BELOIT, Wis. - Yesterday the Beloit College Track and Field teams hosted the Beloit Relays at Strong Stadium Athletic Complex. Both the men and women saw major success both teams combined for nine first place finishes, including three meet records. The Buccaneers brought home four second place, four third place, five fourth place, three fifth place, three sixth place, one seventh place, two ninth place and one tenth place finish. As a team, the men finished in second of nine teams while the women finished in fourth of nine teams. Once again, the Buccaneer sprinters ran extremely well in their races. Josh Yearby (West Park, FL), Alexandre Atou (Abomey Calavi, Benin), and Candis Damtse (Accra, Ghana) took home individual golds in the 200 meter dash, and 400 meter dash. Diontia Charles (Riverdale, Ill.) and Hannah Welte (Clinton, Wis.) rounded out the first place finishes for Beloit. Charles took the top spot in the Men's high jump and Welte took home gold in the women's long jump. 

Yearby won the men's 200 with a time of 22.65. Atou and Daniel DeGeorge (Bettendorf, Iowa) followed in fourth and ninth place with times of 23.05 and 23.57. Atou ran the fastest 400 for the men, crossing in 50.56. Izzy Zewdie (Las Vegas, Nev.) placed sixth in the event, running a 52.38. The highlight for the men came on the very last run of the day, the 4x400 meter relay. The team consisting of Atou, Nate Otis (Shoreview, Minn.), Zewdie and DeGeorge ran a 3:24.93, breaking the previous meet record that was set in 2018 by nearly four seconds. The Bucs 4x100 relay made up of Ayouba Sumoaro (Las Vegas, NV), DeGeorge, Otis and Yearby took silver, running a 43.36. Yearby jumped up to fifth place in the MWC with a time of 10.98 in the 100 M. His time placed him third in the meet. Three Buccaneer hurdlers placed in the top five in both the 110 M and the 400 M. Otis took 3rd in the 400 M with a time of 56.69 and 4th in the 110 M with a time of 16.19. His 110M time places fifth in the MWC while he already holds the top spot in the conference for the 400 M. Azeez Ganiyu (Beloit, Wis.) took fifth in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.26, putting him at 6th in the MWC. Quinten Lottig (Lake Geneva, Wis.) followed close behind Otis in the 400 hurdles with a 59.59 for fourth in the MWC. 

In the field for the men, they saw more of the same success. Following Charles in the top spot in high jump was Kevon Mills (Key West, FL). Mills cleared 1.83m, moving up to third in the MWC. Otis rounded out the top five finishes for Beloit when he cleared 1.73m to take fourth. The final top five finishes on the men's side came in the throws. Joshua Martinez Marte (Beloit, Wis.) placed fourth in shot put and discus. Both his throws move him into second place in the MWC. He threw 14.60m in shot and 43.49m in discus. Caden Anderson (Westmont, Ill.) took home third in the Javelin with a throw of 49.05m, not enough to beat his throw from last week but still holds the top spot in the conference. 

Damste and the Beloit sprinters highlighted the women's side. Damste took 1st in the 200 M, running a 25.78 and 1st in the 400 M with a 58.49. Not only does her 400 time give her the top spot in the conference, it also breaks the meet record by over a second. A record that has stood since 2014. Jaeonie Echols (Kansas City, MO) ran her 200 in 27.89, placing ninth. Alayna Furch (Saint Charles, Mo.) took seventh in the 100 M with a time of 12.95, cracking the top ten in the conference. Both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays took first for the Bucs. The 4x100 ran by Darcel Royster (Chicago, Ill.), Furch, Hannah Welte (Clinton, Wis.) and Damste ran a 49.43, moving up to second in the MWC. Just like the men, Beloit's 4x400 relay was the highlight of the sprints. Sophia Miller (Salem, Ore.), Damste, Echols and Furch combined for a 4:06.81 to break the meet record set in 2013 by over a second. It also moves them into the top spot in the conference. The Bucs 4x800 relay took home third when Miller, Maddie Meason (Roscoe, Ill.), Marianna Carus (Ottawa, Ill.) and Josie Czuj (Sedgwick, Maine) put together a 10:38.84 run. Welte rounded out the running events with the 100 and 400 M hurdles. She placed fifth in the 100 with a 16.94 (5th in MWC) and second in the 400 hurdles with a 1:08.78 (3rd in MWC). Her success wasn't just on the track but also in her field events. She grabbed gold in the long jump with a jump of 5.09m (7th in MWC). Royster finished 6th in that event with a 4.94m jump (9th in MWC). Elizabeth Kalk (Clinton, Wis.) placed in the high jump and javelin. She finished second in high jump, clearing 1.53m (3rd in MWC) and threw 26.03m in javelin. Wrapping up the field events was Hadja Bayo (Round Rock, Texas) taking sixth in the discus. She threw 35.78m for 11th in the MWC. 

The Buccaneers are back at it next Saturday in Rock Island, Ill. when they head to Augustana College for the Augustana Meet of Champions.