Bearcats Face Strong Competition at Boise State Challenge

By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

NAMPA, Idaho -- Willamette University's Hugh Donlon (Fy., Honolulu, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute) placed eighth out of 22 competitors in the men's long jump to lead the Bearcats at the first day of the Boise State Challenge on Friday, February 14. All of the action took place at the Jacksons Indoor Track at the Idaho Sports Center.

Donlon's best jump covered 20' 8", just ahead of teammate Brian Peck (Sr., Reno, NV/Reno HS), whose 20' 3" jump was good for 11th place.

The men's long jump was won by Grant Shurtliff from Eastern Washington University, with a jump of 22' 7.25".  Britt Ipsen from the University of Idaho was second at 22' 6.5", with EWU's Bobby Say finishing third at 22' 5.75".

In the men's distance medley, Willamette's team of Ronan Davies (Fy., Juneau, AK/Juneau-Douglas HS), Jeremy Falk (So., Davis, CA/Davis HS), Matt Ihling (So., Boise, ID/Capital Senior HS), and Carson Herrick (So., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) finished in sixth place with a time of 11:15.33.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats' women's distance medley team of Isabel Duxbury (Jr., Seattle, WA/University Prep), Audrey Piacsek (So., Thorp, WA/Ellensburg HS), Kyla Shade (Sr., Snohomish, WA/Snohomish HS), and Sam Smith (Fy., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) placed eighth. Willamette was the only NCAA Division III school to compete in the women's distance medley.

Andrew Allen (Fy., Oxnard, CA/Calabasas HS) and Albert Ramon (So., Hesperia, CA/Northview HS) represented the Bearcats in the men's 60-meter dash preliminaries. Allen finished the race in 7.36 seconds, while Ramon crossed the finish line just behind at 7.42 seconds. Allen recorded the second-fastest time recorded by a Division III athlete in the event, behind only Nolan Mickenham of Linfield College. Mickenham placed second in the race with a time of 6.98.

Other athletes representing the Bearcats on Friday included Sonja Cox-Raman (Jr., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) in the women's 200-meter dash and women's 60-meter hurdles, Jenette Cabrera (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) in the women's 200-meter dash and women's 60-meter dash, Joleigh Miller (Fy, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) in the women's 60-meter hurdles, Emma Blackburn (So., Los Altos, CA/St. Francis HS) in the women's 60-meter dash, Desiree Winslow (Fy., Rufus, OR/Sherman HS), also in the women's 60-meter dash, and Hope Duenas (Sr., Covina, CA/Covina HS) in the women's weight throw.

The Boise State Challenge will conclude on Saturday, February 15.