Forbush, Mancl, Ostrander, Swanson Win Titles on Second Day of NWC Meet

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

NEWBERG, ORE. -- Four Willamette University athletes won individual titles on the second day of the 2015 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships on Saturday, April 25 at Stoffer Family Stadium on the George Fox University campus. Willamette finished in third place in the women's team standings and took third place in the men's team standings.

Earning individual NWC championships on Saturday were Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS), Olivia Mancl (So./Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) from the Willamette women's team, as well as Daniel Swanson (Sr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) from the Bearcat men's team.

Forbush set a personal record while winning the 400-meter dash in 57.83 seconds. She moved from a tie for eighth into sixth place on Willamette's all-time list, while lowering her top time from 57.95 at the Willamette Invitational on March 28. Forbush finished in front of Rachael Kraske of George Fox University, who placed second at 58.01.

Mancl won the 1,500-meter run in 4:37.39 to lead a 1-2-6-8 finish for Willamette. Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) placed second with a personal record time of 4:38.65, lowering her best mark from 4:42.29 at the John Knight Twilight on April 10. Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) was sixth at 4:45.71 and Ami Boucher took eighth at 4:52.43.

Ostrander earned first place in the 5,000-meter run at 18:02.53. She won by just under seven seconds over Kellyn Roiko of Whitworth, who took second at 18:09.41. Juliet Farnan (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Campolindo HS) of Willamette placed third at 18:20.87.

For Ostrander, the 5,000 was her third successful distance race during the NWC Championships this weekend. She took second place on Friday in 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 10,000-meter run. Farnan won the 10,000.

Daniel Swanson provided a victory for the Willamette men on Saturday, as he bested the field in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:03.76. Swanson started a 1-3-5 finish for the Bearcats. Christopher MacMurray from Whitworth was second at 4:04.63. Willamette's Forrest Smith (Fr., Crested Butte, CO/Crested Butte Comm. School) was third with a personal record of 4:05.07.

Smith's previous best was 4:06.61 at the John Knight Twilight. In Saturday's race, Smith and Jeff Mullins from Lewis & Clark College clocked in at 4:05.07, but the judges ruled Smith was third and Mullins fourth. Patrick Loftus (Fr., Santa Rosa, CA/Sonoma Academy) placed fifth at 4:05.88.

Whitworth won the women's team championship with a score of 218.33. George Fox was second at 191 and Willamette was third at 159. Linfield College placed fourth at 83.33, while Pacific Lutheran University was fifth at 62.83 and University of Puget Sound was sixth at 60.50. Lewis & Clark took seventh with 23 points and Pacific University was eighth with 20.

The men's team title went to Whitworth, which scored 234 points. George Fox placed second with 127.50 points, while Willamette took third with 96 points. Pacific finished fourth at 93, with Puget Sound in fifth at 86.50, Pacific Lutheran in sixth at 67, Linfield in seventh at 61 and Lewis & Clark in eighth at 54.

Other Top Results for the Bearcat Women's Team:

Meka Townsend (Jr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) set a seaon best at 133' 6" to earn third place in the javelin throw. Her previous top distance of 2015 was 131' 4" at the WU vs. Corban Dual on March 19. Townsend advanced from 22nd to 20th on the NCAA Division III performance list.

Mancl finished third and Hannah Swanson was sixth in the 800-meter run. Mancl -- who won the 1,500 earlier in the day -- rallied from way back in the closing 200 meters to claim third place at 2:18.06. Swanson's time was 2:19.77.

The Bearcats took fourth place in the 4 x 100-meter relay with a time of 49.77 seconds. It was Willamette's top time of the season. Competing on the relay team were Kylea Johnson (Jr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS), Forbush, Carmela Roberts (Jr., Santa Cruz, CA/Santa Cruz HS) and Jewell Sparks (Fr., San Francisco, CA/Lick Wilmerding HS). Whitworth won the relay in 49.21 seconds.

Johnson placed fourth in the 100-meter dash. She achieved a time of 12.82 seconds. Allanah Whitehall of Puget Sound won the event in 12.15 seconds. Johnson and Forbush both placed in the 200-meter dash. Johnson was fourth at 26.01 seconds and Forbush took seventh at 26.23 seconds.

Elisa Ahern placed sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and was sixth in the triple jump. In the hurdles, she registered a time of 16.15 seconds. Ahern's top distance in the triple jump covered 36' 1.25". She was consistent during the event, with several of her six attempts between 35' 11" and 36' 1."

Willamette placed sixth, seventh and eighth in the discus. Kaeleigh Thorp (Sr., San Leandro, CA/Encinal HS) was sixth at 120' 6". Angela Turpen (So., Alsea, OR/Alsea HS) took seventh and set a personal record at 119' 7", edging past her throw of 119'6" at the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational on April 4. Townsend finished eighth with a distance of 119' 0".

Other Top Results for the Willamette Men's Team:

Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) finished second and Jacob Shafi (Jr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) was third in the 5,000-meter run. Castillo registered a time of 15:19.09. Shafi set a personal record at 15:25.83, reducing his time from 15:29.34 at the Willamette Opener this season. Tyler Shipley of UPS won the 5,000 in 14:57.71.

On Friday, Castillo was second in the 10,000 and Shafi was third in the steeplechase.

In the 800-meter run, Parris Joyce (Jr., Portland, OR/Catlin Gabel School) was fourth and Daniel Swanson was seventh. Joyce finished in 1:56.35, while Swanson attained a time of 1:58.64.

RoShaan Rogers (Fr., Roseville, CA/Woodcreek HS) earned fifth place in the 400-meter hurdles and was seventh in the 110-meter hurdles. His time in the 400 hurdles was 57.84 seconds. He recorded a time of 15.86 seconds in the 110 hurdles.

Hans Lehndorff (Jr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) was fifth in the discus with a top toss of 143' 6". Tyler Higley (Sr., Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) placed eighth at 134' 4". Higley was third in both the hammer throw and the shot put on Friday.

Willamette took fifth place in the 4 x 100-meter relay in 43.37 seconds. Running for the Bearcats were Erik Spangberg (Fr., San Francisco, CA/Bay School of San Francisco), Jack Wellman (Fr., Alameda, CA/Alameda HS), D'Angelo Guiton (Fr., Oakland, CA/Bishop O'Dowd HS) and Dylan Jones (Sr./Jr., Santa Maria, CA/Ernest Righetti HS). Linfield placed first in 42.14 seconds.

Spangberg placed seventh in the 200-meter dash, as he completed the race in 22.89 seconds. Nicholas Gosselin of Whitworth was timed at 21.86 seconds and won by edging out Jake Mihelich of Linfield, who took second at 21.89.