Willamette to Compete at Saints Open on Saturday at Mount Hood CC

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

SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University will compete in men's and women's track and field teams at the Saints Open in Gresham, Ore., on Saturday, March 14. The meet will be hosted by Mount Hood Community College and will be held at Earl Klapstein Stadium. Action is set to get underway at 10 a.m. (PST).

Last week, the Bearcats won six events at the Willamette Opener as they began the 2015 season. Many of the Bearcats recorded marks ranked in the top 10 this week on the NCAA Division III performance list. It's early in the season, and many Division III teams have not yet competed, but Willamette's athletes on this week's list are off to a great start.

The Willamette men's team has three runners ranked in the top 10 in the 5,000-meter run. Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) leads the way at #2 nationally with a time of 15:15.12. Jacob Shafi (Jr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) is fourth at 15:29.34 and Patrick Loftus (Fr., Santa Rosa, CA/Sonoma Academy) is ninth at 15:38.28.

Tyler Higley (Sr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) is ranked third in the men's shot put with a toss of 48' 11". He also is sixth in the hammer throw with a distance of 157' 11".

In the men's 800-meter run, Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) is listed at sixth and Parris Joyce (Jr., Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel School) is 10th. Swanson's time at the Willamette Opener was 1:57.95, while Joyce earned a time of 1:59.58.

RoShaan Rogers (Fr., Roseville CA/Woodcreek HS) is ninth in the men's 110-yard hurdles at 15.85 seconds.

The Willamette men's 4 x 100-meter relay team is 10th in the nation. Running on the relay this past weekend in 43.99 seconds were Jack Wellman (Fr., Alameda, CA/Alameda HS), Grant Lindley (Fr., Monmouth HS/Central HS), D'Angelo Guiton (Fr., Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS) and Dylan Jones (Sr./Jr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS).

Willamatte has three runners in the top six in the women's 800-meter run and three in the top four in the women's 5,000-meter run. In the 800, Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) is third at 2:19.59, while Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) is fifth at 2:20.87 and Hannah Bressler (Jr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) is sixth at 2:21.39.

In the 5,000, Olivia Mancl (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) ranks #2 at 17:58.71, with Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) at #3 in 18:10.20. Juliet Farnan (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) is #4 at 18:18.56.

Molly Bond (Sr., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) of Willamette is second in the women's long jump. Her top leap at the Willamette Opener set a new personal record and covered 17' 1.5". Bond is eighth in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.56 seconds. Kaeleigh Thorp (Sr., Sam Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) is fifth in the women's hammer throw at 147' 11".

Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) represents the Bearcats in two events. She is seventh in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.80 seconds and is eighth in the 100-meter dash at 12.77.

Meka Townsend (Jr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) is eighth in the javelin at 120' 7" and ninth in the discus at 119' 7".

Also for the Willamette women's team, Maya Bowton (Jr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) is eighth in the high jump at 5' 0.25", while Jossalyn Wright (Sr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) is ninth in the hammer throw at 143' 2". Kelsey Engstrom (Sr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS) is 10th in the shot put with a top distance of 36' 2".