Ahern Wins Triple Jump, Rebol is First in 800-Meter Run, at Willamette Opener

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Elisa Ahern (So., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) of Willamette University won the women's triple jump and teammate Erynn Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) took first place in the women's 800-meter run, as the Bearcats began the 2013 track and field season by hosting the Willamette Opener on Saturday, March 2.

Ahern registered a distance of 36' 9.50" to earn her victory in the triple jump. She moved from fifth to third on Willamette's all-time Top 10 list. Ahern won the event by 3.25 inches over Lucinda Howard of Oregon State University, who placed second at 36' 6.25".

In addition to winning the triple jump, Ahern placed third in the 100-meter hurdles. Michele Turney of Oregon State won the event in 15.61 seconds, with Christina Dobbins of Whitworth in second at 15.77 seconds, followed by Ahern at 15.93 seconds.

Rebol earned a time of 2:17.00 in the 800-meter run. She won by slightly more than six seconds, with Katie McKay from Whitworth University taking second in 2:23.08. Stevie Gildehaus (Sr., Spokane Valley, WA/University HS) of Willamette placed third in 2:23.26.

Former Willamette runner Kimber Mattox ('11) competed unattached on Saturday and won the women's 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run.

The winning time for Mattox in the 1,500 was 4:31.06. In the 5,000, she earned a time of 16:49.39. Taylor Ostrander (Fr., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) of WU was fourth in the 5,000-meter run in 18:53.16, while Annette Marinello (Fr., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) of WU was fifth in 18:53.29.

Molly Bond (So., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) of Willamette placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.52 seconds. She also attained second place in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing the race in 1:09.33.

Willamette's Kylea Johnson (Fr., Onalaska, AK/Onalaska HS) was third in the women's 100-meter dash. She was timed at 12.89 seconds. Madison McClung of Western Oregon University was the winner in 12.28 seconds.

The Willamette women's 4 x 100-meter team placed second in 51.30 seconds. Running on the relay for the Bearcats were Johnson, Audrey Taylor (Fr., Portland, OR/La Salle HS), Carmela Roberts (Fr., Santa Cruz, CA/Santa Cruz HS) and Ashland Bernard (Fr., Kirkland, WA/Juanita HS).

Bearcat athletes placed third and fourth in the women's discus. Jossalynn Wright (So., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) took third with a throw of 107' 4.75". Kaeleigh Thorp (So., San Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) was fourth at 106' 6.25".

Thorp was third in the hammer throw. She moved into ninth place on Willamette's Top 10 list with a throw of 128' 11.50".

Jameka Townsend (Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) of Willamette was fourth in the women's javelin with a toss of 119" 9.75".

For the Willamette men's team, Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) earned second place in the 800-meter run. Josh Hanna from Western Oregon took first place in 1:55.42, as he edged out Kingstad by just 0.18. Kingstad achieved a time of 1:55.60.

Dylan Jones (Fr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS) provided the Bearcats with a third place finish in the 100-meter dash. He won the second heat and finished just 0.06 behind the overall winner. Unattached runner Gary Sims placed first in 11.11 seconds. Mark Roetcisoender from the University of Portland was second in 11.14 seconds. Jones was timed at 11.17 seconds.

Jones placed first in his heat and fourth overall in the 200-meter dash. He was clocked at 22.76 seconds, as he finished 0.36 behind Sergio Jones, who won in 22.40 seconds for club team Beastfitnation.

Yonny Castillo (Fr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) of Willamette was fifth in the 5,000-meter run, as he was recorded a time of 15:41.29 seconds. Robert McLaughlan from the University of Oregon Running Cub, took first place in 15:23.06.

Also for the Bearcats, Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) was fifth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.96 seconds. Devon Smith (Half Moon Bay, CA/Half Moon Bay HS) was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.12. Matt Paparella (Fr., Glendale, AZ/Ironwood HS) of WU took third in the long jump, as he covered 20' 8" with his best effort of the day.

Max Faulhaber (Jr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) earned third place for Willamette in the hammer throw with a toss of 166' 1.25".

In the men's shot put, Wyatt Briggs (Sr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) was fourth at 44' 3.50" and Hans Lehndorff (Fr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) was fifth at 43' 5.75". Briggs added a fifth place finish placed in the discus as he achieved a top throw of 139'6.25".

Willamette's next competition will be at the Lane Preview in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, March 9.