By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Oliver Anderson (Sr., Salem, OR/Home Schooled) and Katherine Thornton (Jr., Reno, NV/Reno HS) of Willamette University each took first place in two events as the Bearcats took on the Warriors in the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on Thursday, March 23 at Charles Bowles Track. Overall, WU won 15 events and Corban won nine events. Most of the events were held on Thursday at the track, except for the hammer throw, which was held on Wednesday, March 22 at Corban.

Anderson won the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash for the Willamette men's team. He earned first place in the 100 with a time of 11.36 seconds, while teammate Simon Kidder (Jr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) took second at 11.62 seconds. In the 200, Anderson achieved a winning time of 23.50 seconds. Kidder placed third in 24.04 seconds, as he finished just behind Josiah del Prado of Corban, who was second in 24.01 seconds.

Thornton earned victories for the Willamette women's team in the 400-meter hurdles and the high jump. In the 400 hurdles, Thornton was timed at 1:09.42, with Sage Miller (Fy., Valley Springs, CA/Calaveras HS) of WU in second place at 1:10.84. Thornton won the high jump by clearing 4' 10.25". Nora Wade (Fy., San Diego, CA/Point Loma HS) from Willamette placed second at 4' 8.25".

Kaleb Mcarthur (Fy., Independence, OR/Central HS) won the men's long jump for the Bearcats with a distance of 21' 4.75". Carter Knox of Corban was second at 19' 2".

Sami Riggs (Sr., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) of Willamette took first place in the women's 200-meter dash. She was timed at 25.98 seconds with a margin of victory of 0.71. Hero Peters from Corban placed second in 26.69 seconds.

Willamette claimed first place in the men's 4 x 100-meter relay. Jonas Cherry  (Fy., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS), Mcarthur, Hakan Gurler-Hatch (Fy., Santa Fe, NM/Santa Fe Preparatory), and Jack Hickey (Fy., San Mateo, CA/Aragon HS) ran for the Bearcats and earned a time of 44.94 seconds. Corban's team of DJ Armstead Jr., Shane Davis, Will Maupin, and Alek Richter followed in second at 45.40 seconds.

Other first place finishers for the Willamette men's team were Ian Curtis (Sr., Eugene, OR/South Eugene HS) in the 5,000-meter run at 17:35.04, Cherry in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:01.16, and Parker Callander (Fy., Renton, WA/Kentridge HS) in the discus throw with a mark of 113' 10".

Additional winners for the Bearcat women's team were Anna Bikle (Fy., Woodside, CA/Half Moon Bay HS) in the 800-meter run in 2:27.78, Jackie Gilroy (Sr., Mercer Island, WA/Mercer Island HS) in the 5,000-meter run at 20:01.20, Clara Thomas (Fy., Kennewick, WA/Kamiakin HS) in the 100-meter hurdles at 17.72 seconds, Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) in the long jump with a leap of 15' 2.25", and Tenley Grant (Fy., Longview, WA/Kelso HS) in the hammer with a distance of 130' 6".

Other Top Performances by the Bearcats

The Bearcats were a close second in the men's 4 x 400-meter relay. Corban took first place in 3:38.80. Willamette's relay featured Kayden Gonzales (Ridgefield, WA/Hudson Bay HS), Bjorn Domst (Fy., Silverton, OR/ Silverton HS), and Jordan Treber (So., Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon HS), who registered a time of 3:40.00.

Roscoe McDonald (Sr., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) was second in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 2:03.13. Davis of Corban took first place at 2:01.64. Mason Williams (Fy., Happy Valley, OR/ Clackamas HS) trailed only Cherry in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Williams was timed at 1:01.54.

Grace Kosmicki (Fy., Pocatello, ID/Highland HS) placed second behind Bikle in the women's 800-meter run. Kosmicki achieved a time of 2:30.11. Abigail House (So., Oakland, OR/Oakland HS) took second in the women's discus with a toss of 32' 11". She tied for the lead with Jaelen Chavez of Corban, but Chavez won the tie-breaker.

In the women's hammer, Leanne Machado (Jr., Pendleton, OR/Pendleton HS) was third at 127' 5". She was less than two feet out of second place.

Up Next for Willamette

The Bearcats will host the 2023 Willamette Invitational on Saturday, March 25 at Charles Bowles Track. Action is scheduled to begin with field events at 11 a.m. (PDT). Track events will get underway at 12 p.m.