By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University men's track and field team is ranked 10th in the West Region of NCAA Division III this week according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

George Fox University remained #1 in the West Region men's rankings with 529.69 points. Pomona-Pitzer (Calif.) followed at #2 with 511.46 points. University of Redlands (Calif.) was #3 at 329.61, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) holding the #4 spot at 320.71.

The West Region's #5 ranked team was Occidental College (Calif.) at 271.30, while University of La Verne (Calif.) was listed at #6 with 223.89 points and Whitworth University was #7 at 201.32. Pacific Lutheran University was #8 in the rankings with 195.28 points. Pacific University was #9 at 163.16 and Willamette was #10 at 153.49.

In the West Region women's rankings, George Fox was #1 with 463.57 points. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps owned the #2 spot with 453.46 points and Whitworth was #3 at 413.43.

Keaton Beckmann (Fr., Salem, ORSprague HS) from the Willamette men's team is ranked 21st on the NCAA Division III performance list this season in the decathlon with a score of 6,184 during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 13-14. Brian Peck (So., Reno, NV/Reno HS) of Willamette is listed at #40 in Division III in the decathlon.

Hannah Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS), who runs distance events for the Bearcat women's track and field team, is ranked sixth in NCAA Division III this year in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:44.86. Swanson is 44th in the 1,500-meter run at 4:37.65. Also for the Willamette women's team, Hope Duenas (So., Covina, CA/Covina HS) is 15th in the discus throw with a top mark of 147' 2" at the Willamette Invitational. Jewell Sparks (Sr., San Francisco, CA/Lick Wilmerding HS) of WU is ranked 36th in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 1:03.46.