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

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University's track and field athletes are ready to compete at the 2015 Northwest Conference Championships which will be hosted this weekend at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. Action will get underway at 10 a.m. (PDT) on Friday, April 24 and will continue on Saturday, April 25, starting at 10:30 a.m. Running events begin at 2 p.m. on Friday and at 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Most of Friday's action will be preliminary heats, while most of the finals will be on Saturday.

Even so, the schedule for Friday includes finals in the men's and women's hammer throw, long jump and shot put, plus the men's pole vault and the women's high jump. In addition, finals will be held on Friday in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and the men's and women's 10,000-meter run. Preliminary heats will be held in the dashes, hurdles and 800-meter events.

Saturday's events include prelims and finals in the remaining field events, as well as finals in most of the events on the track, including the 4 x 100-meter relay and the 4 x 400-meter relay.

Willamette athletes will be challenging to reach the finals in many events. In general, eight athletes will advance to the finals in events that include preliminary heats.

The Bearcats feature some of the top competitors in the NWC this season. Members of the Willamette women's team are ranked in the top five on the NWC performance list 20 times in 12 events. Bearcats on the mens team are ranked in the top five 13 times in 10 events.

Among entries for the NWC Championships, Willamette has the top three times in the womens 3,000-meter steeplechase. Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) leads the way with a time of 10:30.09, while Taylor Ostrander has a top result of 10:52.4 and Hannah Bressler (Jr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) has been timed at 10:59.31.

WU also has the top three qualifiers among competitors in the womens 1,500-meter run. Olivia Mancl (So./Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) owns a time of 4:34.71 this season. Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) has the second-fastest time at 4:42.29 and Freeby is third at 4:44.45.

The Bearcats have three of the top four times entered in the womens 5,000-meter run. Mancl is first at 17;58.71, with Juliet Farnan (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) in second at 18:03.53. Ostrander is fourth at 18:10.20.

Among competitors in the womens hammer, Jossalyn Wright (Sr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) and Kaeleigh Thorp are second and third, respectively, both at 157 7. Wright has a slightly higher metric distance of 48.04 meters compared to 48.03 meters for Thorp. Kelsey Engstrom (Sr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) is fifth at 150 9.

Entries in the mens 1,500-meter run are led by two Willamette athletes. Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) qualified with the fastest time at 4:00.14. Patrick Loftus (Fr., Santa Rosa, CA/Sonoma Academy) is second at 4:03.49.

Other events with two Bearcats among the top five entries include the womens 200-meter dash and the mens 5,000-meter.

In the womens 200, Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) is third at 25.64 seconds and Kylea Johnson (Jr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) ranks fourth at 26.68 seconds. In the mens 5,000, Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) is second with a time of 14:56.20 and Loftus is third at 15:17.47.

Additional Bearcats listed among the top three entries in their events include:

Jacob Shafi (Jr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS), mens 3,000-meter steeplechase, 9:42.88 (2nd)

Forbush, womens 400-meter dash, 57.95 (2nd)

Tyler Higley (Sr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS), mens hammer throw, 164 11 (3rd), and mens shot put, 49 11.75 (3rd)

Engtrom, womens shot put, 40 0 (3rd)

Willamette has a tremendous history of success in the NWC in track and field. The Bearcats have won 21 conference team titles in men's track and field and 13 NWC team titles in women's track and field. Since 2002, Willamette has won nine women's championships and six men's championships.