Stepp Wins High Jump, 4 x 100-meter Relay is Second, at Pacific Open

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

FOREST GROVE, Ore. -- Whitley Stepp (So., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) won the high jump and the Bearcats took second place in the 4 x 100-meter relay team as the top performances of for Willamette University women's track and field team at the Pacific Open on Saturday, March 30. Overall, the Bearcats registered nine top five finishes in women's events.

Stepp took first place in the high jump by clearing 5' 3.75". She tied for the win with Brianna Tira from Whitworth University, who also cleared 5' 3.75. Kalulusno Ngaida of Western Oregon University was third at 5' 1.75".

Willamette's 4 x 100-meter relay team finished second in 50.12 seconds, as Willamette reached the finish line in front of Concordia Moorhead (Minn.), which took second in 50.25 seconds. Running for the Bearcats on the relay were Kenzie Lee (So., Kaneohe, HI/Mid-Pacific Institute), Mashani Coleman Toliver (So., Bellevue, WA/Sammamish HS), Lavender Bel (Fy., Puyallup, WA/Graham-Kapowsin HS), and Salah Williams (Fy., Wahiawa, HI/Leilehua HS). Lane Community College won the 4 x 100-meter relay in 48.88 seconds.

Lecia Sincere (Jr., Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS) placed third in the 100-meter hurdles for the Bearcats, while Sage Miller (So., Valley Springs, CA/Calaveras HS) was fifth. Sincere completed the hurdles in a career-best time of 16.10 seconds. Miller registered a time of 17.03 seconds.

Sincere added a fourth place finish in the triple jump with second personal record on the day. The combined distance on her top mark was 34' 8.25". Her previous best was 32' 2.25" at the John Knight Twilight on April 7, 2023. Williams was fifth in the triple jump on Saturday with a mark of 33' 7.25".

In the hammer throw, Tenley Grant (Jr, Longview, WA/Kelso HS) of WU placed fourth. Grant's top distance was 140' 6".

The Bearcats earned fifth place in four events. In addition to Miller in the 100 hurdles and Williams in the triple jump, other Willamette athletes who earned fifth place results were Kaiona Apio (Sr., Edmonds, WA/Edmonds-Woodway HS) in the javelin and Lee in the 400-meter dash.

Apio attained the fifth place finish with a toss of 122' 9" in the javelin. In the 400-meter dash, Lee completed the race in 1:01.77.

WU took sixth, seventh, and eighth in the 1,500-meter run. Anna Bikle (So., Woodside, CA/Half Moon Bay HS) was sixth in 5:01.54, Grace Kosmicki (So., Pocatello, ID/Highland HS) placed seventh in 5:02.56, and Aven Roberts (So., Missoula, MT/Hellgate HS) was eighth in 5:04.37.

Coleman Toliver was seventh in the 400-meter dash in 1:02.52. In the 100-meter dash, Bel was eighth in 12.79 seconds.

The Bearcats finished fourth out of 16 teams in the overall women's standings with 58 points. Whitworth University took first place with 104.5 points.

Willamette is set to compete at the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational on Saturday, April 6 at Linfield University. Action at the meet will begin at 10 a.m. PDT.