The track and field team opened up their outdoor season at the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Challenge this past weekend. The team saw some great performances on both sides. On the women’s side, Shari Ritchey (FR/Wooster, Ohio) started the meet off strong with a 2nd place finish in the open 800m race. Ritchey crossed the line with a time of 2:31.76. Following Ritchey, Sarah Letchford (SO) finished in 14th place with a time of 2:51.5. In the 5000m race, Mikella Meddock (JR/Ashville, Ohio) was the first Bear to finish. Meddock placed 7th with a time of 19:35.85. Sydney Reed (SO) (17th, 20:34.13), Elizabeth Middleton (FR/Olive Hill, Kentucky) (19th, 20:37.79), and Deanna Hall (SR/Proctorville, Ohio) (20th, 20:46.6) also competed in the 5000m race. Shari Ritchey also competed in the 3000m race in which she placed 8th with a time of 11:53.08. In the 1500m race, Jozi Brown (SR/McConnelsville, Ohio) led the Bears with a 6th place finish and a time of 4:50.54. Following Brown, McKenna Pannell finished in 14th place with a time of 5:01.02 and Mikella Meddock finished in 17th place with a time of 5:08.43. In the seeded section of the 800m race, Jozi Brown finished in 20th with a time of 2:33.76 and McKenna Pannell finished in 22nd with a time of 2:34.79.

On the men’s side, Alex Morris (SO/Wheelersburg, Ohio) started the weekend off strong for the Bears with a 2^nd place finish in the 5000m race. Morris ran the 5000m race in a time of 15:12.9. Following Morris, Logan Boggs (JR/Ironton, Ohio) finished in 12^thplace with a time of 15:48.34, Malachi Shugert (SO/Rossford, Ohio) finished in 14^th place with a time of 16:08.58, and Mason Blizzard (SO/South Webster, Ohio) finished in 17^th place with a time of 16:19.65. Logan Boggs and Malachi Shugert both doubled back the next morning to run the 3000m race. Boggs finished in 5^th place with a time of 9:14.5 and Shugert finished in 9^th place with a time of 9:26.51. Aiden Kammler (JR/Portsmouth, Ohio) won the seeded section of the 1500m race with a time of 3:59.7. Following Kammler, Dylan French (SO/Coal Grove, OH) finished in 7^th place (4:03.54), Mason Blizzard finished in 13^th place (4:11.00), and Philip Evory (SO/Waverly, Ohio) finished in 26^th place (4:23.03). Matthew Rauch (SO/Vincent, Ohio) finished 22^nd in the 400m race with a time of 54.10. Rauch also ran the 400m hurdles and finished in 20^th with a time of 1:01.68. The men’s 4x400m relay team, consisting of Mason Blizzard, Dylan French, Philip Evory, and Matthew Rauch, finished off the weekend with a 14^th place finish with a time of 3:41.06. The team will race again on Friday, March 17^th at the Blizzard Buster hosted by Miami University.

Full Results: https://snapresults.snaptiming.com/meets/21148/relays/119257/results