By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Five members of the Willamette University track and field teams have received All-West Region honors for the 2018 season as announced by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Selections from the Willamette men's team included Keaton Beckmann (Fr., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) in the decathlon and Saige Swan (So., Crescent City, CADel Norte HS) in the shot put and discus. Athletes on the Bearcat women's team who were chosen were Hope Duenas (So., Covina, CA/Covina HS) in the discus and the hammer throw, Jewell Sparks (Sr., San Francisco, CA/Lick Wilmerding HS) in the 400-meter hurdles, and Hannah Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
In order to receive All-Region honors an athlete had to be ranked in the top five of an individual event or compete on one of the top three teams in each relay event.
Swanson received All-West Region recognition for the fourth year in a row. Swanson was All-West Region in the 1,500-meter run in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Sparks earned All-West Region honors for the third year in a row. She was All-West Region in the 4 x 100-meter relay in 2016 and in the 400-meter hurdles in 2017. Duenas was named All-West Region for the second consecutive season in the discus.
All-West Region Track and Field
Keaton Beckmann (Fr.) registered a career-best decathlon score of 6,236 points at the Portland Twilight on May 11-12 to rank fifth in the West Region. He finished the season 22nd on the NCAA Division III performance list, missing a bid to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by just two spots.
Beckmann was chosen Northwest Conference Men's Track and Field Freshman of the Year. At the NWC Championships, he placed third in the long jump with a leap of 22' 6", was third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.75 seconds (season best 49.60 in the prelims), and was fifth in the decathlon with 5,974 points.
He also set season bests at 11.13 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.81 in the 200-meter dash, 15.84 in the 110-meter hurdles, and 172' 11" in the javelin.
Hope Duenas (So.) qualified for the NCAA Championships this spring with a top throw of 147' 2" in the discus. She recorded her top mark at the Willamette Invitational on March 24. She is ranked second on Willamette's all-time list. She is 16th on the NCAA performance list in the discus and is ranked second in the West Region. She has tossed the discus at least 140 feet at four meets this season and has taken first place at five meets.
She registered a top mark of 151' 0" in the hammer throw at the Willamette Opener on March 3. The throw moved her into fifth on Willamette's all-time list. She is ranked fifth in the West Region. In addition, Duenas won this year's NWC discus title with a throw of 136' 3". Last year, she was third in the discus at the NWC Championship and ranked fifth in the West Region.
Jewell Sparks (Sr.) earned her top time of the season in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:03.00 during the George Fox University Final Qualifier on May 17. She concluded the year 37th on the NCAA performance list and was fifth in the West Region. She took fourth place in the 400 hurdles at the NWC Championships. She was part of Willamette's 4 x 400-meter relay team that placed third in the NWC this spring in 4:02.62.
She placed 19th at the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships in the 400-meter hurdles and was listed third on last year's West Region performance list. She recorded a personal record of 1:02.16 at the Portland Twilight on May 12, 2017. She placed third at the 2017 NWC Championships in the 400 hurdles in 1:02.73. Also in 2017, she helped WU's 4 x 100-meter relay take third place in the NWC in 49.25 seconds and ran on the 4 x 400-meter relay that placed third in 3:59.89.
Saige Swan (So.) recorded a personal record throw of 49' 9.25" to win the shot put at the NWC Championships on April 21. His throw placed him third on the West Region performance list. He tossed the shot more 45 feet at five meets this spring. Swan's top distance of 148' 4" in the discus occurred at the Chico State Invitational on March 10, earning him a tie for fourth place on the West Region list.
In addition to winning the NWC championship in the shot put, Swan also placed fourth in the discus at 137' 2" and was eighth in the NWC in the hammer throw with a personal record of 138' 2".
Hannah Swanson (Sr.) qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal record time of 10:44.86. She is listed 11th on the NCAA Division III list and is third in the West Region. She recorded her top time while placing second at the NWC Championships on April 20. This is Swanson's first season competing in the steeplechase. Even so, she has earned times between 10:44 and 10:50 during all three of her competitions in the event this season.
Swanson placed fourth in the NWC this year in the 1,500-meter run at 4:40.86. She is seventh in the West Region in the event and has registered times between 4:37 and 4:41 at six meets this season. Her personal record is 4:33.03 at the Portland Twilight on May 15, 2016.
During her Willamette career, Swanson has competed at the NCAA Championships in cross country three times (2014, 2015, 2017). She placed 95th out of 280 runners at the 2017 NCAA cross country meet. She will be making her second appearance at the NCAA Championships in track and field. She earned 13th place in the 1,500-meter run at the 2016 NCAA Championships.
Up Next for the Bearcats
Duenas and Swanson will compete at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in La Crosse, Wisconsin, from May 24-26. Duenas will participate in the women's discus throw and Swanson will run in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
