MARIETTA, Ohio – The Bluefield State track and field program opened its first season in school history on Friday afternoon at Dyson Baudo Recreation Center.
"It felt great to finally get our team on the track," said B-State Head Coach Brooks Rexroat. "This is a young group, and we went into this competition looking to collect data that can help us continue to refine training plans and mechanical adjustments. We're excited about the potential we saw, and we enjoyed watching this team go up against some of the perennial track and field powers in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region and show that we already belong. This is just the start, and we feel great about where we're heading."
Final Results | Final Results (PDF)
Several athletes earned team points throughout the day. Freshman Caely Pickerd (Laramie, Wyo.) earned the first team points in Big Blue history by placing fourth in the women's shot put. Pickerd threw 10.89m (35'8").
"Caely is a multi-sport athlete at B-State and we've just had a few training sessions with her, but she's got the potential to do tremendous things in the throwing circle. She possesses an exceptional blend of speed and power, and we're excited for the possibilities as the season progresses."
Freshman Abbey Puckett (Batavia, Ohio) followed Pickerd in earning points for Bluefield State. Puckett finished seventh in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:07.11.
"We got some great film on Abbey today across three event distances, and we're going to continue some mechanical adjustments and progressions to help her get to the next level," Rexroat said. "Coach Rachael has a tremendous training program in place, and we feel like Abbey is on pace to be a standout performer for us."
The women's 4x200 meter relay team (Kateryna Dashevska, Abbey Puckett, Stephanie Manu, and Lauren Finch) highlighted the day by taking first earning 10 points for the Big Blue.
"We got a good look at our young sprint crew in this relay, and we're proud of what they accomplished," Rexroat said.
In addition to the scoring athletes, the Big Blue had a pair of athletes just on the edge of the finals: Dashevska finished tenth in the long jump, missing the finals in .02 meters and Puckett finished ninth in the 55-meter dash, just .02 seconds off a finals qualification.
The Big Blue sent a partial men's squad to Marietta. Freshman Trevor Nefe (Greensboro, NC) represented Bluefield State with ninth-place finishes in both the high jump and triple jump. Freshman thrower Thomas Smith (Wytheville, VA), competed in the shot put and the weight throw.
"This season is about setting the tone for what our program will be," said Rexroat. "Because of the varied event groups in track and field, it's easy for teams to become cliquish. Beyond the athletic success, we saw Friday, what I love the most is the togetherness of the group: the way we support each other and work as a unit. This is really the foundation of what we want to be as a program over the long term, and the things we saw in the fieldhouse this weekend make us confident that we've got the right group in place to build something special, this season and beyond."
