By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Elijah Jones (Fy, Salem, OR/Central HS) won the men's pole vault and Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) took first place in the women's high jump to highlight a strong first day for the Willamette University Bearcats at the 2023 Northwest Conference Track & Field Championships on Friday, April 21 at Charles Bowles Track. In addition to the victories by Jones and Sepp, Willamette's Zoe Heino (Fy., Portland, OR/Mountainside HS) placed second in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase and Annabelle Smith (Fy., Blissfield, MI/Blissfield HS) was third in the women's long jump. The four WU athletes earned All-NWC honors.
Jones led the field in the men's pole vault by clearing 14' 4". Second place went to Jarod Moren from Pacific University at 13' 10.0". Moren was tied with three other pole vaulters at 13' 10.0", but earned second place on jumps. Likewise, Mauhia Kimata of George Fox University was third on jumps, while Grady Lemma from Pacific Lutheran University was fourth, and Ronan Krutzikowsky of Linfield University was fifth.
Stepp was successful at 5' 6" in the women's high jump as she won by 2.25". Two other jumpers cleared 5' 3.25", with Logan Roberts of Linfield taking second place on jumps, and Breanne Rawls from Whitworth University finishing third. Stepp moved up from seventh into third place on Willamette's all-time list.
In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Heino was second with a time of 11:11.84 and took over ninth place on the Bearcats' all-time list. Jessica Neal of GFU was the winner of the steeplechase in 11:06.78. Madelyn Hubbs from Pacific placed third in 11:29.94.
Smith registered a mark of 17' 3.5" to take third place in the women's long jump. Allyson Hammond of Pacific won the long jump at 18' 0.25", while Victoria Azar of George Fox was second at 17' 5.5".
After seven men's events, George Fox ended the day with the lead at 68 points. Pacific Lutheran was second with 59.5 points and Whitworth was third with 42 points. Linfield followed in fourth place with 20 points, while Lewis & Clark College was fifth at 17.5, Willamette was sixth at 15, Pacific was seventh at 12, and the University of Puget Sound and Whitman College did not score.
George Fox was at the top of the women's team standings through eight events with 123 points. Whitworth was second at 54 points, Pacific Lutheran held third place at 48 points, and Willamette was fourth with 30 points. Lewis & Clark and Pacific were tied for fifth at 21 points, while Linfield was seventh at 13, Whitman was eight at 2, and Puget Sound did not score.
All of the events were held at Charles Bowles Track except for the hammer throw, which was held at Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Oregon.
Willamette athletes earned several other top eight finishes in finals on Friday. Tenley Grant (Fy., Longview, WA/Kelso HS) was fourth in the women's hammer throw at 144' 4" and Avery Mickelsen (Sr., Ephrata, WA/Ephrata HS) was eighth at 125' 10". William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS/SW Oregon CC) earned fifth place in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, as he completed the race in 9:37.80. Eric Kaszycki (Sr., Santee, CA/Santana HS) placed eighth in the men's hammer throw with a mark of 140' 4".
On Friday, in addition to the finals in six men's and seven women's events, preliminary heats were held in the dashes, the hurdles, and the 800-meter run. Action at the 2023 NWC Track & Field Championships will continue on Saturday, April 21, starting at 10:30 a.m. at Charles Bowles Track. All track events will be finals, while flights and finals will be held in the remaining field events.
Top Results for the Bearcats in the Prelims
Several Bearcats registered times in the preliminary heats that advanced them into the finals on Saturday.
Sami Riggs (Sr., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) registered the fastest time of the prelims in the women's 400-meter dash. She earned a time of 58.29 seconds. Kenzie Lee (Fy., Kaneohe, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) was seventh in the 400 dash prelims at 1:01.99.
Mashani Coleman Toliver (Fy., Bellevue, WA/Sammamish HS) placed eighth in the prelims of the women's 100-meter dash. Her time was 13.05 seconds. Coleman Toliver also advanced into the final of the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:08.48 that won her heat and ranked third overall.
