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

SALEM, Ore. -- Four student-athletes on the Willamette University men's track and field team, including one who also competed in cross country, have been named to the 2022-23 NCAA Division III Academic All-District Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team as chosen by the College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA). Willamette's Academic All-District selections were Oliver Anderson (Sr., Salem, OR/Home Schooled), Joshua Evans (So., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS), Andres Huante (Sr., Bloomington, CA/Grand Terrace HS), and Simon Kidder (Jr., M, Bend, OR/Summit HS).

All of the Academic All-District selections are eligible for the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-America Men's Track and Field/Cross Country Team, which will be announced on June 29. Players nominated for the CSC All-District Team were starters or key reserves with cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale. Each nominated student-athlete was at their current college or university for at least one academic year.

Willamette's track and field teams had a strong season. The Bearcats won individual Northwest Conference championships in the men's pole vault and the women's high jump. Nine Bearcats received All-NWC recognition for top three finishes in individual or relay events. Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) was named NWC Women's Co-Rookie of the Meet and later competed at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Three WU athletes were chosen All-West Region. 

NCAA Division III Academic All-District

Oliver Anderson (Grad.) earned First Team All-NWC honors for top three finishes in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, he placed third at the NWC Championships in the triple jump with a combined distance of 45' 2.25". Earlier in the season, he set his personal best of 45' 10.5" in the triple jump at the Pacific Open on Apri1 1. He ended the season ranked 60th in NCAA Division III in the triple jump. In 2022, Anderson took second place in the triple jump at the NWC Championships with a mark of 44' 0.5". Also in 2022, he set a personal record of 10.91 seconds during the prelims of the 100-meter dash and earned fourth place in the final.

Anderson also is a talented competitor in the long jump. He achieved a career-best mark of 20' 1.75" in the long jump in 2021. Anderson was inducted into the Chi Alpha Sigma student-athlete honorary society in 2022. He graduated from Willamette with a bachelor's degree in 2022 while completing a minor in Biology. He is working toward a master's degree from Willamette in Data Science. Anderson completed his undergraduate degree with a 3.51 cumulative GPA and he has recorded a 4.00 GPA as a graduate student.

Joshua Evans (So.) placed 19th in the 5,000-meter run at the 2023 NWC Track and Field Championships with a career-best time of 15:47.58. He also set personal records this season in the 800-meter run at 2:15.78 and the 1,500-meter run at 4:25.67.

In the fall of 2002, Evans competed on the Willamette men's cross country team. He ran for the Bearcats at the NWC Championships and at the NCAA West Regional.

Evans has achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.51 while double majoring in Environmental Science and Public Health. He also is working toward a minor in Spanish.

Andres Huante (Sr.) registered top times during the track and field season in the 400-meter dash at 53.74 seconds and the 800-meter run at 2:05.09. His career-bet in the 200-meter dash is 24.44 seconds on April 14-15, 2021, and his top time in the 400-meter dash is 53.06 seconds on April 29-30, 2022. Huante earned a top time of 1:59.98 in the 800-meter run on March 26, 2022.

Huante ran on WU's 4 x 400-meter relay team at the 2022 and 2023 NWC Championships and contributed to times of 3:33.36 in 2022 and 3:33.48 in 2023. Huante was a presenter during Student Scholarship Research Day (SSRD) at Willamette in the spring of 2023 regarding "Exercise Recommendations for Diabetics on Dialysis." He graduated this spring with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise and Health Science and a minor in Psychology. He recorded a 3.51 cumulative GPA through the 2022 fall semester.

Simon Kidder (Jr.) finished sixth in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2023 NWC Track & Field Championships with a time of 57.97 seconds. One week later, he set a personal record in the 400 hurdles at 57.07 during  the Oregon State University High Performance. His career-best times include 23.38 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 52.31 seconds in the 400-meter dash, both set at the Pacific Open on April 1, 2023. His personal record of 11.62 seconds in the 100-meter dash was set at the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 23, 2023.

In 2002, Kidder placed fifth at the NWC Championships in the 400-meter hurdles at 58.83 seconds. Kidder, a two-sport athlete, also competes as a midfielder on the Willamette men's soccer team. This spring, he
presented at the Student Scholarship Research Day (SSRD) at Willamette along with three other students about "The Negative Effect of Metabolic Acidosis on ATP Synthase." He held a 3.84 cumulative GPA at the end of the fall semester. He is majoring in Exercise and Health Science.