Willamette Invitational Set for Saturday at Charles Bowles Track

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

SALEM, Ore. -- Charles Bowles Track will be the site for one of the featured competitions on the West Coast this spring, as the Bearcats host the 2015 Willamette Invitational on Saturday, March 28. Action will begin with field events at 9:30 a.m. (PST), with track events getting underway at 12 p.m. and the Charles Bowles Celebration of distance starting at 5 p.m.

Joining the Stanford Invitational, the Oregon Relays and the Mt. SAC Relays as one of the top West Coast events, the Willamette Invitational brings a talented group of athletes to Salem, Ore., each year.

This weekend, there will be 12 four-year colleges and a pair of two-year colleges competing in the men's events, with 11 four-year colleges and three two-year colleges participating in the women's events. In addition, several club teams and unattached athletes will add even more talent to the meet.

Competing from NCAA Division III will be Northwest Conference rivals Willamette and Lewis & Clark College. NCAA Division II teams participating are the University of Alaska-Anchorage, Central Washington University, St. Martin's University (Wash.) and Western Oregon University.

NCAA Division I will be represented by athletes from Oregon State University in women's competition, as well as athletes from the University of Portland in men's and women's events.

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

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

The first field events on Saturday will be the men's discus, women's shot put, men's long jump and women's long jump at 9:30 a.m. The track events will get underway at 12 p.m. with the 4 x 100-meter relay races.

The 8th 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 meet. The women's steeplechase will start the Celebration of Distance at 5 p.m., with the final event, the men's 5,000-meter run, beginning 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 take place at 1850 Oxford SE behind the Math Learning Center.

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 season, 45 athletes will compete in the men's 5,000-meter run and 41 runners will participate in the women's 5,000-meter run. There are 34 runners entered in the men's 1,500-meter run and the women's 1,500-meter run.

There will be four heats in the men's 200-meter dash with 28 entries and the men's 800-meter run with 36 entries. The women's 200-meter dash will have 23 competitors in three heats, while the women's 400-meter dash will feature 17 runners in three heats.

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.

2015 Willamette Invitational

Saturday, March 28

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

Track Events
12:00 p.m. - Womens 4 x 100m Relay (1 heat)
12:05 p.m. - Mens 4 x 100m Relay (1 heat)
12:20 p.m. - Womens 100m hurdles (2 heats)
12:35 p.m. - Mens 110m hurdles (2 heats)
12:50 p.m. - Womens 400m (3 heats)
1:00 p.m. - Mens 400m (2 heats)
1:15 p.m. - Womens 100m (2 heats)
1:25 p.m. - Mens 100m (2 heats)
1:40 p.m. - Womens 800m (2 heats)
1:50 p.m. - Mens 800m (4 heats)
2:15 p.m. - Womens 400m hurdles (2 heats)
2:25 p.m. - Mens 400m hurdles (2 heats)
2:40 p.m. - Womens 200m (3 heats)
2:50 p.m. - Mens 200m (4 heats)
3:10 p.m. - Womens 4 x 400m Relay (1 heat)
3:20 p.m. - Mens 4 x 400m Relay (1 heat)
3:45 p.m. - Womens 1500m - B section
3:55 p.m. - Mens 1500m - B section
4:05 p.m. - Womens 5000m - B section
4:30 p.m. - Mens 5000m - B section

Charles Bowles Celebration of Distance*
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

* Fastest heat in each distance race