By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Four Willamette University track and field competitors each won two events during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual #2, which concluded on Saturday, April 3 at Charles Bowles Track. Alex Matteson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) took first place in the men's 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run, while Oliver Anderson (So., Salem, OR/Home Schooled) won the men's long jump and the triple jump. Audrey Piacsek (Jr., Thorp, Washington, Ellensburg HS) finished first in the women's 800-meter run and 1,500-meter run. Samantha Waters (So., Kalispell, MT/Flathead HS) bested the field in the women's long jump and hammer throw.
The Willamette vs. Corban Dual began with the hammer throw at Corban on Thursday. The other throwing events were held at Willamette on Friday. All of the running events were held on Saturday.
Matteson prevailed in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 2:04.62. Zach Cameron of Corban placed second at 2:06.14. Matteson won the 1,500-meter run in 4:12.34. Anderson registered a top distance of 20' 1.75" to take first place in the men's long jump. He competed unopposed in the triple jump and earned a top combined distance of 42' 9.75".
For Piacsek, the winning time in the women's 800-meter run was 2:45.75. Teammate Leila Fischer (Fy., Wenatchee, WA/Wenatchee HS) finished second in 2:46.10. Piacsek placed first among seven competitors in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:05.26, achieving a winning margin of 13.51 seconds over Izabela Kacalek of Corban, who took second in 5:18.77. Waters recorded a top throw of 106' 0" in the women's discus. Avery Mickelsen (Jr./So., Ephrata, WA/Ephrata HS) of WU took second at 99' 8". In the women's hammer, Waters attained the top distance of 128' 7", while Mickelsen placed second at 111' 0".
Winning one event each for the Bearcats were Jonathan Wallace (Fy., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) for the men's team and Maggie Chapin (Sr., Buffalo, WY/Buffalo HS) and Katherine Thornton (Fy., Reno, NV/Reno HS) for the women's team. Wallace was first in the 10,000-meter run in 35:29.52, with Carson Herrick (Jr., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) of Willamette in second at 35:29.62. Chapin won her 10,000-meter race in 43:30.98. Risa Shutz (Sr., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS) was second for the Bearcats in 43:31.24 and Dana Hamilton (Jr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) from WU was third in 43:31.59. Thronton grabbed first place in the women's long jump with a leap of 16' 1.75".
Also for Willamette, Sami Riggs (So., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) placed second in the women's 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01.03. Abigail House (Fy., Oakland, OR/Oakland HS) took second in the women's shot put at 32' 3.75". Valerie Schmidt won the shot put for the Warriors with a top throw of 33' 5.25".
Eric Kaszycki (So., Santee, CA/Santana HS) achieved second place for the Bearcats in the men's discus throw with a distance of 122' 2". Kenny Purnell from Corban won the event at 127' 2". Andres Huante (So., Bloomington, CA/Grand Terrace HS) of Willamette placed third in the men's 200-meter dash at 24.81 seconds, but was just 0.02 out of second place, which went to Will Cordero of Corban in 24.79 seconds. Corban's Micah Bos won the 200 in 24.23 seconds.
In the team standings, the Corban men edged out Willamette, 49-48. The Willamette women defeated Corban, 60-54.
The Bearcats will be back in action with the Willamette vs. Bushnell Dual on Wednesday, April 7 and Thursday, April 8. On Wednesday, the hammer throw will be held at Corban. On Thursday, all of the remaining events will be held at Charles Bowles Track. Competition is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m. each day.
