By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant

NEWBERG, Ore. – The Willamette University men's track & field team had a number of top ten performances at the Rich Allen Classic, hosted by George Fox University on Saturday, March 16. First-year Steeley Mucken (Silverton, OR/Silverton HS) highlighted the day, winning the javelin with a throw of 177' 9". Sophomore Judah Aliifua (Salem, OR/West Salem HS) placed fourth with a personal record of 161' 2".

Sophomore Elijah Jones (Salem, OR/Central HS) placed second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 14' 8.25" while Mason Fitzwater (Fy., Snohomish, WA/Monroe HS) was eighth at 12' 8.75". Kaleb Mcarthur (So., Independence, OR/Central HS) showed well in the field with a pair of fourth place finishes. Mcarthur went 21' 4.25" in the long jump and leaped 41' 5" in the triple jump.

First-year Roan Bashioum (Salem, OR/North Salem HS) was fifth in the hammer throw (151' 9") and set a PR in the shot put, claiming fifth with a toss of 40' 3.5". Parker Hisey (Renton, WA/Kentridge HS) was eighth in both the hammer and the shot put. He had PRs of 126' 4" and 37' 4" in those events, respectively.

The Bearcats also ran well on the track, placing three runners in the top five of the 110-meter hurdles and five in the top ten of the 400-meter hurdle event. Matthew Nivala (Fy., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) captured bronze in the 110-meters in 15.99 seconds with Mason Williams (So., Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas HS) and Jonas Cherry (So., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) were fourth and fifth, respectively, with times of 16.21 and 16.30. All three times were personal bests.

In the 400-meter hurdles Simon Kidder (Sr., Bend, OR/Summitt HS) was second with a season-best time of 57.98. Kidder was 13th in the 100 meters, clocking an 11.33. Caleb Graham (Fy., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) and Cherry had PRs of 59.37 and 59.64 to place fifth and sixth in the 400 hurdles. Kayden Gonzales (So., Ridgefield, WA/Hudson Bay HS) and Mason Williams finished eighth and ninth with marks of 1:01.65 and 1:10.73.

Myles Crandall (Fy., Monmouth, OR/Central HS) ran to third in the 400 meters, crossing the line in 51.40. He was seventh in the 200 meters (22.96) with Nivala coming in 12th 23.19.

Liam Bergevin (Fy., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) was fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.01. William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS) had a pair of PRs, going 2:00.29 to place ninth in the 800 and placed fifth in the 1500 meters at 4:03.19. Adam Lewis (Fy., Glendale, CA/Eagle Rock HS) came in at 4:08.37 to earn sixth in the 1500 meters. Lewis also added a PR in the 800 meters with a time of 2:20.43.

Sophomore Jay Chew (So., Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek HS) and first-year Joshua Evans (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) took fourth and fifth in the 5000 meters with times of 15:57.37 and 16:18.48, respectively.

The 4x400 relay combined to earn a fourth-place finish with a time of 3:36.68. Nolan Wright (Fy., Fall City, WA/Mount Si HS) led-off, followed by Caleb Graham (Fy., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) and Antonio Barrientos (Sr., Dallas, OR/Dallas HS). Gonzales ran the anchor leg.

The Bearcats will next compete in the Willamette-Corban Dual Meet on Wednesday, March 20 and Thursday, March 21. The Hammer throw will be contested at Corban on Wednesday with the rest of the events coming to the Charles Bowles track at Willamette.