By Jordan Hill, sports information assistant

The rain held off and temperatures were mild as the men's and women's track and field team competed at the Dick Small Invitational on Saturday, March 24, hosted by Defiance College.

Qualifying marks for the HCAC Championship and the All-Ohio Championship, along with numerous personal records, highlighted the meet for the Beavers.

Freshmen Jeff Parker (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) and Rob Cook (Convoy/Crestview) stood out in the field events as they both set multiple personal records. Making his javelin debut, Parker threw 164'08 to qualify for both HCAC and All-Ohio while placing 2nd overall. He went on to throw a personal best in the shot put with a mark of 41'7.75 and two personal bests in the triple jump and long jump with leaps of 38'5.50 and 19'02, respectively. Cook also impressed in his first time throwing javelin (106'6) and he recorded a personal best in the long jump with a leap of 18'3.75.

The Beavers also finished well in the hammer throw as senior Megan Neal (Arlington) took first in the event with a throw of 153'4, while senior Bryan Heckathorn (Hartville/Lake) and sophomore Julie Court (Galion) both had lifetime bests with marks of 118'8 and 100'9, respectively.

The men's 800 was an impressive event on the track as the quartet of Aaron Brown (Mechanicsburg), Andy Chaffee (Clarkston, Mich.), Jeremy Kidder (New Carlisle/Tecumseh), and Ryan Schadewald (Lima/Bath) all ran personal bests in times of 2:09.91, 2:10.04, 2:10.79, and 2:14.64. Chaffee ran a second personal record in the 1500 with a time of 4:24.09 and he was joined by Chris Arnold (Fort Wayne, Ind./Canterbury), who also ran a lifetime best in the event with a time of 4:41.84.

Rounding out the men's track events was Eric Dameron (Galion), who ran a personal best in the 200 (24.93); Josh Mattoon (Rawson/Cory-Rawson), who ran a personal best in the 400 (56.07); and Jordan Wegner (Mishawaka, Ind.), who ran a pair of lifetime bests in the 200 (28.92) and 400 (64.95).

Standing out on the track for the women was the 1500 trio of Brandi Dominique (Wauseon), Alison Janzen (Whitewater, Kan./Remington), and Mackenzie Mayer (Versailles). Dominique took 2nd place in the event with a personal-best time of 5:05.13, which qualifies her for HCAC and All-Ohio. Janzen and Mayer also ran personal bests with times of 5:15.19 and 6:01.33, respectively. Dominique came back with another HCAC qualifying time and took 2nd in the 800 with a time of 2:28.69. Janzen ran 2:34.45 and Mayer ran 2:56.09 to put up personal bests in the 800 meters.

Rounding out the Bluffton women on the track was Kayla Mullenhour (Delphos/Jefferson), who placed 3rd in the 400 hurdles (69.46) and 6th in the 100 hurdles (17.79); and Jenna Strauss (Bridgeport), who placed 7th in the 100 hurdles (17.89) and 8th in the 100 (14.67).

The Bluffton track and field team will be back in action on Saturday, March 31, 2012 when they travel to Cedarville University for the Yellow Jacket Invitational.