Mattox Chosen NWC Women's Track Student-Athlete of the Week

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University track and field athlete Kimber Mattox (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) has been chosen as the Northwest Conference Women's Track Student-Athlete of the Week for her efforts at the Willamette Opener on Saturday, March 5. Mattox achieved a provisional qualifying time for the NCAA Division III National Championships in the 3,000-meter steeplechase while winning the event in a Charles Bowles Track record time of 10:47.17.

Mattox won the event by by 56.13 seconds and finished well under the NCAA provisional standard of 11:13.00. In addition, she broke the previous Charles Bowles Track record of 10:48.71, which she set last season at the Charles Bowles Spring Break Classic.

It is the third year in a row that Mattox has achieved a provisional qualifying time in the steeplechase. She earned All-America honors by placing sixth at the NCAA Championships in 2009. She earned a ninth place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2010.

A provisional qualifying mark does not guarantee that an athlete will compete at the NCAA Championships. Instead, it places the athlete on a list of eligible top times which the NCAA will use to determine the additional competitors who will join automatic qualifiers in the event.

Willamette's next competition in track and field will be the Lane Community College Dual in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, March 12.