Bearcats Set to Host the 2014 Willamette Invitational in Track and Field

By Brandon Chinn and Robert McKinney

SALEM, ORE. -- The Charles Bowles Track will play home to one of the largest college track and field meets on the West Coast on Saturday, March 29, as the Bearcats host the 2014 Willamette Invitational.

Joining the Stanford Invitational and the Oregon Relays as one of the featured competitions every year, the Willamette Invitational promises to once again present a steady stream of quality athletic performances. Last year, five Charles Bowles Track records were set during the meet.

In total, there will be 29 teams competing in the event on Saturday. There are 14 four-year colleges from the NCAA and the NAIA entered in the event, along two-year competitors Clark College and the Community College of Spokane. The remaining 13 teams are club teams, primarily from the Pacific Northwest.

Competing from NCAA Division III will be Northwest Conference rivals Willamette, Whitworth University and Lewis & Clark College. NCAA Division II teams participating this weekend are the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Central Washington University, Western Oregon University and Western Washington University.

NCAA Division I will be represented by athletes from the Oregon State University women's team, in addition to members of the men's and women's teams from the University of Portland and Portland State University.

NAIA competitors entered in the meet are from Concordia University (Ore.), Corban University, Eastern Oregon University and Northwest Christian University (Ore.).

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

For the second straight year, all of the action will take place on the same day.

Field events are slated to begin at 9:30 a.m. with the men's discus, women's javelin, women's shot put, men's long jump and women's long jump. The running events will start at 11:15 a.m. with the 4 x 100-meter relay races. The competition will run into the early evening until the final event gets underway at 6:15 p.m.

The 7th 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 at the end of the Willamette Invitational. The Celebration of Distance will begin with the women's steeplechase at 5 p.m. and will conclude with the men's 5,000 at 6:15 p.m.

Nearly all of the events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track. The exception will be the hammer throw, which will be held at 1850 Oxford SE behind the Math Learning Center. There will not be a men's or women's 10,000-meter run.

As in previous years, the Willamette Invitational features many quality runners, throwers and jumpers. 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, triple jump, high jump and pole vault 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 entries. This weekend, 49 athletes will compete in the men's 5,000-meter run. There are 37 runners entered in the men's 1,500-meter run and 35 runners are set to participate in the men's 800-meter run.

There will be four heats in the men's 100-meter dash, the men's and women's 200-meter dash, and the men's 800-meter run.

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 is open to the public 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.

2014 Willamette Invitational

Schedule for Saturday, March 29*

Field Events
9:30 a.m. - Men's Discus
9:30 a.m. - Women's Javelin
9:30 a.m. - Women's Shot Put
9:30 a.m. - Men's Long Jump, Women's Long Jump
12:00 p.m. - Women's Discus
12:00 p.m. - Men's Javelin
12:00 p.m. - Men's Shot Put
12:00 p.m. - Women's Triple Jump, Men's Triple Jump
2:00 p.m. - Women's High Jump
2:00 p.m. - Women's Pole Vault
2:30 p.m. - Men's Hammer at 1850 Oxford SE (behind the Math Learning Center)
4:00 p.m. - Men's High Jump
4:00 p.m. - Women's Hammer at 1850 Oxford SE (behind the Math Learning Center)

Running Events
11:15 a.m. - Womens 4 x 100m Relay (2 heats)
11:25 a.m. - Mens 4 x 100m Relay (1 heat)
11:40 a.m. - Women's 100m Hurdles (2 heats)
12:00 p.m. - Men's 110m Hurdles (2 heats)
12:15 p.m. - Women's 400m (2 heats)
12:20 p.m. - Men's 400m (3 heats)
12:40 p.m. - Women's 100m (3 heats)
12:55 p.m. - Men's 100m (4 heats)
1:15 p.m. - Women's 800m (3 heats)
1:30 p.m. - Men's 800m (4 heats)
1:55 p.m. - Women's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
2:05 p.m. - Men's 400m Hurdles (2 heats)
2:20 p.m. - Women's 200m (4 heats)
2:35 p.m. - Men's 200m (4 heats)
2:50 p.m. - Women's 4 x 400m Relay (1 heat)
3:00 p.m. - Men's 4 x 400m Relay (1 heat)
3:40 p.m. - Women's 1500m - B section
3:50 p.m. - Men's 1500m - C section
4:00 p.m. - Mens 1500m - B section
4:10 p.m. - Women's 5000m - B section
4:35 p.m. - Mens 5000m - B section

Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance (Fastest Heats)
5:00 p.m. - Womens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
5:20 p.m. - Mens 3000m Steeplechase - A section
5:35 p.m. - Womens 1500m - A section
5:43 p.m. - Mens 1500m - A section
5:50 p.m. - Womens 5000m - A section
6:15 p.m. - Mens 5000m - A section

* Starting times are approximate