DUBUQUE, Iowa - The Beloit College track and field teams delivered a series of strong performances at the Battle of the Bluffs today, highlighted by individual victories, impressive relay finishes, and a nationally significant hurdle time from Nate Otis (Shoreview, Minn.). Both the men's and women's squads saw athletes place highly across a wide range of events.

Otis was a standout performer for the Buccaneer men. He blazed to victory in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking a remarkable time of 52.89 seconds. This impressive mark not only secured him first place at the meet but also ranks as the 8th fastest time recorded in NCAA Division III this season. Otis wasn't done there, also grabbing a podium finish with a 3rd place in the 110-meter hurdles (16.27).

Otis capped off his successful day by anchoring the victorious men's 4x400 meter relay team. Alongside Alexandre Atou (Abomey Calavi, Benin), Izzy Zewdie (Las Vegas, Nev.), and Kembre Daniel (Chicago, Ill.), the quartet finished first with a time of 3:21.04.

The men's sprints also saw success, with Josh Yearby (West Park, FL) sprinting to a 3rd place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.81). The men's 4x100 meter relay team, consisting of Ayouba Sumoaro (Las Vegas, NV), Atou, Otis, and Yearby, secured a solid 4th place finish in 42.95 seconds.

Other notable men's performances included Daniel placing 9th in the 400m (50.48), Dylan Malmgren (Loves Park, Ill.) finishing 8th in the 1500m (4:08.62), and Cooper Rathmann (Milwaukee, Wis.) taking 8th in the 800m (2:03.83). In the field events, Joshua Martinez Marte (Beloit, Wis.) earned 6th in the shot put (14.90m) and 9th in the discus (44.57m), Thomas Ian placed 6th in the javelin (31.10m), Cal Fox (Orfordville, Wis. ) took 6th in the pole vault (3.20m), followed closely byCooper Rathmann (Milwaukee, Wis.) in 7th (3.05m), and Zewdie finished 10th in the long jump (5.80m).

On the women's side, Haley Carlin (Sarasota, Fla.) soared to victory in the pole vault, clearing a height of 2.45m to take the top spot. Carlin also contributed points in the javelin throw, finishing 6th (26.85m), just behind teammate Adelaide Schmitt (Aurora, Colo.) who placed 4th (29.04m).

The women's relays were a consistent source of points for Beloit. The 4x400 meter relay team of Cole Miller (Salem, Ore.), Alayna Furch (Saint Charles, Mo.), Jaslyn Gama (Beloit, Wis.), and Naomi Murphy (Dubuque, Iowa) raced to an excellent 2nd place finish with a time of 4:11.44. Earlier, the 4x100 meter relay squad (Gama, Furch, Niomee Casey (Broken Arrow, Okla), Miller) placed 4th in 52.79.

Individually, Furch led a trio of Buccaneers in the 400-meter dash, finishing 4th (1:00.38), with  Miller close behind in 6th (1:01.02) and  Gama in 7th (1:04.12). Murphy showed her versatility, placing 7th in the 100m dash (13.81), 5th in the 200m dash (28.48), and tying for 6th in the high jump (1.40m).  Gama added a 6th place finish in the 200m dash (28.76).

Rounding out the women's scoring were Simone de Montigny (Neenah, Wis.) placing 7th in the 800-meter run (2:34.24) and Kit Kronberger (Wausau, Wis.) finishing 8th in the shot put (11.07m).

The Buccaneers head to Appleton, Wisconsin and Lawrence University next weekend for the 2025 Midwest Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Action starts on Friday, May 9th and continues on Saturday.