Miller Earns Second Place in Heptathlon at Lane Preview

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

EUGENE, ORE. -- Brandi Miller (Sr., Grants Pass, OR/North Valley HS) of Willamette University finished in second place in the heptathlon to lead the Bearcats during the second day of the Lane Preview on Saturday, March 10. Miller scored 3,846 points to end the heptathlon just 41 points behind the winner, Addie Gallagher from the University of Great Falls (Mont.), who scored 3,887 points.

In addition, Michaela Freeby (Fr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) and Molly Bond (Fr., Clarkston, Wa/Asotin HS) each took second place in two events for the Bearcats, while Wyatt Briggs (Jr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) earned second place for the second time during the meet.

Freeby placed second in the women's 800-meter run in 2:21.54 and claimed second in the 1,500-meter run in 4:46.01. Bond was second in the women's 100-meter hurdles at 17.51 seconds to go along with second place in the 400-meter hurdles at 1:11.10.

Briggs took second in the men's shot put with a distance of 41' 1.75". He also was second in the hammer throw (144'5") on the first day of the Lane Preview on Friday. Briggs added a fourth place result in the discus throw on Saturday with a toss of 138'1".

In the shot put, Briggs edged out WU teammate Tyler Higley (Fr., aloha, OR/Aloha HS) for second place. Higley placed third with a throw of 40'6.75". The winner of the shot put was Danny Parks, competing unattached, who recorded a distance of 42'4.25".

Other Bearcats who placed second in an event on Saturday were Taylor Ottomano (So., Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) for the women's team and Kit Kingstad (So., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) for the men's team.

Ottomano was second in the long jump, as she registered a top distance of 15' 3.25". She barely missed first place, finishing just 0.25" behind Ashley Langi from the College of the Siskiyous, who won the event with a jump of 15' 3.50".

Kingstad achieved second place in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.54. His time was less than one-half second out of the lead. Troy Pollard from Siskiyous won the race in 1:57.08.

Willamette claimed two of the top three places in the heptathlon. Miller's second place finish was followed by Ginny Hodges (Jr., San Francisco, CA/Saint Ignatius College Prep) in third place with 3,801 points. On Saturday, Hodges won the heptathlon javelin throw at 108'9". Jeanessa Durham from Southwestern Oregon Community College was second at 106' 10".

In the decathlon, Willamette athletes Carson Kennedy (Fr., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) and Spencer Clemmer (Sr., Sacramento, CA/Elk Grove HS) placed third and fourth, respectively.

Kennedy accumulated 5,363 points despite not clearing a height in the pole vault. During the second day of the multi-event competition, he won the discus throw at 102' 3" and was second in both the 1,500-meter run in 4:47.60 and the 110-meter hurdles in 16.30 seconds. On Friday, he won the long jump with a distance of 21' 1.25".

Clemmer scored 5,049 points. On Saturday, he placed first in the 1,500-meter run at 4:56.39 and took first place in the pole vault at 12' 3.50". Thomas Cranor, competing unattached, won the decathlon with 5,876 points.

Willamette senior Ray White (Corona, CA/Centennial HS) placed third in the men's triple jump and was fourth in the long jump. His triple jump covered 42' 9", just three inches behind David Huling, unattached, who attained a distance of 43' 1". White's top leap in the long jump went 20' 6.50".

Jossalyn Wright (Fr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) earned third place in the shot put with a throw of 36' 0.75". Wright took fourth place in the discus throw at 101' 8".