By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University runner Olivia Mancl (Jr./So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) won the women's 5,000-meter run in a personal record time of 17:28.43 to move into eighth place on WU's all-time list, as the Bearcats opened the track and field season by hosting the Willamette Opener on Saturday, March 5. Mancl's previous best was 17:58.71 during last year's Willamette Opener.
Mancl was one of many athletes from Willamette and other competing teams who earned quality early-season times on Saturday. The Bearcats were joined at the meet by Western Oregon University, University of Portland, Colorado College and Mount Hood Community College, along with the University of Oregon Running Club, other club team members and unattached athletes.
In the women's 5,000-meter run, former Bearcat athlete Michaela Freeby ('15), running for Team Run Eugene, took first place in 4:44.69. Hannah Bressler (Sr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) of WU placed second in 4:48.32 and Ami Boucher (Jr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) of the Bearcats finished fifth in 4:59.28.
Kylea Johnson (Sr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) of Willamette earned a pair of strong second place finishes in the women's 100-meter dash and 200-meter dashes. In both races, she trailed only Laura Patrick from Western Oregon.
In the 100, Patrick won by the slimmest of margins, finishing in 12.65 seconds, while Johnson was timed at 12.66 seconds. In the 200, Patrick's winning time was 26.08 seconds. Johnson followed closely in 26.18.
Bearcats placed second and third in the women's 800-meter run. Unattached runner Molly Williams won the event in 2:16.74. Maura Forbush (Jr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) claimed second in 2:18.44 and Hannah Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) was third in 2:18.87.
Alida Holt (Jr., Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt HS) of WU took second in the women's long jump with a distance of 14' 9.25". Kathryn Pitts of WOU won the long jump at 15' 9.75".
Willamette's Marisa Hamilton (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) was second in the women's shot put. Her top throw of 35' 5" was on her fourth and final attempt, as she added nearly five inches to two earlier throws of 35' 0.25". Rachael Huffman of Western Oregon won the shot put at 36' 2.15".
Angie Turpen (Jr., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) took second place for the Bearcats in the women's discus throw at 119' 9". Huffman of WOU won the event with a top throw of 123' 1". Turpen also placed fifth in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 126' 1.75".
Former Bearcat Jordan Loos ('14) won the men's javelin throw. His top distance was 207' 0.25".
In the men's 5,000-meter run, four Bearcats placed third through sixth in a field of 24 runners. Danny Martinez from the University of Portland won the race in 14:56.78, and Reuben Kiprono, also from Portland, took second in 15:01.27. Martinez also won the 1,500-meter run in 3:57.60.
For Willamette, Yonny Castillo (Sr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was third in the 5,000 at 15:07.70 and Patrick Loftus (So., Healdsburg, CA/Sonoma Academy) was fourth in 15:10.45. Nathan Conrad (Sr., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS) placed fifth in 15:23.99 and Jacob Shafi (Sr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) took sixth in 15:27.12.
Jack Kobylka (So., Napa, CA/Vintage HS) set a personal record by nearly two seconds to finish second in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.22. His previous top time was 1:59.21 at the 2015 Willamette Invitational.
Beau Armstrong of Team Run Eugene took first place in the 800 in 1:56.36. Parris Joyce (Sr., Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel School) of WU was fourth in 1:59.15.
Hans Lehndorff (Sr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) placed second for the Bearcats in the men's shot put and the discus. In the shot put, his top distance was 46' 7". In the discus, Lehndorff recorded a top mark of 144' 1.75". Jeremy Moore of WOU won both events by tossing the shot 49' 8" and throwing the discus 145' 4".
Willamette's Jeremiah James (So./Fr., Salem, OR/South Salem HS/Chemeketa CC) was second in the men's triple jump. His best combined distance of the day was 43' 3.75". RoShaan Rogers (So., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) of WU placed third in the men's 110-meter hurdles in 15.83 seconds, missing his personal record by just .03.
Other Top Performances for the Bearcats
Alex Stacy (Fr., Loomis, CA/Del Oro HS) was second in the women's triple jump at 31' 6.75".
Jewell Sparks (So., San Francisco, CA/Lick Wilmerding HS) set personal records in the women's 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. In the 100 hurdles, she earned a time of 17.46 seconds and placed second, while lowering her top time of 17.66 from 2015. She took fourth in the 400 hurdles in 1:10.31, as she reduced her best time from 1:10.58 last season.
Teneah Rushen (So., Portland, OR/Franklin HS) was fourth in the women's 100-meter dash in 13.15 seconds. She finished sixth in the women's 200-meter dash in 27.24 seconds.
D'Angelo Guiton (So., Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS) took fifth place in the men's 100-meter dash in 11.53 seconds and was sixth in the 200-meter dash in 23.45 seconds.
Jack Wellman (So., Alameda, CA/Alameda HS) placed sixth in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 51.58 seconds.
Juliet Farnan (Sr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) was sixth in the women's 5,000-meter run. Her time was 18:43.67.
Up Next for Willamette
The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, March 12 at the Saints Open, hosted by Mount Hood CC. The meet will be held at Earl Klapstein Stadium in Gresham, Oregon, starting at 9 a.m. (PST).
