By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- Maura Forbush (Jr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) won the women's 400-meter dash and helped the Bearcats take first place in the women's 4 x 100-meter relay at the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational at Linfield College on Saturday, April 2. For the Bearcat men's team, Jack Kobylka (So., Napa, CA/Vintage HS) finished second in the 1,500-meter run and Hans Lehndorff (Sr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) placed second in the shot put.
Forbush won the 400 in a personal record time of 57.59 seconds. She remained seventh on Willamette's all-time list. Kylea Johnson (Sr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS), who also contributed to the win in the 4 x 100 relay, took fourth place in the 400 in 58.28. She set a personal record and moved into 10th on the all-time list.
Willamette won a very close race in the first heat of the 4 x 100-meter relay, as the top four teams all finished in less than 50 seconds to earn the top four places in the event. The Bearcats recorded a time of 49.05 seconds to win by .06 over Linfield, which took second at 49.11. Eastern Oregon University was third at 49.16 and Pacific University placed fourth at 49.47.
Carmela Roberts (Sr., Santa Cruz, CA/Santa Cruz HS) ran the first leg for Willamette's victorious relay team. Teneah Rushen (So., Portland, OR/Franklin HS) covered the second leg and was followed by Forbush. Johnson ran the anchor leg.
In addition to earning wins in the 400-meter dash and the 4 x 100 relay, Forbush gained a third place finish in the 200-meter dash. She achieved a time of 26.22 seconds.
Kobylka placed second in the men's 1,500 by setting a personal record at 4:03.41. His previous best time was 4:08.63 at the Saints Open at Mount Hood Community College on March 12. On Saturday, he trailed only David Cornish from Western Oregon University, who took first place in 4:02.87.
Lehndorff registered a personal-best throw of 49' 4.50" to take second in the men's shot put behind Tylor King of Southern Oregon University, who won at 52' 7.25". Lehndorff surpassed his previous top throw of 49' 1.75" at the Willamette Invitational this past weekend.
In the men's discus, Lehndorff earned third place with a top mark of 140' 7". Sam Nichols of Lane Community College took first place in the discus at 148' 8" and Tanner Yarbrough from Eastern Oregon was second at 141' 1".
Also for the WU men's team, Keith Carlson (Fr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) placed third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He achieved a time of 9:59.37, while lowering his personal record from 10:07.17.
Other Top Results for the Bearcats
RoShaan Rogers (So., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) placed fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles, as he completed the race in 15.91 seconds. Matthew Kirkendall from Eastern Oregon took first place in 15.24 seconds.
Angie Turpen (Jr., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) placed fifth in the women's hammer throw with a top distance of 134' 2". Turpen earned ninth place in the discus with a toss of 111' 2".
Hazel Carr (Fr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) took seventh place in the women's 1,500-meter run. Her time was 4:59.09.
Jeremiah James (So./Fr., Salem, OR/South Salem HS/Chemeketa CC) finished seventh in the men's triple jump with a combined distance of 42' 4.0".
Alex Stacy (Fr., Loomis, CA/Del Oro HS) set a personal record of 16' 1.75" in the long jump, as she added just over one foot to her previous best of 15' 0.50". She placed ninth out of 32 competitors.
Parris Joyce was 11th in the men's 800-meter run. He earned a time of 2:01.86.
In the men's 1,500-meter run, Hunter Matthies (Sr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS) set a personal record of 4:10.90 and took 11th place out of 40 runners.
Up Next for Willamette
The Bearcats will compete at the John Knight Twilight on Friday, April 8 at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon. Action is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. (PDT).
