Colignon and Miller Finish First at Linfield Multi-Events

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

McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Evin Colignon (Sr., Poulsbo, WA/Charles Wright Academy) from Willamette University won the decathlon and Brandi Miller (Jr., Grants Pass, OR/North Valley HS), also from Willamette, won the heptathlon, as action concluded at the Linfield Multi-Events on Tuesday, March 22 at Maxwell Field.

Colignon attained an NCAA Division III provisional qualifying result by winning the decathlon with 6,207 points. He finished 157 points over the provisional standard of 6,050. He also won the event by 491 points over Barrett Bollen of Pacific Lutheran University, who took second with 5,716 points.

Tyson Bennett from Clark College placed third with 4,835 points. Tyler Lane from Clark was fourth at 4,643 and Michael Oman from Clark was fifth at 4,495. Michael Madden of Linfield took sixth with 4,456 points.

Last year, Colignon qualified for the NCAA Championships in the decathlon. He placed 13th at the national meet with 6,126 points. His career-best decathlon score of 6,472 points was earned at the 2010 Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships.

On Tuesday, Colignon placed first in three of the five events. He won the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 16.41 seconds. He also finished first in the discus throw at 117'8" and won the javelin with a toss of 157'10". Bollen won the pole vault by clearing 11'11.75" and also prevailed in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:21.47.

During the decathlon competition, Colignon placed first in five events, was second in three events, earned third in one event and was fourth once. His top event score was 713 with a time of 52.26 seconds in the 400-meter dash on Monday.

Miller won the heptathlon with a personal record score of 4,059 points. She improved on her previous best of 4,010 points set on May 3, 2009. She missed the NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 4,100 by just 41 points.

Katheryn Jahnsen from Pacific Lutheran University gained second place overall with 3,690 points, a total of 369 points behind Miller. Danielle Ricco, competing unattached was third with 3,526 points. Kristina Hossley of Southwestern Oregon Community College was fourth at 3,442 and Kelly Millager from SWOCC was fifth at 3,393. A total of 11 athletes competed in the heptathlon.

Miller placed first in two of the three heptathlon events held on Tuesday. She won the long jump with a distance of 15'11.50", edging out Jahnsen by 2.5 inches. Miller registered the fasted time in the 800-meter run, as she crossed the finish line in 2:28.49. Jeanesa Durham from SWOCC won the javelin throw with a toss of 107'6".

Over the two days of the heptathlon, Miller took first place in three event and also finished second once, third twice and fourth once. Her highest event score was 712 in the 800-meter run. It was the top event score for any of the competitors in the heptathlon.