JACKSONVILLE, Ill. - The Beloit College Track and Field teams competed at the 2024 Midwest Conference Championships this weekend, with the men finishing 5th and the women finishing 6th. The Buccaneers took home top times in the women's 4x100 relay, 400 meter sprint, 400 meter hurdles, 200 meter sprint and 4x400 meter relay. They also saw one fourth place finish, a fifth, sixth and seventh place finish and two eighth place finishes. For the men, Nate Otis (Shoreview, Minn.) and Caden Anderson (Westmont, Ill.) took home first place finishes in their events while the team also earned four second place finishes, one third and three fourth place finishes. They rounded out their day with a fifth and sixth place finish. 

Women: 
Candis Damtse (Accra, Ghana) rounded out her dominate outdoor season by being named the 2024 MWC Most Outstanding Performer for Track, sweeping that award for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. Damtse dominated her events, winning both the 200 and 400. She crossed the line in 25.06 seconds in the 200 and 56.65 in the 400. Her 400 time is just .05 seconds off the Beloit record. Damtse also anchored the winning 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Darcel Royster (Chicago, Ill.), Alayna Furch (Saint Charles, Mo.) and Hannah Welte (Clinton, Wis.) joined Damtse on the podium for the 4x100, combining for 50.07 seconds. Sophia Miller (Salem, Ore.), Furch, Jaeonie Echols (Kansas City, MO) and Damtse beat the second place 4x400 team by almost a second. Furch joined Damtse in the 200 and 400's. She took 8th in the 200 with a 27.06 and 6th in the 400 with a 1:03.74. Welte was crowned the fastest 400 hurdler in the MWC, toeing the line in 1:05.45 seconds. She added a fifth place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a 16.92. 

In the field for the women, Naomee Casey (Broken Arrow, Okla) took the highest finish home, placing fourth in pole vault. Casey cleared 3.20 meters, just shy of her PR. Hadja Bayo (Round Rock, Texas) and Kit Kronberger (Wausau, Wis.) both took home top ten finishes in throws. Bayo grabbed seventh in discus with a throw of 34.02 meters and Kronberger launched her hammer 40.49 meters for eighth place. 

Men: 
As previously mentioned, Otis and Anderson earned the lone first place finishes on the men's side for the Buccaneers. Otis continued his dominance in the 400 meter hurdles, finishing in 55.15 seconds. He just missed the podium in the 110 hurdles, placing fourth with a 16.08 finish. Josh Yearby (West Park, FL) finished second in the 200 and fourth in the 100. In the 100, he ran a 11.09 and a 21.93 in the 200. Alexandre Atou (Abomey Calavi, Benin) took the final podium spot in individual races for the Bucs. Atou took third in the 400 at 49.98 seconds. Beloit's stellar 4x400 relay finished second, nearly three seconds behind Monmouth. Izzy Zewdie (Las Vegas, Nev.), Atou, Daniel DeGeorge (Bettendorf, Iowa) and Otis combined for a 3:23.63. Rounding out the running events was the 4x100 relay squad of Ayouba Sumoaro (Las Vegas, NV), DeGeorge, Otis and Yearby. They missed a podium spot by .30 seconds and finished fourth. 

Anderson, Kevon Mills (Key West, FL) and Joshua Martinez Marte (Beloit, Wis.) each grabbed a podium finish. Anderson was crowned the javelin champ with a 48.30 meter throw. Mills took home second in high jump, clearing 1.95 meters. He also took sixth in long jump, reaching 6.61 meters. Martinez Marte finished second in the shot put and 5th in discus. His toss of 14.60 meters in shot matched his season-high. 

Beloit will send some athletes to Rock Island later this week for the Augustana Midwest Twilight Qualifier on Thursday.