Willamette Wins Four Events during Strong Showing at John Knight Twilight

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Willamette University track and field athletes won four events while putting together a strong effort at the John Knight Twilight, held on the Western Oregon University campus on Friday, April 7. Bearcats who earned first place in an event were Zoe Heino (Fy., Portland, OR/Mountainside HS) in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Katherine Thornton (Jr., Reno, NV/Reno HS) in the women's 100-meter hurdles, William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS/SW Oregon CC) in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Sami Riggs (Sr., La Verne, CA/Bonita HS) in the women's 200-meter dash.

Heino won the women's steeplechase in her lowest time of the season at 11:24.88. Olivia Flack from Western Oregon was second in 11:42.54.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Thornton took first place with a time of 15.87 seconds. Abi Stevens from Southern Oregon University placed second at 16.04 seconds and Lecia Sincere (So., G, Bremerton, WA/Central Kitsap HS) of Willamette was third at 16.28 seconds.

The men's steeplechase was won by Hennum, as he completed the race in 9:51.08. He was the only runner under 10 minutes, as Bryce Mefford of Western Oregon was second in 10:04.86. Ian Curtis (Sr., Eugene, OR/South Eugene HS) of Willamette placed third in 10:39.94.

Riggs prevailed in the women's 200-meter dash as she registered a time of 25.97 seconds to win by .01 over Ava Gross from Oregon State University, who placed second in 25.98 seconds. Mashani Coleman Toliver (Fy., Bellevue, WA/Sammamish HS) of WU was fifth in 27.00 seconds.

In the men's team standings, Western Oregon took first place with 141 points. Willamette was second with 72 points, and Lewis & Clark College placed third at 69 points. The women's team standings were led by Oregon State University with 187 points. Western Oregon followed in second place with 130.5 points, and Willamette was third with 89.50 points. A total of 14 teams, including four-year colleges, two-year colleges, and clubs, competed in the men's events, and 12 teams competed in the women's events.

Thornton, in addition to winning the women's 100-meter hurdles, took third place in the women's 400-meter hurdles. Her time was a personal record of 1:06.75. Clara Thomas (Fy., Kennewick, WA/Kamiakin HS) of Willamette placed fourth in the women's 400 hurdles with a time of 1:09.68.

The women's triple jump featured two Bearcats in the top six. Erica Snyder (Fy., Longview, WA/Mark Morris HS) was third on jumps at 36' 1.50", which moved her into seventh on Willamette's all-time list. Also earning a mark of 36' 1.50" at the John Knight Twilight was Maddie Lyon of Oregon State, who took second place on fewer jumps. Snyder and Lyon were just 2.75" out of first place. Sincere of Willamette was sixth at 34' 2.25".

Coleman Toliver earned top five finishes in two events. Prior to placing fifth in the women's 200-meter dash, she registered fifth place in the 100-meter dash in 13.06 seconds. She was .05 out of fourth place.

Other Top Results for the Bearcats

Jonas Cherry (Fy., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) was fourth in the men's 110-meter hurdles. He completed the race in 17.01 seconds, just .01 behind the third place finisher. Andres Huante (Sr., Bloomington, CA/Grand Terrace HS) took fourth in the men's 400-meter dash in 53.74 seconds.

In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Simon Kidder (Jr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) was fourth in 58.61 seconds and Mason Williams (Fy., Happy Valley, OR/ Clackamas HS) was sixth at 1:01.30.

Leila Fischer (Jr., Wenatchee, WA/Wenatchee HS) placed sixth in the women's 1,500-meter run in 5:04.43. In the men's 5,000-meter run, Milo Greenberg (Jr., Seattle, WA/The Northwest School) was third in 15:59.51 and Gilbert Sanchez Torres (Fy., Citrus Heights, CA/Bella Vista HS) was fourth in 16:06.10.

Elijah Jones (Fy, Salem, OR/Central HS) finished fifth on attempts in the men's pole vault. He matched Keith Sorenson of Southern Oregon at 13' 5.25", but Sorenson took fourth place on fewer attempts.

Avery Mickelsen (Sr., Ephrata, WA/Ephrata HS) was sixth in the women's discus throw with a personal record distance of 109' 9".

During the men's long jump, Kaleb Mcarthur (Fy., Independence, OR/Central HS) took sixth place at 21' 2". He was one inch out of fifth place and 6.25 inches out of third place. In the men's triple jump, Oliver Anderson (Sr., Salem, OR/Home Schooled) placed fifth at 43' 10.75".

Whitley Stepp (Fy., Silverton, OR/Regis HS) was fifth on jumps in the women's high jump, as she cleared 5' 3.25". A total of four competitors tied at 5' 3.25", with jumps placing Alison Wood from the Oregon Track Club in third place, Grace Proudfoot from Oregon State in fourth, and Rachel Noyce of Umpqua Community College in sixth. Emma Nelson of Oregon State and Abi Stevens of Southern Oregon tied for the lead at 5' 5.25", with Nelson winning the event on fewer jumps.

Up Next for Willamette

The Bearcats will host the 2023 Northwest Conference Championships on Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22. Nearly all of the events will be held at the Charles Bowles Track.