SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University track and field athletes will be competing at two events this weekend, with runners focusing on the Oregon Twilight on Friday, May 8 and throwers preparing for the Linfield Open on Saturday, May 9. Eighteen athletes will be in action, as 11 runners will participate at the Oregon Twilight and seven throwers will compete in the Linfield Open.
The first running event involving the Bearcats at the Oregon Twilight on Friday will be the women's 400-meter dash, set for 4 p.m. (PDT). Each event features just one heat. Field events at the Linfield Open will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, starting with the men's and women's hammer throw.
Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) of Willamette will compete in the 400-meter dash at the Oregon Twilight. Kylea Johnson (Jr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) is entered for the Bearcats in the women's 100-meter dash.
Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS), Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) and Hannah Bressler (Jr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) will run for Willamette in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Freeby is ranked #1 in NCAA Division III in the steeplechase with a time of 10:30.09, while Ostrander is #12 at 10:59.24 and Swanson is #21 at 10:59.31.
Olivia Mancl (So./Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) is set to compete in the women's 1,500-meter run. She is #20 in Division III with a top time of 4:34.64. Also running in the women's 1,500 will be Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS).
Three Bearcats will participate in the men's 1,500-meter run in Eugene. They are Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), Patrick Loftus (Fr., Santa Rosa, CA/Sonoma Academy) and Forrest Smith (Fr., Crested Butte, CO/Crested Butte Comm. School). Competing in the 3,000-meter run will be Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS).
At the Linfield Open, Tyler Higley (Sr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) will compete in the men's shot put and the men's hammer throw. Kelsey Engstrom (Sr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS), Kaeleigh Thorp (Sr., San Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) and Jossalyn Wright (Sr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) are entered in the women's hammer throw.
Engstrom also will throw the shot put. Angela Turpen (So., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) will throw the discus. Meka Townsend (Jr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) will participate in the women's javelin throw, while Elisa Ahern (Sr., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) will compete in the women's triple jump.
