Bearcats Win 13 Events versus Corban, including Three Wins by Swan

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Saige Swan (Jr., Crescent City, CA/Del Norte HS) of Willamette University won the men's hammer throw, shot put and discus throw, as the Bearcats took first place in a total of 13 events during the Willamette vs. Corban Dual on Wednesday, March 13 and Thursday, March 14. The hammer throw took place on Wednesday at Corban, while the remaining events were held at Willamette's Charles Bowles Track on Thursday.

Willamette won seven women's events and placed first in six men's events. Swan was the only Bearcat to win a trio of events, but Hope Duenas (Jr., Covina, CA/Covina HS) and Isabel Duxbury (So., Seattle, WA/University Prep) each took first place in two women's events. Duenas won the hammer throw and the discus. Duxbury finished first in the 800-meter run and the 1,500-meter run.

Also winning individual events for the WU women's team were Dana Hamilton (Fr., Eugene, OR/Sheldon HS) in the 10,000-meter run and Alex Stacy (Sr., Loomis, CA/Del Oro HS) in the triple jump. Willamette added a victory in the women's 4 x 400-meter relay.

Other individual event winners for the Bearcat men's team were Michael Montague (Jr., San Diego, CA/Canyon Crest Academy) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Keith Carlson (Sr., Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) in the 10,000-meter run. The Willamette men won the 4 x 100-meter relay.

Swan took first place in the men's hammer throw at 154' 7".  He placed first in the shot put with a top distance of 47' 6.50" and won the discus throw at 131' 4".

Montague was the winner of the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:41.07. Carlson provided WU with a win in the men's 10,000-meter run in 35:16.51, while Kellen Bulger (Jr., Spokane, WA/Ferris HS) was right behind in second place at 35:17.34.

In the men's 4 x 100-meter relay, WU runners Albert Ramon (Fr., Hesperia, CA/Northview HS), RoShaan Rogers (Gr., Roseville, CA/Woodreek HS), Connor Giannini (Jr., Veradale, WA/Gonzaga Prep) and Brian Peck (Jr., Reno, NV/Reno HS) combined to win in 44.81 seconds. Corban's relay team was second in 45.40 seconds.

Duenas registered a top mark of 141' 10" to win the women's discus. She took first place in hammer throw with a distance of 128' 8". Jeidah DeZurney (So., Brownsville, OR/Lebanon HS) of Willamette placed second in the hammer with a personal record toss of 124' 6". DeZurney also was second in the discus.

Duxbury prevailed in the women's 800-meter run at 2:23.08. Second place went to Hazel Carr (Sr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) of Willamette in 2:23.56, while Grace Crookham-Guy (So., Boise, ID/Boise HS) took third for the Bearcats at 2:33.71. Five of the six runners in the race finished within 1.46 seconds of each other. Sydney Nichol of Corban was fourth at 2:23.80 and Audrey Piacsek (Fr., Ellensburg, WA/Ellensburg HS) of WU was fifth at 2:24.54.

The winning time for Duxbury in the 1,500-meter run was 4:54.95. Carr of Willamette was close behind in second at 4:55.20.

Hamilton grabbed first place in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 43.33.73. Risa Shutz (So., Redmond, WA/Redmond HS) of Willamette reached the finish line at the same moment as Hamilton and took second place in 42:33.74. Hamilton and Shutz were competing in the 10,000-meter run for the first time at Willamette.

The Bearcats won the women's 4 x 400-meter relay in 4:16.16 by a margin of just over one second. Corban placed second in 4:17.24. Running on Willamette's relay unit were Adrian Schnee (Fr., Kalispell, MT/Glacier HS), Crookham-Guy, Isabel Solano (Jr./So., Newport, OR/Newport HS) and Sonja Cox-Raman (Fr., Seattle, WA/Ballard HS).

Other Top Results for the Bearcats

Keaton Beckmann (So., Salem, OR/Sprague HS) placed second in the men's 200-meter run by just .06, as he registered a time of 22.45 seconds. Michael Schmidt from Corban won the 200 in 22.39 seconds. Beckmann was competing in the 200 for the second time at Willamette. His previous 200 was timed at 22.81 seconds at the 2018 Willamette Opener in his first collegiate meet.

In preparation for the decathlon later in the season, Beckmann also took third in the men's pole vault with a personal record of 11' 11.25".

Cox-Raman narrowly missed second place in the women's 100-meter dash, as she finished third by .01. Her time in the event was 13.31 seconds, as she matched her time from this year's Willamette Opener. Kristin Childers of Corban won the 100 in 12.69 seconds and Hannah Beaulieu was second for the Warriors in 13.30 seconds.

Maggie Chapin (Jr., Buffalo, WY/Buffalo HS) took second in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 12:18.70 while competing in the event for the first time.

Schnee was second in the women's high jump at 5' 1.25". Kendra Murphy from Corban won the event by clearing 5' 3.25".

Team Standings

Willamette won the women's competition, 66-6, while Corban won the men's competition, 76-52. The Bearcats will return to action on Saturday, March 23 when they host the Willamette Invitational at Charles Bowles Track. The meet will begin at 9:30 a.m. (PDT).

Big Moment of the Meet for Willamette

Saige Swan won three events as he earned a combined Big Moment
for the Bearcats. He prevailed in the hammer throw at 154' 7", was
first in the shot put at 47' 6.50" and won the discus at 131' 4".