Loos Wins NWC Javelin Championship with School Record Throw of 214' 7"

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

TACOMA, WASH. -- At the 2014 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships on Saturday, April 26, Jordan Loos (Jr., Springfield, OR/Thurston HS) of Willamette University won the men's javelin throw with a school record toss of 214' 7". Loos was one of five Bearcats who achieved NWC individual titles on Saturday.

Other champions were Bekah Daniel (Jr., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) in the women's triple jump, Tom Fiechtner (Sr., Poway, CA/Cathedral HS) in the men's 200-meter dash, Michaela Freeby (Jr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) in the women's 1,500-meter run, Hans Lehndorff (So., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) in the men's discus, and Taylor Ostrander (So., Soldotna, AK/Kenai Central HS) in the women's 5,000-meter run.

In addition, the Willamette men's 4 x 100-meter relay team won the NWC title for the second year in a row.

Willamette finished third in the women's team standings and tied for third in the men's team standings. George Fox University won the women's team title, while Whitworth University achieved the men's team championship.

Loos set the javelin record on his third throw of the prelims. He broke the previous WU record of 211' 11", set by Jim Williams 27 years ago in 1987.

Daniel prevailed in the women's triple jump for the second year in a row with a top distance of 37' 8", as she established a new personal record.She won the NWC title by just over two inches over Rachael Adkins of George Fox, who went 37' 5.75". Daniel surpassed her old career-best mark of 37' 6.50", set at the Oregon Twilight on May 3, 2013.

In 2013, Daniel won the triple jump at the NWC meet with a result of 37' 4".

Fiechtner repeated as the NWC champion in the men's 200-meter dash. His winning time was 22.34 seconds, giving him a solid margin of victory of 0.28. Nicholas Gosselin from Whitworth was second at 22.62. Fiechtner won the 2013 NWC title with a time of 22.10 seconds.

Freeby led a 1-2-4 finish for Willamette in the women's 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:42.49. Ostrander took second place in 4:44.32. Ami Boucher (Fr., Concord, CA/Northgate HS) was fourth in 4:49.62.

Lehndorff took first place in the men's discus throw with a personal record distance of 144' 9". He won by nearly a foot, with Arick Morrell from George Fox placing second at 143' 10".

Ostrander won the women's 5,000-meter run in 17:42.58. She was first by more than 16 seconds. Hannah Greider from Linfield College earned second place at 17:58.98.

It was a very successful weekend for Ostrander, who finished with two individual championships and a runner-up finish. She won the 3,000-meter steeplechase on Friday in 10:56.37, before adding her win in the 5,000 and taking second place in the 1,500 on Saturday.

The Bearcats registered their second consecutive NWC triumph in the men's 4 x 100-meter relay with a time of 42.20 seconds. Pacific University was second in 42.53. Competing for WU were 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).

It was the same foursome that combined to win last year's NWC title for Willamette in 42.06 seconds. Last year, Fiechtner started the race and Paparella ran the third leg.

Other Top Results for the Bearcat Women's Team:

Meka Townsend (So., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) earned second place in the javelin throw. She registered a distance of 138' 8", while establishing a personal record. She also moved from ninth to eighth on WU's all-time list.

Townsend's previous best throw covered 134' 1" for fourth at last year's NWC Championships. This year, she trailed only Kerry Wright of Whitworth, who won at 156' 2".

Taylor Ottomano (Jr., Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) tied with Maria Green from GFU for third in the high jump. Both athletes cleared 5' 1.25". Maya Bowton (So., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) of Willamette and Haley Zepernick from PLU also jumped successfully at 5' 1.25". Bowton placed fifth and Zepernick was sixth due to the number of jumps.

The Bearcats placed four athletes in the top eight in the discus throw. Kaeleigh Thorp (Jr., Sam Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) was fourth at 120' 6". Jossalyn Wright (Jr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) took fifth at 119' 3". Angela Turpen (Fr., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) placed sixth with a personal record toss of 115' 3". Townsend was eighth at 114' 2".

Maura Forbush (Fr., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) achieved a fourth place finish in the 400-meter dash. She achieved a time of 1:00.17.

Kylea Johnson (So., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) placed fifth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.66 seconds in the final heat. She was just .06 out of second place.

Johnson led a trio of Willamette runners in the 200-meter dash, as she took sixth place in 26.67 seconds. Forbush was seventh in 26.70 and Audrey Taylor (So., Portland, OR/La Salle HS) was eighth in 26.91.

Daniel took eighth place in the 100-meter hurdles.

Other Top Results for the Willamette Men's Team:

Willamette earned second and third in the 5,000-meter run. Parker Bennett (Sr., Sisters, OR/Sisters HS) placed second at 15:05.11. Yonny Castillo (So., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley), who took fifth place in the 10,000-meter run on Friday, was third in the 5,000 at 15:21.34.

Fiechtner was third in the 400-meter dash. He achieved a time of 50.02 seconds for his top time this season.

The WU 4 x 400-meter relay team was third with a time of 3:22.88, just .14 out of second place. It was the fastest time recorded by the Bearcats this season. Running on the relay were Jullian Haley (So., Shoreline, WA/University Preparatory Academy), Parris Joyce (So., Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel School), Paparella and Fiechtner.

Jones and Luetjen placed in the top four in the 100-meter dash. Jones took third at 10.98 seconds and Luetjen was fourth at 10.99. Marqui Makupson of Pacific Lutheran won in 10.94 seconds in a very close race. The top five runners were separated by just .05 and the top seven were separated by .09.

Loos placed fourth in the hammer throw. His top distance during the competition was 179' 5".

In the men's 1,500-meter run, Daniel Swanson (Jr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) was fourth and Kit Kingstad (Sr., Beaverton, OR/Beaverton HS) took eighth. Swanson was timed at 4:02.76, while Kingstad finished in 4:04.41.

Team Standings

George Fox won the women's team title with 195.5 points. Whitworth was second at 138, with Willamette in third at 135.5. Linfield took fourth with 107 points, while Puget Sound was fifth at 95, Pacific Lutheran held sixth at 67, Lewis & Clark was seventh at 54 and Pacific finished eighth with 24 points.

In the men's standings, Whitworth claimed the championship with 225 points. Pacific took second at 106, while Willamette and Pacific Lutheran tied for third at 102. George Fox placed fifth with 92 points, Puget Sound was sixth at 76.5, Linfield was seventh at 69.50 and Lewis & Clark took eighth at 42.