GLENVILLE, West Virginia - The Bluefield State mens' and women's track and field teams kicked off their inaugural outdoor campaigns Friday at the Brandi Bowen Memorial Invitational hosted by Glenville State University.
The Big Blue women finished fifth and the men finished sixth in a meet that featured some of the top squads in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region. The University of Charleston took with women's team title, while Glenville State won the men's meet championship.
Freshman Sydney Billington became the first athlete to contest an outdoor track and field event for the Big Blue in the modern NCAA era and she wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, earning a second-place finish in the women's hammer throw.
"There's no better way we could have scripted the beginning of our team's outdoor competition history," Bluefield State Head Track and Field and Cross Country Coach Brooks Rexroat said. "We stepped off the bus and immediately hit the scoring column, and that sets a great tone for us and a great level of expectation for this team. Watching our athletes go in and mix it up at a high level with established squads is so encouraging as we look at what the future can be."
In all, the Big Blue finished the day with 17 podium performances including four medalist honors and a win in the women's 4X100-meter relay. The teams combined for 27 top-10 event performances.
"We walked into a tough meet with just one athlete who had an NCAA outdoor track meet under her belt, and she was a bit limited with some soreness. Everyone else was making their debut appearance, and this young team continued to do what it did during the indoor season: find ways to be competitive against more established teams. And with 10 ninth and tenth-place finishes, we know we've got a number of athletes who are just on the verge of scoring points and incredibly close to taking us even to a higher level on meet point tables."
Throws were a highlight of the day for both Big Blue teams. In the women's javelin, Billington's fifth-place finish paced a group of five Bluefield State throwers who all finished within the top ten. Amanda Kochis (seventh place) and Rachel Major (eighth place) both scored points in the event.
Billington finished fifth in both the shot put and the discus, while Noemi Christ (sixth) and Major (eighth) also scored in the discus.
For the men, freshman Sherman Franklin launched the javelin nearly 40 meters to earn a fourth-place finish amongst a stout field that included the reigning Mountain East Conference javelin champion.
"Our throwers have been working incredibly hard," Rexroat said. "It's a big adjustment moving to collegiate implement sizes and learning new throwing disciplines like the hammer and javelin, which are contested at the high school level in very few states. The first year for collegiate throwers is often a year of adaptation and learning, but this group continues to raise the bar for itself week after week. The host squad's throwers are some of the best, most disciplined, and well-coached throwers in this part of the country, and it was good for our team to go test itself against athletes at that level of development. The results show us we're in a good place, and have potential to do some special things down the line."
Freshman Abbey Puckett led the Big Blue with 22.5 points in the competition, bringing home a pair of second-place efforts (triple jump and 400-meter dash) and a sixth-place finish in the long jump. She ran the lead leg for the winning 4X100-meter relay team.
"Abbey continues to show her versatility and lead the team by example on and off the track. She continues to show some real promise in the triple jump, and improves every week," Rexroat said. "We're happy, too, with her developmental path in the 400-meter dash, which is really her focal event. We're glad to see her hard work continuing to pay off, and her success and training approach has been contagious."
Jumps specialist Trevor Nefe led the men with nine total points, including a sixth-place finish in the high jump and an eighth-place mark in the triple jump. His best performance, though, came in his debut hurdle race, where a late charge down the homestretch pushed him to a fourth-place finish.
"Trevor continues to show his pure athletic ability as he tests himself in some additional events," Rexroat said. "We're excited about his development as a jumper, and the addition of hurdles to his repertoire is exciting for the team generally and for Trevor specifically: we feel like the 400-meter hurdle race is an event where he's got all the tools and aptitudes to do some very impressive things."
The Brandi Bowen Memorial Invitational holds special significance to Bluefield State Assistant Coach Rachael Rexroat, a 2010 Glenville State grad who was part of the school record-breaking 4X400-meter team and was a decorated 400-meter and 800-meter specialist. Bowen, who died in a 2009 car crash, was Rexroat's roommate and the two trained together as middle-distance runners and members of the cross country team.
"The greatest thing about our sport is the amazing people you get to meet—both your teammates and competitors," Rachael Rexroat said. "This meet honors one of my best friends whose life was cut short far too soon, and I think it's important for us all to remember how precious human life is and how wonderful it is to have this opportunity to grow and compete together. Watching the way our team competed and enjoyed the day: I think Brandi would have been so proud of that and I know I am, too."
Next Up...
The Big Blue will travel to Kennesaw, Georgia for the Kennesaw State University Invitational in a two-day meet. Mar. 25 and Mar. 26.
