Five Records Fall at Charles Bowles Track during Willamette Invitational

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

SALEM, ORE. -- A total of five Charles Bowles Track records were broken during the Willamette Invitational on Saturday, April 6. Records fell in the men's shot put, as well as the women's 4 x 100-meter relay, 200-meter dash, 100-meter hurdles and shot put.

In the men's shot put, Willy Irwin from Concordia University (Ore.) set the new record with a toss of 62' 8". He broke the old record of 60' 9.50" set by Ken Patera of the Portland Track Club in 1968.

Portland State won the women's 4 x 100-meter relay in a track record time of 46.58 seconds. The Vikings also held the previous record of 46.99 seconds, which was set last season. PSU runner Dominique Maloney established a record of 24.63 seconds while winning the 200-meter dash, as she broke the old record of 24.68, set by unattached runner Mandy White in 2012.

The new record in the women's 100-meter hurdles is owned by Cassandra Sidner of Portland State. Her winning time of 14.05 seconds broke the record of 14.27 seconds, set by PSU athlete Kerine Harvey in 2002.

Gabriella Dixson of Concordia registered a top throw of 48' 4.75" for a new track record in the shot put. The old record was set by Carrie Pietig of Willamette at 48' 1.50" in 1990.

For the Willamette women's team, Rebekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) placed third in the triple jump, was fifth in the 100-meter hurdles and finished ninth in the long jump. She achieved a distance of 37' 6" in the triple jump, earned a time of 15.84 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and registered a top mark of 16' 9.25' in the long jump.

Elisa Ahern (So., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) of WU took fifth in the triple jump and was sixth in the 100-meter hurdles. In the triple jump, her top distance was 36' 8.25". She was timed at 15.89 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, as she crossed the finish line just 0.05 after Daniel.

Erynn Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) move onto WU's top 10 list in the women's 800-meter run. She took fourth place at the Willamette Invitational in 2:16.31, good for eighth all-time by a Bearcat runner. Susan Buck from the University of Alaska-Anchorage won the 800 in 2:12.34.

In the women's 1,500-meter run, Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) took fifth place and established a new personal record at 4:41.68. Her previous best time was 4:42.94.

Willamette took fourth place in the women's 4 x 100-meter relay with a time of 49.95 seconds. Running for WU were Ashland Bernard (Fr., Kirkland, WA/Juanita HS), Audrey Taylor (Fr., Portland, OR/La Salle HS), Carmela Roberts (Fr., Santa Cruz, CA/Santa Cruz HS) and Kylea Johnson (Fr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS).

Juliet Farnan (Fr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) placed fifth in the women's 5,000-meter run with a time of 18:20.96.

Leading the Willamette men's team were Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) and Wyatt Briggs (Sr., Scio, OR/Scio HS). Kennedy placed third in the long jump at 21' 6.25" and tied for fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.78 seconds. Briggs was third in the discus at 146' 5", third in the hammer throw at 175' 9.75", and fourth in the shot put at 44' 7".

WU's Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) competed in the men's 1500-meter "A" section during the Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance, and registered a solid time of 3:53.64. He currently ranks second in the nation in NCAA Division III, trailing only William Jones from Franciscan University (Ohio), who ran a 3:52.10 on Friday at Bethany University (W.V.)

Kingstad placed ninth in the race at the Willamette Invitational. Jared Bassett from the University of Portland won the "A" section in 3:48.61.

The Bearcat men's 4 x 100-meter relay team finished in third place, completing the race in 42.74 seconds. Runners for WU were Tom Fiechtner (Jr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS), Chris Luetjen (Jr., Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego HS), Matt Paparella (Fr., Glendale, AZ/Ironwood HS) and Dylan Jones (Fr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS).

Fiechtner also earned fifth place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.60 seconds. Landon Burningham from the Physiq Performance club won the 400 in 48.86. Fiechtner was ninth in the 200-meter dash in 22.38 seconds.

Jones took eighth in the 100-meter dash. He recorded a time of 11.19 seconds. Luetjen, who finished almost even with Jones, was ninth in 11.22. Zach Stanfield of Seattle University won the event in 10.77 seconds and was first in the 200-meter dash in 21.51 seconds.

Also for the Willamette men's team:

Hans Lehndorff (Fr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) placed sixth in the shot put. His top throw went 43' 0.25".

In addition to Briggs taking third in the hammer throw, WU also achieved fourth place and fifth place in the event. Max Faulhaber (Jr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) threw the hammer 172' 2" to earn fourth, while Jordan Loos (So., Springfield, OR/Thurston HS) was fifth at 153' 8.75".

Loos placed 10th in the javelin throw. His top effort covered 163' 7.75".

Other top performances for the WU women's team:

Jameka Townsend (Fr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) was seventh in the javelin throw with a top distance of 114' 10.50".

Taryn Greenberg (So., Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar HS) set a personal record in the hammer throw at 132' 8". She placed 10th, while improving on her previous best distance of 132' 3".

Johnson and Roberts each earned a personal record in the 200-meter dash, as Johnson finished 10th in 26.52 seconds and Roberts was 11th in 26.53 seconds. Johnson also established a personal record in the 100-meter dash at 12.81 seconds, while Roberts added a personal record of 1:00.97 for eighth place in the 400-meter run.

Amanda Tamanaha (Sr., Honolulu, HI/Saint Andrews Priory School) attained a personal record of 18:39.88 and took ninth in the 5,000-meter run. She reduced her top time by nearly 16 seconds.

Next on Willamette's schedule:

The Bearcats will compete at the John Knight Twilight at Western Oregon University on Friday, April 12 in Monmouth, Ore.