Willamette Track and Field Teams Compete at John Knight Twilight

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

MONMOUTH, ORE. -- Willamette University track and field athletes competed at the John Knight Twilight on Friday, April 12. The meet, hosted by Western Oregon University, included area teams from all three NCAA Divisions, as well as the NAIA. Several track clubs and unattached athletes also competed.

Taylor Ostrander (Fr., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) and Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) led the Willamette women's team.

Ostrander took first place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:25.11, as she set a new top time for the season. Hannah Bressler (Fr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) of WU finished third in the steeplechase at 11:52.82.

Freeby earned second place in the 1,500-meter run in 4:44.61. She trailed only Mikel Elliott from Concordia University (Ore.), who claimed first place by crossing the finish line in 4:43.09. Erynn Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) of WU was seventh in 4:47.70 and Stevie Gildehaus (Sr., Spokane Valley, WA/University HS) was 10th in 4:51.78. The event featured 28 runners in two heats.

Maya Bowton (Fr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) placed second in the pole vault at 9' 8" and was sixth in the high jump at 4' 11.50". She trailed only Becca Hazel of WOU in the pole vault, with Hazel winning at 10' 2".

Taylor Ottomano (Jr., Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) gained a third place finish for Willamette in the triple jump. She earned a combined distance of 33' 7.25" on her top attempt.

Willamette's Kylea Johnson (Fr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) placed third in the 100-meter dash in 13.05 seconds. Madison McClung won the event in 12.53 seconds.

The Bearcats added two fourth place results in the women's hurdle events. Katie Kalugin (So., Woodburn, OR/Woodburn HS) took fourth in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.75 seconds, finishing just 0.03 out of third place. Larissa DeHaas was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:10.12.

Ashland Bernard (Fr., Kirkland, WA/Juanita HS) of WU finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.82. She held a 0.30 edge on two runners who tied for sixth at 1:01.12. Melissa Baker from the University of Portland won the 400 in 59.44.

In the women's 800-meter run, Annette Marinello (So., Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) provided the Bearcats with sixth place, as she earned a personal record time of 2:22.96.

Three athletes on the Bearcat men's team each took third place in one event.

Dylan Jones (Fr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS) was third in the 100-meter dash, as he finished in 11.24 seconds. I.V. Reeves of Pacific Lutheran University was first in 11.15 seconds, while Jeff Howard from Western Oregon was second at 11.23.

Kit Kingstad (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) achieved third place in the 1,500-meter run. His time was 3:57.01.

Jacob Shafi (Fr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) was third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, completing the race in 10:07.23. Hunter Matthies (Fr., Moran, WY/Jackson Hole HS) placed fourth in the steeplechase in 10:14.15.

Wyatt Briggs (Sr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) from Willamette earned fifth place in the discus throw and was sixth in the hammer throw. In the discus, his top distance was 145' 0.75". In the hammer, his best throw covered 175' 6.25".

Also for WU, Jordan Loos (So., Springfield, OR/Thurston HS) placed sixth in the javelin with a top distance of 172' 4.50", as he set a new personal record. His previous top throw was 168' 7" during the Willamette versus Corban dual meet on March 14 this season.

Willamette will compete at the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships on Monday, April 15 and Tuesday, April 16 on the Pacific Lutheran campus in Parkland, Wash. Action is scheduled to get underway at 10 a.m. each day.