By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

NAPERVILLE, ILL. -- Several times in the past few weeks, Willamette University sprinter Jaela Dinsmore (Sr., Hines, OR; Burns HS) has been forced to lower her time in the 100-meter dash or the 200-meter dash in order to keep herself in contention for a trip to the NCAA Division III Championships in one or both events. She has been succeeding in that quest.

On Friday, May 18 at the Gregory Invitational hosted by North Central College, she continued her string of top performances.

She held off several national challengers while matching her top time of 12.09 seconds at 100 meters and lowered her personal record time at 200 meters to 24.77 seconds while taking first place in the event. As a result, she is within striking distance of the national meet.

As of Friday night, Dinsmore was part of a three-way tie for 19th in the nation in the 100-meter dash and was involved in a three-way tie for 18th in the 200-meter dash.

Some results from last chance meets may not be entered into the national computer system until Saturday, and selections for the NCAA Championships will not become official until Sunday.

The top 22 women and the top 20 men in each event on the NCAA Division III performance list will qualify for the NCAA Championships, set for May 24-26 at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif.

At the Gregory Invitational, Dinsmore tied her personal record of 12.09 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100-meter dash. Her time ranked first among 22 runners in the prelims, including three athletes ranked behind Dinsmore in the national top 40 and two athletes in front of her on the national performance list.

Dinsmore was one of several competitors who qualified for the 100-meter finals, but did not compete. Runners who did compete in the finals were unable to register a better time than Dinsmore's result from the prelims.

The extra time between races helped Dinsmore prepare for the 200-meter dash, where she was ranked 26th at 24.93 prior to Friday's meet. She needed a faster time to move into the top 22, and she accomplished the feat, lowering her best time by 0.16 seconds.

Dinsmore's new top time of 24.77 seconds in the 200-meter dash advanced her from third place into second place on Willamette's all-time list. She trails only Sonda Strong, who set the school record of 24.60 seconds in 1989.

Overall, a select group of four Willamette athletes represented the Bearcats at the Gregory Invitational. All four registered quality times.

Paul Winger (Sr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS) achieved a personal record time of 48.55 seconds and took fifth place in the men's 400-meter dash. His time was 0.02 seconds faster than his previous best result of 48.57 seconds, set at the Willamette Last Chance meet exactly two years ago.

His new record time also was 0.09 faster than his previous season best of 48.64, set last weekend at the West Coast Invitational.

In addition, Winger competed in the 200-meter dash and registered a time of 22.19 seconds, as he placed 10th out of 39 runners. He missed his season-best time of 22.13 seconds by just 0.06.

Theresa Edwards (Jr., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) competed in the women's 1,500-meter run and placed seventh with a time of 4:38.67. Edwards, ranked 36th on the Division III performance list, missed her season-best and personal-record time of 4:37.24 by 1.43 seconds.

Michaela Freeby (Fr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) ran in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and won the event with a time of 10:59.20. She was just over two seconds away from her personal record of 10:57.44, set last weekend. Her top time is ranked 21st in NCAA Division III.