Katherine Thornton (Jr., Reno, NV/Reno HS) reached the finals in the women's 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. In the 100 hurdles, she was timed at 15.57 seconds as she won her heat and earned the third fastest time overall. In the 400 hurdles, she completed the race in 1:08.68 for the fourth best time. Joining Coleman Toliver and Thornton in the 400 hurdles final will be Clara Thomas (Fy., Kennewick, WA/Kamiakin HS) whose time of 1:09.72 was seventh in the prelims
Jonas Cherry (Fy., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) achieved a time of 16.37 seconds in the men's 110-meter hurdles. His time placed seventh in the prelims.
In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Simon Kidder (Jr., M, Bend, OR/Summit HS) was seventh and Mason Williams (Fy., Happy Valley, OR/ Clackamas HS) was eighth in the preliminary round. Kidder ran the race in 58.69 seconds and Williams finished in 59.03 seconds.
Schedule of Events and Willamette Entries
Saturday, April 22
10:30 a.m. - Women's Javelin Throw (One Flight and Final)
10:30 a.m. - Men's Shot Put (Two Flights and Final)
10:30 a.m. - Women's Triple Jump (Two Flights and Final) - Whitley Stepp (Flight 1), Nora Wade (Flight 1), Lecia Sincere (Flight 2)
10:30 a.m. - Men's High Jump (One Flight and Final)
11:45 a.m. - National Anthem
12:00 p.m. - Men's 4 x 100-meter Relay (Final) - Jonas Cherry, Kaleb Mcarthur, Hakan Gurler-Hatch, Jack Hickey
12:05 p.m. - Women's 4 x 100-meter Relay (Final) - Sami Riggs, Mashani Coleman Toliver, Annabelle Smith, Whitley Stepp
12:10 p.m. - Men's 1,500-meter Run (Final in Two Flights) - William Hennum (Flight 1)
12:20 p.m. - Women's 1,500-meter Run (Final) - Anna Bikle, Zoe Heino
12:35 p.m. - Men's 110-meter Hurdles (Final) - Jonas Cherry
12:40 p.m. - Women's 100-meter Hurdles (Final) - Katherine Thornton
12:50 p.m. - Men's 400-meter Dash (Final)
12:55 p.m. - Women's 400-meter Dash (Final) - Sami Riggs, Kenzie Lee
1:00 p.m. - Men's 100-meter Dash (Final)
1:00 p.m. - Women's Shot Put (Two Flights and Final) - Tenley Grant (Flight 1)
1:00 p.m. - Men's Triple Jump (Two Flights and Final) - Hakan Gurler-Hatch (Flight 1), Oliver Anderson (Flight 2), Kaleb Mcarthur (Flight 2)
1:00 p.m. - Men's Javelin Throw (Two Flights and Final)
1:05 p.m. - Women's 100-meter Dash (Final) - Mashani Coleman Toliver
1:10 p.m. - Men's 800-meter Run (Final)
1:20 p.m. - Women's 800-meter Run (Final)
1:30 p.m. - Men's 400-meter Hurdles (Final) - Simon Kidder, Mason Williams
1:40 p.m. - Women's 400-meter Hurdles (Final) - Mashani Coleman Toliver, Katherine Thornton, Clara Thomas
1:50 p.m. - Men's 200-meter Dash (Final)
1:55 p.m. - Women's 200-meter Dash (Final)
2:05 p.m. - Men's 5,000-meter Run (Final) - Jay Chew, Josh Evans
2:35 p.m. - Women's 5,000-meter Run (Final) - Zoe Heino
2:55 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400-meter Relay (Final) - Simon Kidder, Andres Huante, Bjorn Domst, Oliver Anderson
3:00 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400-meter Relay (Final) - Katherine Thornton, Sami Riggs, Kenzie Lee, Clara Thomas
3:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
