Willamette Invitational Begins on Friday at Charles Bowles Track

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University will host one of the largest college track and field meets on the West Coast on Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 as the Willamette Invitational is held at the Charles Bowles Track. The Willamette Invitational, the Stanford Invitational and the Oregon Relays are featured college track and field competitions each season.

Willamette will be adding to its long-standing tradition of a large track and field meet with many quality competitors. This year, there are 34 teams with one or more athletes representing colleges from all divisions as well as area running clubs. Approximately 1,000 entries have been received.

The Charles Bowles Track is located at McCulloch Stadium in Bush's Pasture Park (near the intersection of Mission St. and Winter St.).

Field events open with the men's and women's hammer throw and the women's and men's pole vault on Friday at 3 p.m. (PDT). The hammer throw will be held at 1850 Oxford SE behind the Math Learning Center. The pole vault and all other events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track.

The first running event will be the combined men's and women's 10,000-meter run at 4:30 p.m. (PDT). The "D" section of the women's 1,500-meter run will be held next. The afternoon session on the track will conclude with the "C" and "B" heats in the men's and women's 1,500-meter events, plus the "B" heats in the men's and women's 5,000-meter events.

The 5th Annual Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance, featuring the fastest heats in the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run, will be featured on Friday night. The Celebration of Distance will begin with the women's steeplechase at 7:00 p.m. and will conclude with the men's 5,000 at 8:15 p.m.

Saturday's schedule begins with several field events at 10 a.m. They are the men's javelin, men's shot put, women's high jump, men's long jump and women's long jump. After the first field events are completed, they will be followed by the women's javelin, women's shot put, men's high jump, men's triple jump and women's triple jump, respectively.

Competition in the men's discus will begin at 1 p.m. and will be followed by the women's discus.

The shorter running events events, including the relay races, will be held on Saturday, starting with the women's 4 x 100-meter relay at 12 p.m. and ending with the men's 4 x 400-meter relay at 4:15 p.m. In addition to the relays, other races on Saturday will be the men's and women's 110/100-meter hurdles, 400-meter dash, 100-meter dash, 800-meter run, 400-meter hurdles and 200-meter dash.

As in previous years, the Willamette Invitational features many quality athletes throughout the meet. Willamette will be represented by middle distance and long distance runners, sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers, vaulters and throwers. The level of competition will be some of the best the Bearcats will face this spring.

Among the teams and clubs joining Willamette at the meet are the University of Portland, Portland State University, Seattle University and Oregon State University from NCAA Division I, the University of Alaska-Anchorage, St. Martin's University and Western Oregon University from NCAA Division II, and Northwest Conference rivals Lewis & Clark College, Linfield College and Whitworth University.

The meet also will involve teams from the NAIA and the junior college level. In addition, running and track clubs, primarily from the Pacific Northwest, will be represented by experienced competitors.

In the running events, athletes will compete against the clock, with multiple heats scheduled for events with large numbers of entries. The throwing events, long jump and triple jump will have three attempts per athlete, with the top nine competitors advancing to the finals.

Each year, the Willamette Invitational features several events with a significant number of heats. This year is no exception.

In the men's 800-meter run, there are 54 entries who will compete in six heats. The men's 200-meter dash has 38 competitors in five heats.

The men's 100-meter dash (30 entries), women's 100-meter dash (32 entries), women's 200-meter dash (29 entries), men's 400-meter dash (29 entries), and women's 800-meter dash (38 entries) will each have four heats.

Several of the distance events also will include large groups of runners. The women's 1,500 will have 57 competitors in four heats and the women's 5,000 will feature 56 runners in two heats. The men's 5,000 has 51 runners placed into two heats, while the men's 1,500 will include 45 runners in three heats.

Parking near Bush's Pasture Park will be in high demand. Fans should check the parking areas on both sides of the park, as well as nearby areas in Salem.

The Willamette University parking lot near the Sparks Center requires a parking permit until 4 p.m. on Friday, but is open to the public the remainder of Friday and on Saturday. The Sparks Center lot is located at the intersection of Bellevue and 12th Street, two to three blocks from Bush's Pasture Park.

Please note that parking at Salem Hospital is not available and is only for hospital personnel and related business.

Willamette Invitational

Schedule for Friday, March 30

Field Events (Three attempts followed by Top 9 in Finals)
3:00 p.m. - Mens Hammer (Women to follow) at 1850 Oxford SE (behind the Math Learning Center)
3:00 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault (Men to follow) on the infield at McCulloch Stadium

Running Events
4:30 p.m. - Men's/Women's 10000m - A section
5:20 p.m. - Women's 1500m - D section
5:30 p.m. - Women's 1500m - C section
5:40 p.m. - Womens 1500m - B section
5:50 p.m. - Men's 1500m - C section
6:00 p.m. - Mens 1500m - B section
6:10 p.m. - Women's 5000m - B section
6:35 p.m. - Men's 5000m - B section

Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance (Fastest Heats)
7:00 p.m. - Womens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
7:20 p.m. - Mens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
7:35 p.m. - Womens 1500m - A section
7:43 p.m. - Mens 1500m - A section
7:50 p.m. - Womens 5000m - A section
8:15 p.m. - Mens 5000m - A section

Schedule for Saturday, March 31

Field Events (Three attempts followed by Top 9 in Finals)
10:00 a.m. - Mens Javelin (Women to follow)
10:00 a.m. - Mens Shot Put (Women to follow)
10:00 a.m. - Womens High Jump (Men to follow)
10:00 a.m. - Mens Long Jump (Triple Jump to follow)
10:00 p.m. - Womens Long Jump (Triple Jump to follow)
1:00 p.m. - Mens Discus (Women to follow)

Running Events
12:00 p.m. - Womens 4 x 100m Relay (2 heats)
12:10 p.m. - Mens 4 x 100m Relay (2 heats)
12:30 p.m. - Women's 100m Hurdles (3 heats)
12:45 p.m. - Men's 110m Hurdles (2 heats)
1:00 p.m. - Women's 400m (3 heats)
1:10 p.m. - Men's 400m (4 heats)
1:30 p.m. - Women's 100m (4 heats)
1:45 p.m. - Men's 100m (4 heats)
2:05 p.m. - Women's 800m (4 heats)
2:25 p.m. - Men's 800m (6 heats)
3:00 p.m. - Women's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
3:10 p.m. - Men's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
3:25 p.m. - Women's 200m (4 heats)
3:40 p.m. - Men's 200m (5 heats)
4:00 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400m Relay (2 heats)
4:15 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400m Relay (2 heats)