By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- The West Coast Invitational track and field meet is underway at Willamette University, featuring entries from Willamette and six teams from the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference. The meet began on Thursday, May 9 with the first day of the heptathlon and the decathlon, and will continue on Friday, May 10 with the remaining heptathlon and decathlon events. Saturday, May 11 will feature all of the field and running events.

The meet is being held at the Charles Bowles Track, located at McCulloch Stadium in Bush's Pasture Park. The only exceptions are the men's and women's hammer throw events, which will be held at the ring behind the Math Learning Center at 1850 Oxford Street.

Teams entered in the meet include Willamette, the University of Portland, Santa Clara University, the University of San Diego, St. Mary's College, the University of San Francisco, and Gonzaga University.

Athletes from Northwest Conference rival Lewis & Clark College will compete as well, along with entries from the University of Oregon and Oregon State University. Dallas Baptist University, Chico State University, Humboldt State University, Utah Valley University, and Westminster College (Utah) will also send entries to the meet. In addition, several athletes from running clubs and a handful of unattached athletes are set to compete.

With the first day of competition already in the books, the decathlon will resume at 10 a.m. on Friday. The heptathlon will restart at 11 a.m.

Field events will get underway at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will continue into the late afternoon. Events on the track will begin at 5 p.m. with the men's 400-meter relay. A combined 10,000-meter run will complete the schedule at 9:20 p.m.

The West Coast Invitational is a chance for several Willamette athletes to improve their marks with the NCAA Championships just two weeks away.

Willamette Athletes on the NCAA Performance List

Several Bearcats are listed among the top 30 athletes in their respective events on the national NCAA Division III performance list. The top 20 men's athletes and the top 22 women's athletes in each event will qualify for the NCAA Championships, set for May 23-25 at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse, Wis.

Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) is ranked 10th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a top time of 10:55.43. Erynn Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) is listed 22nd in the 800-meter run at 2:13:63. Both achieved their marks at last week's Oregon Twilight.

Also for the WU women's team, Meka Townsend (Fr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) is ranked 22nd in the javelin, with a throw of 134' 1" at the 2013 NWC Championships, while Bekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) is 28th in the triple jump, recording a top distance of 37' 6.5" at the Oregon Twilight.

For the Bearcat men's team, Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) is ranked 13th in the decathlon. He achieved 6,190 points at the NWC Multi-Event Championships.

Wyatt Briggs (Sr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) is listed 19th in the hammer throw, while Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) is ranked 26th in the 1,500-meter run.

Briggs' top throw so far this season covered 182' 3" at the NWC Championships on April 26. Kingstad registered a time of 3:53.64 at the Willamette Invitational earlier in the season.