Dinsmore's 12.26 in 100-Meter Dash Ranks Second All-Time for Bearcats

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Jaela Dinsmore (Sr., Hines, OR/Burns HS) of Willamette University established a new personal record of 12.26 seconds in the women's 100-meter dash and moved into second place on WU's all-time list on the final day of the Willamette Invitational, Saturday, March 31 at the Charles Bowles Track.

Dinsmore lowered her top time by 0.23 seconds from the 12.49 she registered at the Willamette Opener on March 3.

Five of the 27 runners in the women's 100 finished at or under the existing Charles Bowles Track record of 12.05 seconds. Dinsmore ran in the first heat, which included seven of the top 10 times.

Geronne Black of Portland State University achieved first place with a time of 11.67 seconds and now holds the track record. Karene King, running unattached, was second at 11.80, and Mandy White, also unattached, was third at 11.93. Jazmin Ratcliff of Portland State finished fourth at 12.02, while Anaiah Rhodes of PSU was fifth and tied the old record of 12:05.

Dinsmore took seventh place in the 100 and moved from sixth up to second on WU's all-time list. The record holder for the Bearcats is Sonda Strong with a time of 11.88 seconds in 1989. This year, Dinsmore ranks ninth in NCAA Division III and first in the Northwest Conference.

Overall, a total of five Charles Bowles Track records were broken on Saturday.

In the women's 200-meter dash, a pair of runners improved on the old record of 25.05 seconds, set by Lorin Barnes of Flatwood Valley in 1979. The new record went to Mandy White, who competed unattached an earned a time of 24.68 seconds. Also finishing with a faster time than the old mark was Sierra Brooks of Portland State, who took second place in 25.02 seconds.

Portland State set one of the new records while winning the women's 4 x 100-meter relay in 46.99 seconds. The previous record of 47.04 was set by Portland State in 2007. In Saturday's race, the University of Alaska-Anchorage placed second in 48.02 seconds. Mount Hood Community College was third in 49.71 and Willamette placed fourth at 49.92.

Running for the WU women's team in the 4 x 100-meter relay were Samantha Nhim (Sr., Tigard, OR/Southridge HS), Dinsmore, Rebekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) and Brandi Miller (Sr., Grants Pass, OR/North Valley HS).

Another track record was earned by Ryan Brandel from Team Reddaway in the men's javelin throw with a winning distance of 223' 9". Brandel broke the old record of 217' 6", set by Cyrus Hostetler of Lane Community College in 2008.

The final Charles Bowles Track record to fall was in the men's 4 x 400-meter relay, as Concordia won the race in 3:17.09. The Cavaliers broke the old record of 3:17.44, set by Linfield College in 1979.

Willamette's 4 x 400-meter relay team of Paul Winger (Sr., Bonney Lake, WA/Bonney Lake HS), Tom Fiechtner (So., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS), Bart Grabman (Sr., Anchorage, AK/Steller HS) and Jeff Schreiner-McGraw (Fr., Philomath, OR/Philomath HS) took seventh place in a strong field with a time of 3:26.26. It is the top time in the Northwest Conference so far this season, edging out 3:26.63 by Whitworth University on March 22.

The Willamette Invitational, one of the largest college track and field meets on the West Coast, featured a total of approximately 1,000 entries during the two days of competition. With efforts such as those of Dinsmore and the rest of the women's 4 x 100-meter relay team, Willamette put together a solid list of quality performances on Saturday.

Wyatt Briggs (Jr., Scio, OR/Scio HS) set a personal record for WU in the discus as he attained a top throw of 140' 11" and finished in sixth place. His best throw prior to Saturday was 138' 3" at the Willamette Opener this season. Nate Moses of Concordia University (Ore.) took first place in the discus at 182' 3".

Briggs also set a personal record with a throw of 42' 0.50" for seventh place in the shot put. His previous top throw was 41' 10" during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 15, 2012. Eric Whalen of Concordia won the shot put on Saturday with a throw of 55' 2.75".

Kit Kingstad (So., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) of Willamette earned fifth place in a field of 44 athletes in the men's 800-meter run. Kingstad registered a personal-record time of 1:55.13, as he reduced his previous best by well over two seconds. His top time prior to the Willamette Invitational was 1:57.54 earlier this month at the Lane Preview.

Kingstad's new time ranks 15th in NCAA Division III and is first in the Northwest Conference this season.

Other top performances for the Bearcat women's team on Saturday were:

In the women's 800-meter run, Willamette's Michaela Freeby (Fr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) finished seventh in 2:20.62. Laura Pifer, competing unattached, took first place in 2:12.81.

Elisa Ahern (Fr., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS), a heptathlete at WU, placed in the Top 10 in three open events. She was fifth in the triple jump at 34' 9.50", earned a tie for ninth in the long jump at 15' 10'.50" and was 10th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.04 seconds.

Bandi Miller (Sr., Grants Pass, OR/North Valley HS) tied for 11th place in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.24 seconds. Rebekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) took 11th place in the triple jump with an overall distance of 32' 7.50".

Kelsey Engstrom (Fr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) was eighth in the women's shot put. Her top throw went 36' 0". Jossalynn Wright (Fr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) of WU placed 14th at 33' 1.25".

Additional top results for the Willamette men's team included:

Carson Kennedy (Fr., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) finished in sixth place in the men's 110-meter hurdles. He completed the race in 15.97 seconds while winning the second heat. Garrett South from Warner Pacific College won the 110-meter hurdles in 15.10 seconds.

Kennedy, a decathlete for the Bearcats, also placed sixth in the triple jump and was 10th in the long jump. He attained a top distance of 41' 2.25" in the triple jump and leaped 20' 1.50 inches in the long jump.

In the men's javelin throw, Nolan Mayther (Jr., Longview, WA/Kelso HS) took ninth place with a throw of 172' 3".

Willamette's next track and field competition will be at the Pacific Northwest Relays in Oregon City, Ore., next weekend. The meet is scheduled for Friday, April 6 and Saturday, April 7.