Bearcats are Ready to Host the 2013 Willamette Invitational in Track and Field

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

SALEM, ORE. -- The Charles Bowles Track will be the site of one of the largest college track and field meets on the West Coast on Saturday, April 6, as the Bearcats host the 2013 Willamette Invitational. The meet, held by Willamette University each season, joins the Stanford Invitational and the Oregon Relays as one of the featured college track and field competitions every year.

Willamette will continue its long-standing tradition of presenting a meet that highlights quality athletes. This year, there are 19 women's teams and 17 men's teams, representing all college divisions, that have one or more athletes set to compete. In addition, 14 running clubs are participating. Approximately 800 entries have been placed in heats for Saturday.

The Charles Bowles Track is located at McCulloch Stadium in Bush's Pasture Park (near the intersection of Mission St. and Winter St.).

One change this year is that all of the events will be held on the same day. In recent years, several field events and the Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance were held on the first of two days of competition.

On Saturday, the field events will open the Willamette Invitational at 9:30 a.m. (PDT) with the men's discus, women's javelin, women's shot put, and the men's and women's long jump. The running events will start at 11 a.m. with the 4 x 100-meter relay races.

The 6th Annual Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance, featuring the fastest heats in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run, will be featured at the end of the Willamette Invitational. The Celebration of Distance will begin with the women's steeplechase at 5 p.m. and will conclude with the men's 5,000 at 6:15 p.m.

Nearly all of the events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track. The exception will be the hammer throw, which will be held at 1850 Oxford SE behind the Math Learning Center. There will not be a men's or women's 10,000-meter run.

As in previous years, the Willamette Invitational features many quality athletes throughout the meet. Willamette will be represented by sprinters, hurdlers, middle distance and long distance runners, jumpers and throwers. The level of competition will be some of the best the Bearcats will face this spring.

Among the teams and clubs joining Willamette at the meet are the University of Portland, Portland State University, Seattle University and Oregon State University (women) from NCAA Division I, the University of Alaska-Anchorage, St. Martin's University and Western Oregon University from NCAA Division II, and Northwest Conference rival Lewis & Clark College.

The meet also will involve teams from the NAIA and the junior college level. NAIA teams include Corban University, Concordia University (Ore.), Lewis-Clark State College, Northwest University, Northwest Christian University, and Eastern Oregon University (women).

Junior college athletes will be competing from Southwestern Oregon Community College, Spokane Community College and Clackamas Community College. A total of 14 running and track clubs, primarily from the Pacific Northwest, will be represented by experienced competitors.

In the running events, athletes will compete against the clock, with multiple heats scheduled for events with large numbers of entries. The throwing events, long jump and triple jump will have three attempts per athlete, with the top nine competitors advancing to the finals.

Each year, the Willamette Invitational features several events with a significant number of entries. This weekend, 54 runners are entered in the men's 1,500-meter run, with 51 athletes in the men's 5,000-meter run and 50 runners in the women's 5,000-meter event.

There will be four heats in the men's 1,500-meter run, the men's and women's 100-meter dash, and the men's and women's 200-meter dash.

Parking near Bush's Pasture Park will be in high demand. Fans should check the parking areas on both sides of the park, as well as nearby areas in Salem.

The Willamette University parking lot near the Sparks Center is open to the public on Saturday. The Sparks Center lot is located at the intersection of Bellevue and 12th Street, two to three blocks from Bush's Pasture Park.

Please note that parking at Salem Hospital is not available and is only for hospital personnel and related business.

2013 Willamette Invitational

Schedule for Saturday, April 6*

Field Events
9:30 a.m. - Men's Discus
9:30 a.m. - Women's Javelin
9:30 a.m. - Women's Shot Put
9:30 a.m. - Men's Long Jump, Women's Long Jump
12:00 p.m. - Women's Discus
12:00 p.m. - Men's Javelin
12:00 p.m. - Men's Shot Put
12:00 p.m. - Women's Triple Jump, Men's Triple Jump
2:00 p.m. - Men's High Jump
2:00 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault
2:30 p.m. - Men's Hammer at 1850 Oxford SE (behind the Math Learning Center)
4:30 p.m. - Women's High Jump
4:30 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault
5:00 p.m. - Women's Hammer at 1850 Oxford SE (behind the Math Learning Center)

Running Events
11:00 a.m. - Womens 4 x 100m Relay (2 heats)
11:10 a.m. - Mens 4 x 100m Relay (2 heats)
11:25 a.m. - Women's 100m Hurdles (3 heats)
11:40 a.m. - Men's 110m Hurdles (2 heats)
11:55 a.m. - Women's 400m (3 heats)
12:05 p.m. - Men's 400m (3 heats)
12:20 p.m. - Women's 100m (4 heats)
12:30 p.m. - Men's 100m (4 heats)
12:50 p.m. - Women's 800m (3 heats)
1:05 p.m. - Men's 800m (3 heats)
1:30 p.m. - Women's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
1:40 p.m. - Men's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
1:50 p.m. - Women's 200m (4 heats)
2:10 p.m. - Men's 200m (4 heats)
2:30 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400m Relay (2 heats)
2:40 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400m Relay (2 heats)
Break: 30 minutes
3:20 p.m. - Women's 1500m - C section
3:30 p.m. - Women's 1500m - B section
3:40 p.m. - Mens 1500m - D section
3:50 p.m. - Men's 1500m - C section
4:00 p.m. - Mens 1500m - B section
4:10 p.m. - Women's 5000m - B section
4:35 p.m. - Men's 5000m - B section

Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance (Fastest Heats)
5:00 p.m. - Womens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
5:20 p.m. - Mens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
5:35 p.m. - Womens 1500m - A section
5:43 p.m. - Mens 1500m - A section
5:50 p.m. - Womens 5000m - A section
6:15 p.m. - Mens 5000m - A section

* Starting times are approximate