By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
NEWBERG, Ore. -- Tenley Grant (Jr, Longview, WA/Kelso HS) of the Willamette University took second place in the women's hammer throw and teammate Zoe Heino (So., Portland, OR/Mountainside HS) placed second in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on the first day of the 2024 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships at Stoffer Family Stadium on Friday, April 19. Also on the first day of the NWC Championships, six runners on the Willamette women's team earned qualifying times in the prelims and will compete in the finals on Saturday.
Grant earned her top mark in the hammer throw at 153' 1" on the last attempt of the finals to clinch second place. Eve Wirth of Pacific Lutheran University won the hammer throw with a toss of 154' 7". Jaelene Chavez from George Fox University was third at 144' 9".
Heino was second in the steeplechase with a season-best time of 11:32.83. Anastasiia Lemesh (So., Chernihiv, Ukraine) of Willamette was fourth in the steeplechase in 11:39.71, while Morgan Shaw (Fy., Redmond, OR/Ridgeview HS) placed ninth at 12:12.35. Lemesh and Shaw each set a personal record. Cris Brethowr of Pacific University won the steeplechase in 11:18.24.
Grant and Heino earned All-Conference honors with their top 3 finishes. Competition at the 2024 NWC Track & Field Championships will continue on Saturday, April 20, starting at 10:30 a.m. All track events will be finals, while flights and finals will be held in the remaining field events.
After seven events, George Fox led the women's team standings with 102 points. Whitworth University was second with 43 points, and Pacific was third at 31. Pacific Lutheran held fourth place at 26 points, while Willamette and Lewis & Clark College were tied for fifth at 22. Linfield University was seventh at 21, with the University of Puget Sound in eighth at five points, and Whitman College in ninth with one point.
Top Results for the Bearcats in the Prelims
The six Bearcats on the women's team who registered qualifying times in the preliminary heats on Friday did so in three events. Three of the qualifiers are in the 400-meter hurdles, with two qualifiers in the 100-meter hurdles, and one qualifier in the 400-meter dash.
Mashani Coleman Toliver (So., Bellevue, WA/Sammamish HS) earned Willamette's top time in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles as she won the second heat and claimed the third-fastest time overall in the prelims at 1:06.57. It was a season-best time for Coleman Tolliver. Katie Briggs (Fy., Las Vegas, NV/Faith Lutheran HS) qualified sixth for Saturday's final with a time of 1:10.26. Sage Miller (So., Valley Springs, CA/Calaveras HS) was eighth in the prelims with a personal record time of 1:10.80.
In the 100-meter hurdles, Lecia Sincere (Jr., G, Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS) placed seventh in the prelims in 15.87 seconds. Lavender Bel (Fy., Puyallup, WA/Graham-Kapowsin HS) finished in nearly the same time at 15.88 seconds and placed eighth in the prelims. Sincere and Bel both ran in the first of the two heats.
Kenzie Lee (So., Kaneohe, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) reached the final in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01.61 in the prelims. It was Lee's top time of the season.
Bearcats Competing on Saturday
Saturday, April 20 (Track Events are Flights and Finals; All Track Events are Finals)
10:30 a.m. - Men's Javelin Throw (Two Flights and Final) - Judah Ali'ifua (Flight 1)
10:30 a.m. - Women's Shot Put (Two Flights and Final) - Tenley Grant (Flight 1), Abigail House (Flight 1)
10:30 a.m. - Men's Triple Jump (Two Flights and Final) - Kaleb Mcarthur (Flight 2)
10:30 a.m. - Women's High Jump (One Flight and Finals) - Whitley Stepp (Flight 1), Erica Snyder (Flight 1)
12:00 p.m. - Women's 4 x 100-meter Relay (Final) - Willamette (Lavender Bel, Mashani Coleman Toliver, Kenzie Lee, Salah Williams)
12:05 p.m. - Men's 4 x 100-meter Relay (Final) - Willamette (Simon Kidder, Finn Gibson, Myles Crandall, Matthew Nivala)
12:10 p.m. - Women's 1,500-meter Run (Final in Two Heats) - Morgan Shaw (Heat 1), Zoe Heino (Heat 1)
12:20 p.m. - Men's 1,500-meter Run (Final in Two Heats) - Adam Lewis (Heat 1), William Hennum (Heat 1)
12:35 p.m. - Women's 100-meter Hurdles (Final) - Lecia Sincere, Lavender Bel
12:40 p.m. - Men's 110-meter Hurdles (Final) - Matthew Nivala, Mason Williams, Jonas Cherry
1:30 p.m. - Women's Triple Jump (Two Flights and Final) - Salah Williams (Flight 2), Erica Snyder (Flight 2), Lecia Sincere (Flight 2)
1:30 p.m. - Women's Javelin Throw (Two Flights and Final) - Kaiona Apio (Flight 2)
1:30 p.m. - Women's 400-meter Dash (Final) - Kenzie Lee
1:35 p.m. - Men's 400-meter Dash (Final) - Finn Gibson, Myles Crandall
2:15 p.m. - Women's 400-meter Hurdles (Final) - Mashani Coleman Toliver, Katie Briggs, Sage Miller
2:25 p.m. - Men's 400-meter Hurdles (Final) - Simon Kidder, Mason Williams
3:15 p.m. - Men's 5,000-meter Run (Final) - Jay Chew
3:40 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400-meter Relay (Final) - Willamette (Kenzie Lee, Mashani Coleman Toliver, Katie Briggs, Katie Wingo)
3:50 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400-meter Relay (Final) - Willamette (Myles Crandall, Simon Kidder, Nolan Wright, Finn Gibson)
