By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

MONMOUTH, Ore -- Taylor Ostrander (Sr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and the Willamette University women's 4 x 100-meter relay team move into 10th place in NCAA Division III this season, to lead a strong performance by the Bearcats at the John Knight Twilight on Friday, April 8 at McArthur Field.

Ostrander, competing in the steeplechase for the first time this season, won the event in 10:57.45. She is now fifth on the Division III performance list for 2016. Emily Peterson from the University of Portland took second place with a time of 11:19.70.

The WU 4 x 100-meter relay team earned a time of 48.82 seconds to take second place in the event with the second fastest time in Bearcat history.

On Friday, the relay unit was slightly different than the group that set the previous #2 time of 48.98 at the Willamette Invitational just under two weeks ago on March 26.

Jewell Sparks (So., San Francisco, CA/Lick Wilmerding HS) ran the first leg at the John Knight Twilight. The final three legs remained the same, with Teneah Rushen (So., Portland, OR/Franklin HS), Maura Forbush (Jr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) and Kylea Johnson (Sr., Onalaska, WA/Onalaska HS) completing the relay.

Portland State University won the 4 x 100 relay in 46.43 seconds. Western Oregon University was third at 49.15 seconds.

Johnson, in addition to contributing to the relay, earned a time of 12.55 seconds to take second place in the 100-meter dash. Maria Montt from the University of Portland, won the 100 in 12.46 seconds.

The Bearcats recorded a 2-3 finish in the women's 1,500-meter run. Ami Boucher (Jr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) placed second in 4:50.25. Juliet Farnan (Sr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) was third with a personal-best time of 4:50.60. The 1,500 was won by Nyalual Beng of Portland State in 4:43.68.

Hunter Matthies (Sr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS) placed third for the Bearcats in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:54.34. Zach Holloway from Western Oregon took first in 9:33.01 and David Cornish from WOU was second in 9:36.84.

In the men's long jump, Jeremiah James (So./Fr., Salem, OR/South Salem HS/Chemeketa CC) of Willamette finished fourth with a personal record distance of 21' 7.25".

Maura Forbush (Jr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) was fourth and Hannah Swanson (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed fifth in the women's 800-meter run, as both athletes set personal records. Forbush completed the race in 2:16.16. Swanson was timed at 2:16.69.

Yonny Castillo (Sr., Hood River, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was fifth in the men's 1,500-meter run, while teammate Jacob Shafi (Sr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) took sixth place. Castillo was timed at 4:01.67, with Shafi close behind at 4:01.95.

The men's shot put included a fifth place finish for Hans Lehndorff (Sr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) of the Bearcats, who attained a personal record distance of 49' 11.75". Marisa Hamilton (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) placed sixth in the women's shot put with a career-best 36' 6.25".

Other Top Results for the Bearcats

Hannah Bressler (Sr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) finished seventh in the women's 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:54.12.

Lehndorff added a seventh place finish in the men's discus throw. His top mark of the evening was 148' 5".

Angie Turpen (Jr., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) took seventh in the women's discus throw and was 10th in the hammer throw. She tossed the discus 117' 2.25" and registered a mark of 134' 6.75" in the hammer.

D'Angelo Guiton (So., Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS) was eighth in the men's 100-meter dash with a time of 11.57 seconds. Rushen set a personal record and placed 10th in the women's 100-meter dash in 13.02 seconds.

Alida Holt (Jr./So., Honolulu, HI/Roosevelt HS) placed 10th in the women's long jump by achieving a personal record distance of 15' 4.25".

Willamette placed fourth out of 11 college and club teams in the women's team standings. The Bearcats were sixth out of 16 teams in the men's standings. Western Oregon won both team titles.

Up Next for Willamette

The Bearcats will compete at two meets next weekend. A select group of Willamette athletes will participate in the Oregon Relays on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 in Eugene, Oregon. Other Bearcats will travel to Oregon City, Oregon, on Saturday, April 16 for the Cougar Open at Clackamas Community College.