Mattox and Peterson Earn Provisional Marks at Willamette Opener

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Kimber Mattox (So., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) and Katie Peterson (So., Independence, OR/Central HS) of Willamette University each recorded a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Division III National Championships as the Bearcats opened the 2010 outdoor track and field season by hosting the Willamette Opener at the Charles Bowles Track on Saturday, March 6.

Mattox achieved a time of 11:04.42 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. She won the race and finished 8.58 seconds under the provisional standard of 11:13.0. The automatic qualifying standard is 10:39.0. Last year, Mattox earned All-America honors in the steeplechase with a sixth place finish at the NCAA Championships.

Peterson registered a throw of 134'1" (40.87 meters) in the women's javelin. She surpassed the provisional standard of 39.0 meters. The automatic standard is 44.2 meters. She competed at the NCAA Championships in the javelin last spring.

Peterson won the javelin on Saturday by exactly one foot over Carolanne Powers of Western Oregon University. Powers was credited with a throw of 133'1".

Also competing at the Willamette Opener were Corban College, George Fox University, Western Oregon and Whitworth University.

Three other athletes earned NCAA Division III provisional qualifying marks. They were V. Joy Shufeldt of Whitworth with a time of 36:57.66 in the women's 10,000-meter run, Carter Comito of Whitworth on a toss of 154'2" in the men's discus, and Alexander Hymel, also from Whitworth, with a throw of 190'1" in the men's javelin.

Willamette won two additional women's events and a total of five men's events.

Jennifer Luecht (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) won the women's 200-yard dash with a time of 25.93 seconds. She edged out two other runners in a very close finish, as Lacey Meusec of Western Oregon took second just 0.03 later at 25.96 seconds and McKenzie Redberg of WOU placed third in 26.01 seconds. Kaitlin St. John (Sr., Bend, OR/Mountain View HS) of Willamette took fourth place at 26.19 seconds.

St. John was WU's top finisher in the 100-meter dash, as she placed third in 12.68 seconds. Meusec won the race after crossing the finish line in 12:49 seconds. Luecht was fourth with a time of 12.69 seconds.

Also winning for the Bearcat women was Elizabeth Andrews (Sr., Bellevue, WA/Bellevue HS) in the pole vault. She cleared 10'2" for the victory.

Christina Edholm (Sr., Pleasanton, CA/Foothill HS) placed in the top five of three women's throwing events for Willamette. She was third in both the shot put (37'1.75") and the discus (111'5"). She placed fifth in the hammer throw at 124'7", just two inches behind Peterson, who took fourth at 124'9".

Neal Howard (So., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) earned a win for the Willamette men's team in the 200-meter dash. Howard was timed at 22.61 seconds, while Alex Bourne of Western Oregon placed second at 22.85 seconds. In the 100-meter dash, Bobby Alexander of WOU placed first in 11.08 seconds, barely beating Howard, who clocked in at 11.12 seconds for second place.

WU also won the men's 400-meter dash, as Paul Winger (So., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS) bested the field of 20 runners with a time of 50.14 seconds.

The Bearcats' success in the sprints included a fourth place tie by Nate Dick (Sr., Stanfield, OR/Southern Oregon Univ.) in the 100-meter dash at 11.38 seconds, plus two top-six finishes by Tristan Bodding-Long (Sr., Woodinville, WA/Woodinville HS).

Bodding-Long was fifth in the 400-meter dash in 51.68 seconds. He placed sixth in the 200-meter dash at 23.06 seconds.

Stefan Redfield (Jr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) led a 1-2-3 finish by the Bearcats in the men's 1,500-meter run. Redfield was clocked at 3:56.33. Leo Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was second just 0.32 behind Redfield at 3:56.65. Ryan McLaughlin (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Milwaukie HS) was third in 4:00.58.

In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, WU claimed first and second place. Ben Donovan (So., Minneapolis, MN/South HS) won the event, as he crossed the finish line in 9:27.82. Nick Rebol (Jr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) was second at 9:30.67.

Also winning for the WU men's team was Trevor May (Jr., Florence, OR/Siuslaw HS) in the triple jump. May's winning leap covered 42'3.5". Shannon Winant of Whitworth took second place at 41'2.5".

Willamette took second, third and fourth place in the men's shot put. Josh Clothier (Jr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) claimed second at 48'11". David Oppat (Jr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) was third at 45'3.5" and Trent Michels (Fr., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) placed fourth at 44'6.25".

Other top-three finishers for Willamette in the men's field events were Evin Colignon (Jr., Poulsbo, WA/Charles Wright Academy) in the long jump and Steve Collins (Sr., Zillah, WA/Zillah HS) in the hammer throw. Colignon went 20'3.5" for third place in the long jump, while Collins took third by throwing the hammer 153'4".

Willamette's next track and field action is set for Saturday, March 13 against Southern Oregon University in Klamath Falls, Ore. The dual meet is set to begin at 1 p.m. (PST).