APPLETON, Wis. – The Beloit College track and field teams began competition at the Midwest Conference Championships on Friday, showcasing strong individual performances and securing crucial qualifying spots for Saturday's finals. After the first day of competition, the Buccaneer men are tied for eighth place, while the women's squad sits in seventh.
Leading the charge for the men was Nate Otis (Shoreview, Minn.) who delivered a stellar day on the track. Otis blazed to a first-place finish in the 400m Hurdles preliminaries, clocking an impressive 54.34 to automatically qualify for the final. He wasn't done there, as he also secured a spot in the 110m Hurdles final, finishing third in the prelims with a personal record time of 15.69.
In the sprints, Josh Yearby (West Park, FL) powered his way into the 100m final, placing fourth in the preliminaries with a swift 10.80. Over in the field events, Joshua Martinez Marte (Beloit, Wis.) earned valuable points for the Buccaneers in the Shot Put, launching a throw of 14.97m to claim a strong third-place finish.
The Buccaneer women also saw several athletes advance and score. In the 400m preliminaries, Alayna Furch (Saint Charles, Mo.) ran a strategic race to finish third with a time of 1:00.46, earning an automatic qualifying spot for the final. She'll be joined by teammate Cole Miller (Salem, Ore.), who also qualified by finishing seventh in 1:00.86, a new personal record.
In the field, Beloit's throwers made their mark in the Discus. Adelaide Schmitt (Aurora, Colo.) placed fifth with a toss of 34.84m, and Hadja Bayo (Round Rock, Texas) was close behind in sixth, throwing 34.41m , both contributing to the team score. The Pole Vault also proved a strong event for the women, with Naomee Casey (Broken Arrow, Okla) clearing 3.25m for a commendable third-place finish. Haley Carlin (Sarasota, Fla.) added to the points tally, securing fifth place with a vault of 2.65m.
With multiple athletes advancing to Saturday's finals and more events on the schedule, both Beloit College teams will be looking to build on their day one performances and climb the MWC leaderboards. Competition resumes tomorrow for the conclusion of the championships.
