Ostrander and Bressler Finish 1st and 2nd in Steeplechase at NWC Meet

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

TACOMA, WASH. -- Taylor Ostrander (So., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) took first place and Hannah Bressler (So., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) finished second in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on the first day of the 2014 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships at the University of Puget Sound on Friday, April 26.

Ostrander won the steeplechase with a time of 10:56.37. Bressler reached the finish line next in 11:08.08, nearly 18 seconds in front of Molly Bradbury of Puget Sound, who took third place in 11:25.97. Fourth place went to Emily Fagan of Lewis & Clark College at 11:31.18. Kellyn Roiko of Whitworth University claimed fifth in 11:34.53.

In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Jacob Shafi (So., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) of Willamette placed fifth in 9:55.46. Joshua Seekatz from Puget Sound was first at 9:36.55 and Kyle Dreibelbis of George Fox University was second at 9:40.39. Trent Dudley of Whitworth took third at 9:44.43 and Matthew Ferris, also from Whitworth, was fourth at 9:51.78.

The women's 10,000-meter run and the men's 10,000-meter run were the only other finals in the track events. All other races on the track were preliminary heats.

In the women's 10,000, Juliet Farnan (So., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) of WU placed fourth in 37:47.68. In the men's 10,000, Yonny Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley) led the Bearcats with a fifth place finish at 32:35.14, just 0.11 out of fourth. Nathan Conrad (So., Bothell, WA/Bothell HS) placed eight for WU in 33:19.19.

George Fox led the women's team standings after seven events with 85 points. Whitworth was second at 48.5 points and Willamette was third with 38 points. Linfield College was fourth at 33, with Pacific Lutheran University in fifth at 23.5, Puget Sound in sixth at 23, Lewis & Clark in seventh at 12 and Pacific University in eighth with 10 points.

The men's team standings were topped by Whitworth with 84 points through seven events. George Fox was second at 40, with Pacific in third at 39.5 and Pacific Lutheran in fourth at 38. Puget Sound was fifth with 32 points, Willamette was sixth at 17, Linfield was seventh at 12.5 and Lewis & Clark was eighth at 10 points.

Willamette's top performances in the field events:

Jordan Loos (Jr., Springfield, OR/Thurston HS) placed fourth in the men's hammer with a personal record of 179' 5" on his last attempt. He broke his previous best by nearly seven feet. He threw 172' 6" at the WU vs. Concordia Dual on April 5. Keegan Shea of Whitworth won the hammer at 190' 9".

In the women's hammer throw, Kelsey Engstrom (Jr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) took seventh place with a toss of 139' 5". Dakota Kliamovich from Whitworth finished first and set an NWC meet record at 173' 7".

Bekah Daniel (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) achieved third place in the women's long jump at 17' 5.25". She finished less than in inch out of second place, which went to Maria Green of George Fox at 17' 6". Charity Arn of GFU won the long jump with a distance of 18' 3".

Tyler Higley (Jr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) placed sixth in the men's shot put with a top throw of 46' 11.50". Kyle Peart of PLU won the shot put at 51' 3.75".

Jossalyn Wright (Jr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) set a personal record and took eighth place in the women's shot put at 37' 4". Her previous top distance was 37' 2.25" at the John Knight Twilight two weeks ago. Anna LaBeaume of Linfield finished in first at 41' 5".

Advancing to finals on the track for the WU women's team:

Daniel reached the final in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.35 seconds in the prelims. She was second in the second heat and registered the fourth fasted time overall.

Kylea Johnson (So., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) claimed a spot in the final of the 100-meter dash. Her time in prelims was 12.86 seconds. Johnson also advanced in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.25 seconds. Johnson will be joined in the final of the 200 by Forbush and Audrey Taylor (So., Portland, OR/La Salle HS). Forbush was timed at 26.36 and Taylor finished in 26.44.

Maura Forbush (Fr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) qualified in the 400-meter dash, as she earned a time of 59.53 seconds. She set personal record, breaking her previous best of 59.76 at the WU vs. Concordia Dual.

Michaela Freeby (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) moved into the final of the 800-meter run. She won her heat and had the second fastest time of the prelims at 2:18.09.

Reaching finals on the track for the Bearcat men's team:

In the 100-meter dash, Chris Luetjen (Sr., Lake Oswego, OR/Lake Oswego HS) and Dylan Jones (So., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS) both advanced from the prelims. Luetjen won the first heat in 11.11 seconds. Jones placed third in the the second heat at 11.15 seconds.

Tom Fiechtner (Sr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS) won the third heat and attained the top time of the prelims in the 200-meter dash in 22.24 seconds.

Fiechtner also took a spot in the final of the 400-meter dash by placing second in his heat in 50.45 seconds. Also reaching the final was Matt Paparella (So., Glendale, AZ/Ironwood HS), who registered a personal record of 50.88 seconds. His previous best was 51.59 at the WU vs. Concordia Dual.

Other performances of note for Willamette:

Wright was ninth in the women's hammer with a personal best of 138' 1". She improved by over 11 feet from 126' 10" at the 2013 West Coast Invitational.

Molly Bond (So., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) set a personal mark in the women's long jump and placed ninth at 16' 4.25". She previously covered 16' 0.25" on March 14 at the Lane Preview.

Higley set a personal record while placing 10th in the men's hammer at 160' 10". His previous top mark was 159' 3" at this year's Willamette Invitational.

Maya Kaup (Fr., Eureka, CA/Eureka HS) regsitered a career-best 16.37 seconds in the women's 100-meter hurdles, but missed the final by 0.12. Her top time prior to Friday was 16.46 at the John Knight Twilight on April 11.