By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- The 2019 Willamette Invitational will be hosted by the Bearcats on Saturday, March 23 at Charles Bowles Track. Each spring, the Willamette Invitational is one of the featured competitions on the West Coast. A total of 17 men's teams and 17 women's teams will compete, plus club teams and unattached athletes.
Action in the field events is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). Track events will get underway at 1 p.m. The 12th Annual Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance will start at 5 p.m. with the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and will continue with the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase as well as the top heats in the men's and women's 1,500-meter events and the men's and women's 5,000-meter events.
The Willamette Invitational joins the Stanford Invitational, the Oregon Relays and the Mt. SAC Relays as top meets on the West Coast each season. Charles Bowles Track is located at McCulloch Stadium in Bush's Pasture Park, near the intersection of Mission Street and Winter Street.
Willamette University athletes are entered in most of the events.
A few of the men's athletes competing for the Bearcats will be Keith Carlson (Sr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS), Connor Giannini (Jr., Veradale, WA/Gonzaga Prep), RoShaan Rogers (Gr., Roseville, CA/Woodreek HS) and Saige Swan (Jr., Crescent City, CA/Del Norte HS). Giannini will run for Willamette in the 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash. Carlson will compete in the 1,500-meter run during the Celebration of Distance. Rogers will battle in the 400-meter hurdles. Swan is entered in the shot put and the hammer throw.
Several Bearcats competing in the women's events will be Hazel Carr (Sr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School), Hope Duenas (Jr., Covina, CA/Covina HS), Isabel Duxbury (So., Seattle, WA/University Prep), and Adrian Schnee (Fr., Kalispell, MT/Glacier HS). Carr will participate in the 1,500-meter run during the Celebration of Distance. Duenas will throw the discus and the hammer. Duxbury is set to compete in the 800-meter run. Schnee is entered in the high jump.
NCAA Division III teams participating this weekend are Northwest Conference rivals Willamette, Lewis & Clark College, Linfield College, Pacific University and University of Puget Sound (men). Willamette, Lewis & Clark and Pacific each have a significant number of entries. NCAA Division I will be represented by athletes from Oregon State University (women), the University of Portland. NCAA Division II teams participating are the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Central Washington University, Concordia University (Ore.), Simon Fraser University (Canada), and Western Oregon University.
Competing with NAIA membership are teams from Corban University, Northwest Christian University (Ore.), Southern Oregon University and Warner Pacific University. Junior colleges participating are Clackamas Community College and Everett Community College.
Last spring, no Charles Bowles Track records were broken at the Willamette Invitational, but two record holders almost improved on their own records. However, two years ago five track records were broken, and three years ago two records fell and one record was tied.
The 12th Annual Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance, featuring the fastest heats in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, men's and women's 1,500-meter run, and men's and women's 5,000-meter run, will be featured at the end of the meet. The day's final event, the men's 5,000-meter run, will start at 6:15 p.m.
Nearly all of the events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track. The exception will be the hammer throw, which will take place at Corban University.
In the running events, athletes will compete against the clock, with multiple heats scheduled for all events except for relays, the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run. The throwing events, long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault will have three attempts per athlete, with the top nine competitors advancing to the finals.
The only track event with five heats is the women's 200-meter dash. Events with four heats are the women's 100-meter dash, the men's 200-meter dash, and the men's 800-meter run. There will be three heats in the women's 100-meter hurdles, the men's 400-meter dash, the women's 400-meter dash, the men's 100-meter dash, and the women's 400-meter hurdles. Most of the field events will feature two flights
Parking near Bush's Pasture Park will be in high demand. Fans should check the parking areas on both sides of the park, as well as in nearby areas in Salem. The Willamette University parking lot near the Sparks Center is open to the public on Saturday. The Sparks Center lot is located at the intersection of Bellevue and 12th Street, two to three blocks from Bush's Pasture Park.
Please note that parking at Salem Hospital is not available and is only for hospital personnel and related business.
2019 Willamette Invitational
Saturday, March 23
At Charles Bowles Track*
Field Events
9:30 a.m. - Mens Discus (2 flights)
9:30 a.m. - Women's Shot Put (1 flight)
9:30 a.m. - Women's Long Jump (2 flights), followed by Men's Long Jump (2 flights)
11:30 a.m. - Women's Discus (1 flight)
11:30 a.m. - Men's Shot Put (2 flights)
11:30 a.m. - Women's Javelin (2 flight)
11:30 a.m. - Women's Triple Jump (1 flight), followed by Men's Triple Jump (1 flight)
11:30 a.m. - Women's Long Jump (1 flight)
2:00 p.m. - Men's High Jump, followed by Women's High Jump
2:00 p.m. - Men's Javelin (1 flight)
2:00 p.m. - Men's Hammer (1 flights), followed by Women's Hammer (2 flights)
2:00 p.m. - Women's Triple Jump (1 flight)
2:00 p.m. - Men's Triple Jump (2 flights)
4:00 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault, followed by Men's Pole Vault
* Note: Hammer throw will be held at Corban University
Track Events (Fastest heats first under 1,500m)
1:00 p.m. - Women's 4 x 100m relay (1 heat)
1:05 p.m. - Men's 4 x 100m relay (1 heat)
1:20 p.m. - Women's 100m hurdles (3 heats)
1:35 p.m. - Men's 110m hurdles (2 heats)
1:50 p.m. - Women's 400m (3 heats)
2:00 p.m. - Men's 400m (3 heats)
2:10 p.m. - Women's 100m (4 heats)
2:20 p.m. - Men's 100m (3 heats)
2:30 p.m. - Women's 800m (2 heats)
2:40 p.m. - Men's 800m (4 heats)
3:00 p.m. - Women's 400m hurdles (3 heats)
3:10 p.m. - Men's 400m hurdles (2 heats)
3:20 p.m. - Women's 200m (5 heats)
3:35 p.m. - Men's 200m (4 heats)
3:50 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400m relay (1 heat)
3:55 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400m relay (1 heat)
4:10 p.m. - Women's 1500m - B section
4:20 p.m. - Men's 1500m - B section
4:30 p.m. - Willamette Alumni Mile
12th Annual Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance*
5:00 p.m. - Women's 3000m Steeplechase
5:20 p.m. - Men's 3000m Steeplechase
5:35 p.m. - Women's 1500m - A section
5:43 p.m. - Men's 1500m - A section
5:50 p.m. - Women's 5000m - A section
6:15 p.m. - Men's 5000m - A section
* Fastest heat in each distance race