Willamette Track and Field Earns Strong Showing at Lane Preview

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

EUGENE, ORE. -- Willamette University's track and field teams produced a strong showing at the Lane Preview, hosted by Lane Community College on Saturday, March 12. The Bearcats won five women's events and also took first place in five men's events.

Kimber Mattox (Jr., Bend, OR/Bend HS/Cornell Univ.) won two events for the WU women's team and David Oppat (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Southridge HS) won two events for the Bearcat men's team.

Mattox took first place in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:18.65 to lead a 1-2-3 finish by the Bearcats in a field of nine runners. Stevie Gildehaus (So., Spokane Valley, WA/University HS) was second in 2:22.76 and Theresa Edwards (So., Lake Tapps, WA/Bonney Lake HS) was third in 2:23.67.

Mattox also won the 1,500-meter run by completing the race in 4:43.90 for a margin of victory of four seconds over Rachel Jensen of Lane CC (4:47.90).

Oppat placed first in the shot put and the hammer throw, while taking second place in the discus. His winning toss in the shot put was 49'3.75" to lead a 1-2-4-5 finish for the Bearcats. Josh Clothier (Sr., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) earned second place at 48'11". Evin Colignon (Sr., Poulsbo, WA/Charles Wright Academy) was fourth and Jeff Short (Sr., Granite Bay, CA/Granite Bay HS) was fifth.

In the hammer, Oppat helped WU take the top four places by winning with a throw of 150'1". Clothier's top throw resulted in a close second place finish at 149'4". Short placed third and Wyatt Briggs (So., Scio, OR/Scio HS) was fourth.

Other event winners for the Willamette women's squad were Jaela Dinsmore (Jr., Hines, OR/Burns HS) in the 100-meter dash, Samantha Nhim (Jr., Tigard, OR/Southridge HS) in the 400-meter dash and Brandi Miller (Jr., Grants Pass, OR/North Valley HS) in the 400-meter hurdles.

Dinsmore won the 100-meter dash in 12.93 seconds. Nhim prevailed in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:03.40. Miller's winning time in the 400-meter hurdles was 1:09.27.

Additional champions from Willamette in the men's events were Kit Kingstad (Fr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) in the 800-meter run, Nicholas Rebol (Sr., Cottonwood, CA/Red Bluff Union HS) in the 1,500-meter run and Manta Dircks (Fr., Hilo, HI/Kamehameha HS) in the triple jump.

Kingstad registered a winning time of 1:59.19 in the 800 to edge out unattached runner Chris Stubbs, who finished second in 1:59.22 and Benton Urquhart of Northwest Christina, who took third in 1:59.36.

Rebol led a 1-2 finish for WU in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:03.73. Ryan McLaughlin (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Milwaukie HS) was second at 4:04.93. Dircks won the triple jump with an overall distance of 43'3".

Other highlights for the Willamette women's team were:

Sara McSweeney (Jr., Petaluma, CA/Casa Grande HS) was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:51.72.

Taylor Ottomano (Fr., Poulsbo, WAS/North Kitsap HS) placed second in the high jump at 4'11.75" and was third in the triple jump at 32'6.5".

Katie Mariman (Fr., Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) took second place in the pole vault with a height of 10'6".

Ginny Hodges (So., San Francisco, CA/St. Ignatius College Prep) finished second in the shot put with a toss of 30'11.75".

Other highlights for the Willamette men's team were:

Briggs finished second in the javelin throw with a distance of 170'7".

Neal Howard (Jr., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS) placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.13 seconds.

Tom Fiechtner (Fr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS) was second in the 400-meter dash in 52.78 seconds.

Trevor May (Sr., Florence, OR/Siuslaw HS) took second in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.73 seconds.

Spencer Clemmer (Jr., Sacramento, CA/Elk Grove HS) was third in the pole vault with a career-best height of 13'9.25".

Up Next for the Bearcats:

Willamette's next competition will be the Charles Bowles Spring Break Classic (Dual with Corban University) on Friday, March 18 at the Charles Bowles Track. Several Willamette athletes will participate in the Oregon Preview on Saturday, March 19 in Eugene, Ore.