Mattox and Donovan Achieve NCAA Provisional Marks at Willamette Opener

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

SALEM, ORE. -- The Bearcat track and field teams hosted the Willamette Opener at the Charles Bowles Track on Saturday, March 5. Willamette was joined by Northwest Conference opponent Whitworth University and by nearby rival Western Oregon University, as well as several unattached/club team athletes.

Willamette won six women's events and also took first place in six men's events.

For the Bearcat women's team, Kimber Mattox (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) earned a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III National Championships as she won the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:47.17. She finished well under the provisional standard of 11:10.00 and won the race by a sizable margin.

Rebekah Daniel (Fr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) won two events for the Bearcats. She took first place in the long jump at 16'8.75" and finished first in the triple jump by covering 34'11".

Jaela Dinsmore (Jr., Hines, OR/Burns HS) won the women's 100-meter dash in 12.99 seconds. She edged out Emily Pieren of Western Oregon, who took second in 13.05 seconds. Dinsmore placed second in the 200-meter dash at 26.98 seconds.

Taylor Ottomano (Fr., Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) achieved a victory for WU in the women's high jump. She cleared 5'1.75" and placed first on fewer jumps. Alison Wood, competing unattached, also was successful at 5'1.75".

Katie Mariman (Fr., Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) won the women's pole vault after earning a height of 10'2".

Leading the Willamette men's team was Ben Donovan (Jr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS), who earned an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying time of 9:22.61 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The provisional standard is 9:24.00.

Paul Winger (Jr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS) took first place in the 200-meter dash. His time was 22.87 seconds to barely hold off former WU runner Nate Dick ('10), who competed unattached and clocked in at 22.88 seconds. Winger was second in the 100-meter dash in 11.53 seconds, with Dick winning the event in 11.47 seconds.

Stefan Redfield (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) won the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:53.37. Leo Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) placed second in the event at 15:00.17.

Conor Foley (Jr., Somers, MT/Flathead HS) finished first in the men's pole vault. Foley and WU teammate Brandt Nevin (Sr., Eagle Point, OR/Eagle Point HS) both cleared 12'1.50", but Foley earned first place with fewer jumps.

Manta Dircks (Fr., Hilo, HI/Kamehameha HS) of WU took first place by just under three inches in the men's triple jump, as he battled Whitworth's Luke Mathews. Dircks' top jump went 43'9.25". Mathews registered a distance of 43'6.50" for second place.

David Oppat (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) won the men's shot put. His longest throw covered 48'11.75". Josh Clothier (Sr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) placed second at 48'7.50".

Whitworth also had several NCAA Division III qualifiers, led by Carter Comito, who gained an automatic qualifying distance in the discus at 176'4".

The Pirates achieved five provisional qualifying marks. Jacob Pierce and Alex Couette met the provisional standard in the hammer throw. Both registered a distance of 172'10", with Pierce placing first by 0.02 meters (52.69m to 52.67m).

Alexander Hymel threw the javelin 202'0" for a provisional mark and a second place finish. Joy Shufeldt earned a time of 37:28.17 in the women's 10,000-meter run to win the event and beat the provisional standard by 1.83 seconds. Erica Cox won the women's discus throw at 149'0" to easily pass the provisional standard of 136'2".

Western Oregon, which competes in NCAA Division II, won seven women's events. The Wolves took first place in a total of five men's events.

NOTE: Photos at right by Christopher Sabato.