Daniel Wins Heptathlon, Kennedy Finishes First in Decathlon, at Bearcat Multi

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Rebekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) from Willamette University won the heptathlon and Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) from Willamette took first place in the decathlon, as the Bearcat Invitational Multi concluded on Saturday, March 23 at the Charles Bowles Track.

Daniel and Kennedy registered scores placing them on Willamette's top 10 multi-event lists. Daniel's combined score of 4,178 placed her sixth on the Bearcats' list for the heptathlon. Her previous best score of 3,937 -- earned last season -- was ranked ninth.

Kennedy's overall score of 6,183 in the decathlon moved him into 10th place all-time at Willamette, as he improved his personal record by 451 points.

Joe Cerne from the University of Puget Sound placed second in the final decathlon standings. His score at the conclusion of the 10 events was 5,999 points. Cameron Braithwaite, also from Puget Sound, took third place with 5,805 points. Eric Gaines of Western Oregon University was fourth with 5,780 points.

Daniel led a 1-2-4 finish for the Bearcats in the heptathlon. Elisa Ahern (So., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) earned second place with 3,855 points, as she improved on her previous personal best of 3,663 points. Becca Cox from Corban University was third at 3,572 points, just nine points in front of Molly Bond (So., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) of Willamette at 3,563 points.

In winning the decathlon, Kennedy took first place or tied for the lead in five events.

On Friday, Kennedy won the 400-meter dash (51.69 seconds), while tying for first place in the 100-meter dash (11.63 seconds) and the high jump (6' 0"). On Saturday, he won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.89 seconds and took first place in the 1,500-meter run in 4:41.79.

Kennedy scored more than 650 points in six events. His top event score of 746 was achieved on Saturday when he won the 110-meter hurdles.

During the competition Kennedy set personal records in seven events: 100-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles and 1,500-meter run on the track, plus the long jump (21' 3.25"), pole vault (11' 2.25") and javelin throw (141' 11.50"). In addition, he tied his personal record in the high jump.

Most of Saturday's events in the decathlon featured battles for first place. Kennedy won the 110-meter hurdles by 0.19 over Gaines, who took second in 16.08 seconds. Taylor Wilkins of Corban earned first place in the discus with a throw of 112' 3", just 2.25 inches better than Myles McDonald of UPS, whose top throw went 112' 0.75".

Cerne won the pole vault at 12' 6" for a margin of victory of eight inches. Gaines took second place at 11' 10". Jordan Hatfield from Corban was first in the javelin by just over four feet, as he recorded a top distance of 171' 9.75". Cerne took second place at 167' 7.75".

Kennedy's winning time in the 1,500 of 4:41.79 was 0.13 faster than Gaines in second place at 4:41.92 and 0.25 better than Cerne in third at 4:42.04.

In the heptathlon, Daniel won the 200-meter dash in 27.53 seconds at the end of the first day. She won the long jump on Saturday with a leap of 16' 7.75". She finished in front of Maylea Tooze from Western Oregon, who was second at 16' 3.75".

Daniel also took second place in 100-meter hurdles (15.85 seconds), shot put (32' 7.75") and the 800-meter run (2:33.53). Her top event score was 734 in the 110-meter hurdles.

Other event winners in the three events contested on Saturday were Christy Mosier of Corban in the javelin throw at 121' 8.50" and Cox in the 800-meter run at 2:24.05.

The Bearcat track and field teams will host the Willamette Invitational on Saturday, April 6 at the Charles Bowles Track, starting at 9:30 a.m. (PDT). Each year, the Willamette Invitational is one of the largest meets on the West Coast.