Donovan, Mattox and Redfield Improve NCAA Qualifying Times at Oregon Twilight

EUGENE, ORE. -- Willamette University runners Ben Donovan (Sr., Minneapolis, MN/South HS), Kimber Mattox (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) and Stefan Redfield (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) improved their NCAA Division III provisional qualifying times at the Oregon Twilight on Friday, May 6 at Hayward Field.

Donovan registered a provisional qualifying time of 9:16.48 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, lowering his previous season-best by just under two seconds. His top time from earlier this season was 9:18.22 at the Mount San Antonio College Relays on April 14. Donovan's time on Friday was a personal record, helping him place sixth in the event.

Mattox lowered her qualifying time in the women's 1,500-meter run to 4:32.47 from a previous personal record of 4:35.14, set two weeks ago while winning the event at the Northwest Conference Championships. She advanced three positions on Willamette's all-time list in the 1,500, taking over third behind Maddie Coffman '09 and Sarah Zerzan '08.

Mattox placed 10th in a strong field at the Oregon Twilight, including several collegiate runners plus one entry each from Adidas, Nike, the Oregon Track Club and the Bowerman Athletic Club. Former WU athlete Jordyn Smith '08 placed eighth in 4:29.00 while representing Bowerman AC.

Redfield improved his provisional time in the men's 1,500-meter run by completing the event at the Oregon Twilight in 3:50.07 to finish second in his heat and eighth overall. He reduced his time by over three seconds from his original qualifying time this season of 3:53.35 at the Mt. SAC Relays.

His time on Friday moved Redfield into second on the Bearcats' all-time list in the 1,500. The Willamette record was set in 2004 by U.S. Olympic runner Nick Symmonds '06.

Also in the men's 1,500-meter run, Leo Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) earned a time of 3:54.23, as he finished close to his personal record of 3:54.05 during the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field earlier this season.

Paul Winger (Jr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS) of Willamette placed sixth in the first section of the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 49.66 seconds. He took seventh overall.

Three Bearcats competed in the men's field events. David Oppat (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) placed third in the shot put at 48'5.25". Josh Clothier (Sr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) took fourth in the shot put with a throw of 48'2.50". Steven Collins (Sr., Zillah, WA/Zillah HS) achieved sixth place in the hammer throw with a distance of 165'9".

Symmonds, who reached the semifinals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and placed sixth at the World Championships in 2009 as an 800-meter runner, competed for the Oregon Track Club in the men's distance medley on Friday. The OTC relay squad of Symmonds, Ashton Eaton, Tyler Mulder and Andrew Wheating registered a time of 9:26.07 to defeat the University of Oregon's relay team, which finished in 9:28.01.

A select group of Willamette athletes will compete at the Mount Hood Track and Field Festival on Saturday, May 7. The meet will be held at Earl Klapstein Stadium in Gresham, Ore., starting at 10 a.m. (PDT).