By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
EUGENE, Ore. -- Five Willamette University track and field athletes registered top five finishes at the Lane Community College Open on Saturday, March 12. Willamette's highlights were earned by Katherine Thornton (So., Reno, NV/Reno HS), Simon Kidder (So., Bend, OR/Summit HS), Petey Swan (Fy., Crescent City, CA/Del Norte HS), Samantha Waters (Jr., Kalispell, MT/Flathead HS), and Oliver Anderson (Jr., Salem, OR/Home Schooled).
Thornton placed third in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:11.48. The event was won by Briana Turner, running unattached, who was timed at 1:07.13. Kidder was fourth in the men's 400-meter hurdles as he completed the race in 58.78 seconds. Dylan Murray from Lane CC won the men's 400 hurdles in 54.08.
Swan finished fourth in the men's high jump at 5' 9.75". Larell Covington of Lane CC took first place at 6' 0.75", winning on jumps over teammate Dominic Langley, who also cleared 6' 0.75".
Waters was fifth in the women's hammer throw with a top distance of 135' 9". She registered the distance on her fifth throw overall, which was the second of her three attempts in the finals. Anderson grabbed fifth place in the men's triple jump with a combined distance of 40' 0.75" on his first attempt. Daniel Seguin of LCC won the men's triple jump at 44' 11".
Anderson, Waters, and Thornton each placed in the top eight in a second event. Anderson was seventh in the men's long jump with a distance of 19' 8.25" and Waters placed seventh in the women's discus throw at 104' 7". Thornton was eighth in the women's 100-meter hurdles at 17.41 seconds.
Other Top Eight Finishes for the Bearcats
Eric Kaszycki (So., Santee, CA/Santana HS) placed sixth out of 20 competitors in the men's hammer throw. He registered a mark of 139' 1".
Audrey Piacsek (Sr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) was eighth out of 36 runners in the women's 1,500-meter run in 5:11.84.
Leanne Machado (So., Pendleton, OR/Pendleton HS) took eighth place in the women's hammer throw at 128' 7".
Also Finishing in the Top 10 for Willamette
Alex Matteson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Nathan Hale HS) was ninth in the men's 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:09.94.
Albert Ramon Jr. (Sr., Hesperia, CA/Northview HS) ended the men's long jump in 10th place after recording a top distance of 18' 6.50".
Emma Blackburn (Sr., Los Altos, CA/St. Francis HS) placed 10th in the women's long jump as she earned a top mark of 14' 6".
Up Next for the Bearcats
Willamette will take on crosstown rival Corban University in the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on Wednesday, March 16 and Thursday, March 17. The men's and women's hammer throw events will be held on Wednesday at Corban, starting at 4:30 p.m. (PDT). All of the other events will be held on Thursday at Willamette's Charles Bowles Track, located in McCulloch Stadium. The action on Thursday will get underway at 4 p.m. in both track events and field events.
