By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SALEM, ORE. -- The Willamette University men's track and field team is ready to compete at the 2013 Northwest Conference Championships, which the Bearcats will host this weekend at the Charles Bowles Track. The action is begins on Friday, April 26 and continues through Saturday, April 27.

On Friday, field events will begin at 12:30 p.m. (PDT) with the men's hammer throw. Additional field events will start at 2 p.m., and the first event on the track will begin at 2 p.m. On Saturday, the first field event will be the women's hammer throw at 9 a.m. Other field events will begin at 10:30 a.m. and the first event on the track is set for 12 p.m.

All events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track, located at McCulloch Stadium, except for the two hammer throw competitions, which will take place behind the Math Learning Center at 1850 Oxford Street in Salem, Ore.

Admission is free for NWC students and children under 5 years old, $5 for other students and $10 for adults.

Sprints & Hurdles

Mathew Landon of Whitworth, who won at 100 meters in 2012, is back to defend his title. His top time this year is 11.01. Other contenders are I.V. Reeves of Pacific Lutheran, with the NWCs best time at 10.79, and Marqui Makupson of PLU at 10.92.

Ten runners have times at 10.22 or faster in the 100, including Dylan Jones (Fr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS) of Willamette at 11.17 and Chris Luetjen (Jr., Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego HS) of WU at 11.22.

In the 200-meter dash, Michael Zane of Pacific has the best time this spring at 22.33. Landon follows at 22.34 and Tom Fiechtner (Jr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS) of Willamette is third at 22.38 and Jones is fourth at 22.56.

Fiechtner has the fastest time of 2013 in the 400-meter dash at 49.60. Nick Gosselin of Whitworth owns a time of 49.81 and Lester Maxwell of Linfield has a time of 50.15. Nick Celebrezze (Fr., Moscow, ID/Moscow HS) of WU is tied for the sixth fastest time at 50.61.

Casey Monahan of Whitworth will defend his title in the 110-meter hurdles, which he won in 15.42. Jonathan Hoff, also from Whitworth, has this years best time of 15.35. Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) of the Bearcats owns a time of 15.78.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Kodie Artner from Lewis & Clark, leads the NWC at 53.99, well over a second faster than any other runner. David Fisher of PLU ranks second at 55.33.

Distance

Maxwell owns the top time of 1:55.28 in the 800-meter run this year. Other leaders include Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) of Willamette at 1:55.60 and Will Lawrence of George Fox at 1:56.04.

Kingstad is the defending champion in the 1,500-meter run. He has a time of 3:53.64 this spring. Steven Acosta of Whitworth, who took second in 2012, ran 3:59.24 earlier
this year. Daniel Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) of Willamette has a time of 4:01.34.

Tyler Shipley of Pacific tops the 5,000-meter list at 15:00.47. Samuel Smith of L&C is second at 15:05.70, with Andrew LeDonne (L&C) at 15:13.17 and Matt Klein (UPS) at 15:13.21.

Klein will defend his championship in the 10,000-meter run. His best time of 2013 is 32:11.56. Shipley ranks second at 32:25.22 and Justin Bigelow of UPS is third at 32.46.72.

Whitworths Matthew Edwards owns the best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:03.50. Kyle Dreibelbis of GFU has recorded a time of 10:04.93, while Joshua Seekatz of Puget Sound has been clocked at 10:05.03. Jacob Shafi (Fr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) from Willamette ranks fourth at 10:07.23 and Hunter Matthies (Fr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS) is sixth at 10:08.95.

Vertical & Horizontal Jumps

In the high jump, Frank Lima of Whitworth will be after his third consecutive title. He won in 2012 at 68 and has a top height of 68.75 this year. Nathan Stenson, also from Whitworth is tied for the NWC lead at 6.75. Kelson Kawai of Pacific is at 68.

Chibron Tomeo of Whitworth won the pole vault last year at 14 11.50 on fewer jumps. Tomeos top vault of 2013 is 15 11.25. Joseph Green of Whitworth, who took third in 2012 while clearing 14 11.50 has vaulted 15 5.50 in 2013.

Whitworths Jonathan Hoff leads all long jump qualifiers at 2210. Tyler Guinn of Whitworth is at 22 4.25, while Cameron Braithwaite of Puget Sound is at 22 2.25.

The triple jump will include defending champion Marqui Makupson of PLU, who went 45 7.75 last season. This years top distance is 45 7.25 by Jon Lee of UPS.

Throws

The defending champions return in all four mens throwing events. Carter Comito of Whitworth won the shot put at 52 8.25 and was first in the discus at 186 9 last spring. He also won the discus title in 2011 at 178 5.

This year, Comito has thrown 58 9.25 in the shot put and 203 5 in the discus. Corey Burt of Whitworth is second in the shot put at 50 6, while Samuel Wright of Whitworth is second in the discus at 15310. Wyatt Briggs (Sr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) of WU is fourth on the discus list at 146' 4". Wright won the shot put title in 2011 at 51 4.50.

Kyle Peart from Pacific Lutheran took first in the hammer throw in 2012 with a toss of 182 7. He ranks second this year at 187 5, and trails only Keegan Shea of Whitworth, who has thrown 195 7. Briggs is fourth in the NWC so far this year with a top toss of 175' 9".

The winner last year in the javelin was Chase Wright from Whitworth at 189 7. Teammate John McCormack leads the event in 2013 at 211 0. Joseph Ingman of Whitworth is at 208 3, while Wright is listed at 208 2.

Relays

Last year, Whitworth won the 4 x 100-meter relay in 42.29 and George Fox prevailed in the 4 x 400-meter relay at 3:20.72. The top time this spring in the 4 x 100 is 42.54 by Whitworth. The Pirates own the best time of the season in the 4 x 400 at 3:23.34.

Team Title

Whitworth seeks its fourth straight NWC team title after winning last year with 270 points. With significant strength throughout the lineup, the Pirates are the favorites. Other top teams are Willamette University, which finished second last season, and Pacific Lutheran, which took third.

Willamette held off PLU by just eight points in 2012 to earn second place. The two teams appear ready to battle again this weekend.

Willamette is the last team other than Whitworth to claim the title. Willamette won in 2009 and Linfield won in 2007.

Note: For a schedule of events, use the link just above the photo of Kit Kingstad.