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

McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- Keaton Beckmann (Sr., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) set a personal record of 6,788 points while taking second place in the decathlon, as the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships concluded on Tuesday, May 4 at Maxwell Field. Beckmann improved his overall score by 269 points over his previous top decathlon result of 6,519 points, which he set while taking 11th place at the 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

As a result, Beckmann moved up from eighth into fifth place on Willamette's all-time list in the decathlon. The WU school record is 7,384 by Jimmy Watts in 2000.

During Tuesday's second day of competition, Beckmann won the 110-meter hurdles, placed second in the discus throw and the javelin throw, and was third in the 1,500-meter run. He placed fourth in the pole vault. Overall, he recorded five wins and three second-place finishes. Beckmann's decathlon score is ranked fourth on this year's NCAA Division III performance list.

Nicholas McGill of Whitworth University won the NWC decathlon championship with a score of 6,838. Beckmann was second at 6,788, with Travis Herrera of Whitworth in third at 6,293. Ronan Krutzikowksy of Linfield University was fourth at 5,942. The decathlon featured a total of six competitors.

"After finishing the 1,500 (the last event), I realized that I hadn't quite gotten first, but overall I was really just focused on getting a qualification for the national meet, which I was able to do," Beckmann said. "Given my hamstring and knee injuries, I am just grateful that I was able to compete and finish a full decathlon with a personal record, which is all you can really ask for in a competition."

Beckmann won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.75 seconds to start the second day of competition. McGill took second place in 11.32 seconds. In the discus, McGill claimed first place with a toss of 119'8", while Beckmann was second at 110' 4". The pole vault was won by Travis Herrera of Whitworth as he cleared 15' 6.50". Beckmann was fourth with a personal record of 12' 3.25". His previous best vault was 11' 11.25" during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual in 2019.

The top throw in the javelin was registered by McGill at 191' 5". Beckmann grabbed second place with a toss of 169' 9". Beckmann led early in the 1,500-meter run, but Krutzikowski took first place in the event at 4:33.83. Herrera placed second in 4:46.60, less than two seconds in front of Beckmann, who was third at 4:48.23. McGill was fourth in 4:50.92.

"Looking back on the meet, I enjoyed the 100 and 400-meter races the most," Beckmann commented. "I was able to set personal records and also get on Willamette's top ten list for both events, which I have been trying to do for a while now. I also really enjoyed competing with the other decathletes, and the camaraderie that I was able to experience, which made the meet all the better. There are definitely areas that need improvement, but with a little more training, I should be able to put up big numbers at the national meet coming up soon."

Beckmann's top score on Tuesday was 761 in the 110-meter hurdles. During the two days of competition, he scored over 700 in four events, with two events over 800. He earned 894 points in the 100-meter dash and attained 864 points in the 400-meter dash.

"I have really appreciated all the work my coaches have done by working with me during practice, along with all the work they did out of practice in order to get me to compete in the different meets, especially this NWC decathlon," Beckmann said.

The NWC heptathlon also concluded with the final three events. Brecken VandenHoek from George Fox University won the heptathlon with 4,194 points. Kalina Buhler of GFU was second at 3,866. Buhler finished 60 points in front of Elisabeth Jensen, also from GFU, who took third place at 3,806. On Tuesday, VandenHoek achieved first place in the long jump at 16' 9.75" and won the javelin with a toss of 114' 10". Buhler won the 800-meter run in 2:33.44. Five student-athletes completed all seven events.

Willamette is set to compete at the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships on Thursday, May 13 and Friday, May 14 at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Action is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on May 13 and at 10:30 a.m. on May 14.