Daniel Sets School Record of 38' 6.75" in Triple Jump at West Coast Invitational

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Bekah Daniel (Sr., Jr. elig., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) of Willamette University set a school record with a distance of 38' 6.75" while taking second place during the West Coast Invitational at the Charles Bowles Track on Thursday, May 15. Daniel moved into 16th place on the NCAA Division III performance list for the season.

Prior to Thursday, Willamette's record in the women's triple jump was 38' 6" by Laura Wright in 1989. Daniel's previous top distance was 37' 8", which she achieved while winning her second consecutive Northwest Conference title on March 26.

In addition, the Charles Bowles Track record fell in the women's triple jump. Katherine Maus from the University of Portland set the record while taking first place at 39' 3.75". Daniel also broke the previous track record of 38' 4", set by Clarice Hayward-Lee from the University of Oregon in 2003.

Completing a very successful event, the triple jump featured a personal best by Taylor Ottomano (Jr., Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS), who went 34' 11" and took third place. Her career-best mark prior to the meet was 34' 8.25" at the recent NWC Championships on April 25.

Ottomano also set a personal record and advanced from a tie for ninth into fifth place on the Bearcats' all-time list in the high jump. She cleared 5' 4.50" to take second place on Thursday. Her previous best was 5' 3.25", set at the 2013 NWC Championships. The winner of the high jump was unattached athlete Alison Woods at 5' 6.50".

A second track record was set in the women's 5,000-meter run, as Alexi Pappas of the Oregon Track Club registered a winning time of 15:53.48. Pappas took just over 11 seconds off the previous record of 16:04.61, set by unattached runner Julia Lucas in 2011.

Willamette's Tom Fiechtner (Sr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS) took first place in the men's 200-meter dash. He earned a time of 22.24 seconds. Mark Roetcisoender from Portland was second at 22.55 seconds.

In the women's hammer throw, Kaeleigh Thorp (Jr., Sam Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) of WU placed first with a personal record toss of 145' 10.25" on her final throw. She moved from fourth into third on Willamette's all-time list. Kelsey Engstrom (Jr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) took second place for the Bearcats at 134' 3".

Thorp's previous top mark was set earlier this season at 144' 10" during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on March 20.

Engstrom (Jr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) won the women's shot put at 36' 5.50". Jossalyn Wright (Jr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) was second at 35' 8.50".

Tyler Higley (Jr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) achieved a personal record toss of 172' 9.50" to win the men's hammer throw and move into 10th on WU's all-time list. Higley's previous best result was 160' 11" at the 2014 NWC Championships on April 25. Higley also earned a distance of 47' 8" in the shot put.

Other Top Results for Willamette:

The Willamette men's 4 x 100-meter relay team ran unopposed and completed the event in 42.15 seconds, missing their season-best by .04. The relay included Matt Paparella (So., Glendale, AZ/Ironwood HS), Chris Luetjen (Sr., Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego HS), Fiechtner and Dylan Jones (So., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS).

In addition, Luetjen placed second in the men's 100-meter dash at 11.15 seconds, while Paparella took fifth at 11.47 seconds.

Kit Kingstad (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) completed the men's 1,500-meter run in 3:53.26 to place seventh out of 24 runners. Daniel Swanson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) registered a time of 3:58.54.

Hannah Bressler (So., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) finished the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:27.28. Ami Boucher (Fr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) also competed in the steeplechase, and set a personal record at 11:31. 69.

Yonny Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley) attained a career-best time of 15:10.48 in the men's 5,000-meter run. His previous best was 15:21.34 at this year's NWC Championships.

Up Next for the Bearcats:

Selections for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be announced on Sunday, May 18. The top 20 athletes in each men's event and the top 22 athletes in each women's event will qualify to compete.