By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications, (503) 370-6110
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University placed fourth in the women's team standings and Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) was named Women's Co-Rookie of the Meet as the 2023 Northwest Conference Track & Field Championships concluded at Charles Bowles Track on Saturday, April 22.
George Fox University won the women's team title with a score of 257 points. Whitworth University was second at 164.5 points, while Pacific Lutheran University took third place with 89 points. Willamette was just seven points behind the Lutes, as the Bearcats claimed fourth place at 82. Lewis & Clark College and Pacific University tied for fifth place at 65, with Linfield University in sixth at 58, the University of Puget Sound in eighth at 35.5, and Whitman College in ninth with 2 points.
Stepp, who won the women's high jump by clearing 5' 6" on Friday, added a third place finish in the women's triple jump on Saturday with a distance of 35' 1". She also ran the fourth leg of the Willamette women's 4 x 100-meter relay team, which took third place in 49.83 seconds.
Willamette took seventh place in the men's team standings. George Fox earned the men's team championship with 221 points. Whitworth was second with 143 points, Pacific Lutheran placed third at 133.5, Pacific was fourth at 104.5, and Linfield placed fifth at 83. Lewis & Clark grabbed sixth place with 77.5 points, while Willamette was seventh at 31, Puget Sound was eighth at 23.5, and Whitman College did not score. Whitman's team were only entered in the distance events.
Stepp earned her top mark of the triple jump competition on each of her first two attempts in the prelims, as she went 35' 1". Cameryn Nagaji of Lewis & Clark won the event at 37' 0.5", while Devyn Cope of Whitworth was second with a combined distance of 35' 8.75". Stepp was four inches ahead of Beanne Rawls of Whitworth, who placed fourth at 34' 9".
In the women's 4 x 100-meter relay, Stepp ran the fourth leg, completing the race started by teammates Sami Riggs (Sr., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS), Mashani Coleman Toliver (Fy., Bellevue, WA/Sammamish HS), and Annabelle Smith (Fy., Blissfield, MI/Blissfield HS) for a time of 49.83 seconds in third place. Whitworth won the 4 x 100 relay in 48.05 seconds and Linfield was second in 48.52 seconds.
Willamette also placed third in the women's 4 x 400-meter relay, as Riggs, Katherine Thornton (Jr., Reno, NV/Reno HS), Kenzie Lee (Fy., Kaneohe, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute), and Coleman Toliver registered a time of 4:04.14. George Fox won the race in 3:57.31, while Linfield took second in 4:02.25.
The top three finishers in each individual event and relay earned All-Northwest Conference honors. Additional top three results for the Bearcats on Saturday were earned by by Oliver Anderson (Sr., Salem, OR/Home Schooled), who was third in the men's triple jump, by Riggs, who placed second in the women's 400-meter dash, and by Coleman Toliver, who was second in the women's 400-meter hurdles.
Anderson grabbed third place in the men's triple jump with a mark of 45' 2.25". Dieumerci Migani from GFU won the triple jump with a combined distance of 48' 6.25". Ethan Kassebaum of GFU was second at 46' 7.50".
Riggs was timed at 57.82 seconds for her second place result in the women's 400-meter dash. She set a Willamette personal record, breaking her previous top time of 58.22 set earlier this season. Jackilyn Lewis from Puget Sound won the race in 57.40 seconds. Also running for Willamette in the final of the women's 400 was Lee, who placed seventh in 1:01.92.
Coleman Toliver led a 2-4-7 finish by the Bearcats in the final of the women's 400-meter hurdles. Her time for second place was 1:05.57, as she trailed only the winner, Emily Rutkowski of Pacific, who claimed a time of 1:05.00. Thornton placed fourth in 1:07.01 and Clara Thomas (Fy., Kennewick, WA/Kamiakin HS) was seventh at 1:08.92.
Other Top Results for the Bearcats on Saturday
Simon Kidder (Jr., M, Bend, OR/Summit HS) was sixth and Mason Williams (Fy., Happy Valley, OR/ Clackamas HS) took seventh in the men's 400-meter hurdles. Kidder completed the final in 57.97 seconds. Williams was timed at 58.00 seconds.
Zoe Heino (Fy., Portland, OR/Mountainside HS) took seventh place in the women's 1,500-meter run. She registered a time of 4:51.43.
Jonas Cherry (Fy., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) placed seventh in the men's 110-meter hurdles, as he finished the race in 16.35 seconds.
In addition to placing fourth in the women's 400-meter hurdles and helping the Bearcats take third in the 4 x 400-meter relay, Thornton also achieved fourth place in the women's 100-meter hurdles. He time in the 100 hurdles was 15.27. She lowered her personal record by 0.02 and remained ninth on WU's all-time list.
Coleman Toliver's successful day included taking seventh place in the women's 100-meter dash with a time of 12.88 seconds. Coleman Toliver also was second in the 400-meter hurdles and ran on both of Willamette's relay teams that took third place.
Tenley Grant (Fy., Longview, WA/Kelso HS) placed ninth in the women's shot put with a distance of 35' 1.25". Her mark set a personal record.
