Multiple Bluffton track athletes have broken university and personal records for indoor track competition this year.
Athletes who broke records this season include Kris Lyons, Dakota Frost, the 4×400 meter relay team, Kyle Knezovich, Keturah Warlick and D’Nae Reese.
D’Nae Reese and Keturah Warlick. Photo By Hannah Brown
Dakota Frost, a freshman from Edgerton, Ohio, broke the 5,000-meter record at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference meet with a seventh place finish and a time of 15 minutes, 53.40 seconds. This broke the previous record of 16 minutes, 03.32 seconds held by Kris Lyons. Lyons broke the 5,000 time earlier in the year at Youngstown State in Youngstown, Ohio.
“They have a real true passion for distance running,” said Lyons about coaches Karen and Jim Brandt. “They have done it their entire lives and they sold me on the mentality of high mileage and just following that, the results have paid off.”
The men’s 4×400 meter relay team broke a 12-year-old school record with a time of 3 minutes, 29.02 seconds at the All-Ohio meet Feb. 11 at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. A week later at the HCAC meet, the relay team set another team record with a time of 3 minutes, 28.75 seconds.
Back Row: Stanley Williams, Kyle Knezovich, and Jack Fisher. Front Row: Quincy Salcido and Dakota Frost. Photo By Hannah Brown
The team consists of senior Jack Fisher from Norwalk, Ohio, junior Kyle Knezovich from Utica, Ohio, sophomore Quincy Salcido from Van Wert, Ohio, and freshman Stanley Williams from Sterling Heights, Mich.
Knezovich set Bluffton’s pole vault record at 15’1” at Defiance’s Dick Small Invite. Then he later broke that record with a clearance 15’5” at the HCAC meet.
“I would like to re-break that record and eventually, maybe senior year, I want to aim for the 3,000-meter run record,” said Lyons. “I think that one is in range and in outdoor, I would like to bring down the 10,000-meter record as well.”
Currently, Josh Edens set the Bluffton University school record in the 3,000 in 2014 with a time of 8 minutes, 59.85 seconds. Zach Bradley set the school record in the 10,000 in 2015 with a time of 33 minutes, 01.38 seconds.
Along with the men’s team taking down records, two female track athletes also took down some records this season.
Sophomore Keturah Warlick from East Point, Mich., was conference runner-up in the women’s 60-meter dash with a time of 8.11 seconds which breaks her personal record of 8.27 seconds from last season.
Junior D’Nae Reese from Columbus set a personal best in the weight throw.
“When I threw my first throw, I threw around a 17.04 meters [approximately 56 feet], and I was close to my own record of 17.08 meters [approximately 56 feet] from last year,” said Reese on breaking her weight throw record. “I was saying to myself ‘Okay I am getting closer.’”
Reese’s record is now set at 58-1 1/4. Reese won the weight throw at the HCAC meet and she currently sits ninth in the nation for Division III women weight throwers.
The Beavers will have time to prepare for the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship meet at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. The meet will start at 10 a.m. Friday, March 10.
