Murfin and Beeman Highlight Day One of Track & Field Championships
Mar 8, 2019
BOSTON, Mass. – Alison Beeman and Blaze Murfin made their mark on the opening day of the 2019 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. Beeman raced her way into qualifying for the final in the 200m dash, while Blaze Murfin came away with a second place finish in the weight throw, earning All-American honors in the event for the third straight year.
Alison Beeman was the first Spartan to compete at the 2019 indoor championships, running in the 60m dash prelims. Beeman finished third in her heat after running the 60m in 7.7.37 seconds, to place here ninth overall after the prelims, missing qualifying for the finals by one spot and .02 of a second.
Rebecca Burmahl Kelsey Betthauser were up next for UD in the weight throw. For Betthauser, she launched her best throw of the day on her first attempt at 16.25m (53-03.75) before scratching on her final two tosses to finish in 16th place. Kelsey Betthauser saved her best throw for last, throwing 15.81m (51-10.50) to finish 20th.
The first Spartan male to get on the track was Colfay Pointer in the 400m dash. Pointer, who came in with the 11th best time in the nation, finished 12th in the event after running the 400 meters in 49.03, missing out on qualifying for the finals.
Beeman returned to the track at night to run in the 200m dash prelims, where she came into the meet with the second best time in the country. Beeman edged out the competition in the fifth heat to win the heat in a time of 24.89 seconds. It was the second best time of all runners in the prelims to move her on to Saturday’s finals.
Blaze Murfin was the final Spartan to compete on Friday, going in his first of two events of the weekend. In the weight throw, Murfin scratched on his first toss before launching himself up to fourth place on his second throw with a mark of 19.47m (63-10.50). In his third and final throw, Murfin pushed his way to a throw of 20.52m (67-04.00) and advanced to the finals tied for first place.
Murfin could not improve on his longest toss and finished tied for second, but he did improve on his second longest throw, giving him the tiebreaker. Murfin will go for double all-american honors for in both the weight and shot put tomorrow for the third straight year.
Saturday's Schedule
Women’s Shot Put - 10:00 a.m.
Men’s Shot Put - 2:15 p.m.
Women’s 200m Dash Finals - 3:15 p.m.
Full Schedule: https://bit.ly/2EAlM81
Women's Entires: https://bit.ly/2TtToxG
Men's Entries: https://bit.ly/2TAxU2p
