By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University athletes won three of four throwing events on the second day of the Willamette versus Corban Dual on Wednesday, March 15. Angie Turpen (Sr., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) took first place in the women's hammer throw, while Saige Swan (Fr., Crescent City, CA/Del Norte HS) won the men's shot put and Josh Martin (Fr., Medford, OR/St. Mary's School) grabbed first place in the men's hammer throw.
In addition, Brian Peck (Fr., Reno, NV/Reno HS) of Willamette placed second in a close battle in the men's decathlon. Regan Shira of Corban won the decathlon, while Crystal Lynch of Corban took first place in the women's shot put.
The decathlon, which began on Tuesday, as well as the shot put, were held at Charles Bowles Track. The hammer throw was held at the throwing ring behind the Math Learning Center in Salem. The remaining events will take place at Charles Bowles Track on Thursday, March 16, starting at 3 p.m. (PDT) for field events and 3:30 p.m. for running events.
Turpen won the women's hammer throw with a top distance of 139' 10.25". Mackenzie Howell of Corban was second at 130' 3.25" and Marisa Hamilton (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) of WU placed third at 123' 11.75".
In the mens' hammer throw, Martin registered a winning mark of 127' 3". Swan placed second for the Bearcats at 124' 10".
Swan earned first place in the men's shot put with a toss of 45' 4.75". Martin finished second with a distance of 42' 7.25"
Lynch won the women's shot put for the Warriors at 38' 10.50". She registered her top distance on her third and fourth throws. Hamilton took second place for Willamette at 34' 5.75".
The decathlon was a close competition between two freshmen -- Peck of Willamette and Shira from Corban. Peck won four events, as he finished first in the 100-meter dash, shot put, high jump and javelin. Shira was first in the long jump, 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, pole vault and the 1,500-meter run.
Shira prevailed overall with a total score of 5,312 points. Peck took second just 37 points out of the lead with 5,275 points. Seth Larson of Corban placed third overall with 4,142 points.
Peck took first place in the 100-meter dash at 11.82 seconds. He won the shot put with a throw of 30' 0.50". He was first in the high jump at 5' 10.50" and led the way in the javelin with a toss of 141' 9.50". His top score was 687 points in the 100-meter dash.
Shira was first in the long jump with a leap of 20' 5". Peck was second at 19' 9.75". Shira won the 400-meter dash in 53.50 seconds, while Peck finished in 53.97 seconds. In the 110-meter hurdles, Shira's winning time was 16.25 seconds with Peck at 16.85 seconds.
Other wins for Shira were 10' 11.50" in the pole vault and 4:50.25 in the 1,500-meter run. His best score was 705 points in the 110-meter hurdles. Larson earned first place in the discus throw with a mark of 76' 1.25".
