CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Bluefield State track and field program competed in their third indoor meet this season Friday afternoon in Doden Field House. 
The Big Blue claimed season-high point totals on both the men's and women's sides bringing home 13 career-best marks. 
"We had some really nice performances this weekend," said Bluefield State Head Coach Brooks Rexroat. "Our core group of sprinters, throwers, and jumpers continue to find ways to get onto the scoreboard, and we'll be bringing some of our endurance athletes into the mix across the next few weeks."  
 For the first-year squad, some of the early-season nerves are starting to settle.
"This was another strong field with athletes from all three NCAA Divisions, NAIA, and some post-collegiate athletes, and our team is starting to get the sense that we belong. We're not just the new team at this point: we're just a team and we walk in feeling like we belong and we're ready to take care of business. It's going to be a small squad this season and we knew that coming in. That limits us in some ways, but we're showing up and moving past established teams that arrived in filled-up charter buses. I think the team is starting to get a sense of what the future looks like, and we like it." 
Final Results | Final Results (PDF)   
Several athletes earned team points throughout the day. Freshman Abbey Puckett paced the Big Blue with a third-place finish in the women's triple jump. Puckett jumped 9.65m (31'8"). She was followed by teammate Stephanie Manu, who placed fifth with a leap of 9.34m (30' 7").  
"This was the first time in competition for these two in the triple jump," Rexroat said. "It's one of the most intricate and physically demanding acts in all of athletics, and it's beautiful when it's done properly. Our staff identified some potential for Abbey and Stephanie in the triple jump back in the fall, and we've compiled some tests and metrics that told us they might be candidates for the event. Friday was the first time they put together full jumps into the sand, and we brought home a couple of nice finishes and some good films to keep progressing. I think there's some real potential for both of these young women to do some impressive things as they grow into the event.  
Manu, a junior transfer, also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash to cap a strong day of work in the fieldhouse. 
 Freshman Caely Pickerd placed fourth in the women's shot put with a throw of 10.74m (35'3").   
 "Caely has been such a huge addition to the team, and we continue to be delighted with the way she works and the results she's accomplishing," Rexroat said. 
 Freshman Sydney Billington (shot put), Kateryna Dashevska (long jump), Puckett (60-meter dash and 200-meter dash), Manu (60-meter dash) all earned top-10 performances on the day, finishing just outside the point table. For Billington and Dashevska, their ninth-place finishes earned their first career advancements to an event final. 
 "So often at this stage, we're finding ourselves just on the edge of points. There are times when that's disappointing, but when an athlete comes into the day seeded 16th or 17th in the field and works up into the top 10, that's just another sign of the personal and group growth we're getting to see. It's so exciting to see that moment of celebration when a field event athlete particularly realizes they've got three more opportunities to keep competing and moving up in the field. That's a big moment the first time it happens, and those two handled the moment with poise." 
 The women's 800-meter relay team placed fourth for the Big Blue.  
 On the men's side, freshman Trevor Nefe placed fifth in the men's triple jump to tally the program's first invitational points. Nefe jumped 11.39m (37'7). 
 "Trevor has been just on the edge of breaking through and earning his first collegiate points," Rexroat said. "We thought those would come in the high jump—his primary event—but there was some adversity there Friday. He was able to recover well and show some nice things in the triple jump. We know he's got almost limitless potential in that event, and we're working to build up some structural and mechanical support elements in his second phase that should start to show results in the coming weeks. I'm happy for Trevor: he comes to work and does things properly every day, and the finish at Cedarville was a nice result for him on the way to what we hope will be some big performances this spring."