the short trip across 103 and 235 to nearby Ohio Northern for the annual Joe Banks Invitational featuring prominent programs across Division III and NAIA and the Beavers came locked in and ready to roll.

One the men's side, sophomore Hassan Greene (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Snyder) stole the show by running PR's in the 60 with a time of 7.48 and the 200 with a time of 24.27, but the biggest highlight was in the triple jump, hitting a massive leap of 13.21 meters which took 2nd in the meet, ranked 3rd in the HCAC on the season, and puts him 3rd all-time in school history, surpassing former teammate Joey Bonham. Other PR's on the sprint side was freshmen Demari Bailey (Hiram, Ga.) who had bests in the 60 with a time of 7.73 and the 200 with a time of 24.62, freshman Deontai Gholson (Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood-Madison) in the 60 with a time of 7.60, senior Devin Hogan (Warren, Mich./Fitzgerald) in the 60 with a time of 8.10, freshman Robert Jones Jr. (Toledo/Start) who PR'd in the 60 with a time of 7.54 and in the 200 with a time of 24.95, and senior Niegel Payne (Detroit, Mich./River Rouge) in the 200 with a time of 24.97.

On the distance side, junior Micah Dodson (Wooster/Central Christian) made his 3k debut, finishing in a time of 11:17.51. Sophomore Malcolm Hudson (Villa Rica, Ga.) also had a season best in the 800 with a time of 2:19.76.

On the throws side, freshmen Bryson Taylor (New Orleans, La./Abramson Tech Charter) led the squad in shot put with a PR throw of 11.42 meters. Fellow freshman Jose Garcia (Fort Wayne, Ind./New Haven) also had a PR  with a throw of 10.46 meters. Freshman Thomas Sharper (Sumter, SC) threw a PR of 9.72 meters in the shot put and made his debut in the weight throw with a throw of 6.84 meters. Freshman Jordyn Diaz (Ypsilanti, Mich.) also had a saw improvement in the shot put with a throw of 6.97 meters.

On the women's side, sophomore Sara Smith made her season debut in the mile, finishing 8th with a time of 5:45.20 which qualifies her for the conference meet at the end of the month. Freshmen Katie Garrison (Caledonia/River Valley) also ran a massive PR in the mile, running 7:02.42 and shaving 25 seconds off her time.

In the jumps, junior Amelia Adams (Celina) improved her long jump with a leap of 4.61 meters which moved her into the top 8 in the HCAC.

In the throws, freshman Alana Alexander-Davis (Sandusky) continued her improvement on the season, throwing another PR of 8.24 meters in the shot put while fellow freshman Gabrielle Taylor (Sandusky) just missed her PR, throwing 7.68 meters.

The Beavers head to Denison University for the Bob Shannon Invite on Saturday, Feb. 7. Field events will start at 11 a.m. and running opens at 1 p.m.

-BEAVERS-