Bearcats Post Multiple Top Three Finishes at Willamette Invitational
By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
SALEM, Ore. – The Willamette University men's track & field team hosted the Willamette Invitational on Saturday, March 23 at the Charles Bowles Track in McCulloch Stadium. First-year Steeley Mucken (Silverton, OR/Silverton HS) highlighted the day with a win in the javelin. He won the event with a throw of 193' 9.50" and placed fourth in the discus with a distance of 130' 0.5".
First-year Roan Bashiom (Salem, OR/North Salem HS) was third in the discus 133' 6" while Parker Hisey (Renton, WA/Kentridge HS) was ninth in the discus with a throw of 128' 1.75". Judah Aliifua (Salem, OR/West Salem HS) was seventh in the javelin with a toss of 142' 9".
The Bearcats claimed second, third and fourth in the 110-meter hurdles. Matthew Nivala (Fy., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) captured second with a time of 15.57 seconds with Mason Williams (So., Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas HS) and Jonas Cherry (So., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) placing third and fourth, respectively, with times of 15.78 and 16.05.
The Bearcats had another strong showing in the 400-meter hurdles. Williams ran to third in 58.24 with Simon Kidder (Sr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) crossing the line fourth in 58.29. Caleb Graham (Fy., Newberg, OR/Newberg HS) was sixth (59.48) and Cherry and Nivala posted times of 50.56 and 1:00.28, respectively, to finish seventh and eighth. Kayden Gonzales (So., Ridgefield, WA/Hudson Bay HS) was in the top ten with a mark of 1:03.01.
Finn Gibson (Fy., New Paltz, NY/New Paltz HS) and Myles Crandall (Fy., Monmouth, OR/Central HS) claimed second and third in the 400 meters, clocking times of 50.66 and 50.92. Jack Hickey (Jr., San Mateo, CA/Aragon HS) placed 10th in the 100 meters and 12th in the 200 meters with times of 11.55 and 23.94.
William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS) was second in the 3000-meter steeplechase, coming in at 9:39.42. Adam Lewis (Fy., Glendale, CA/Eagle Rock HS) came in at 10:02.24 to earn a fourth-place finish. Sophomore Jay Chew (So., Elk Grove, CA/Laguna Creek HS) and first-year Joshua Evans (Jr., Lafayette, CA/Acalanes HS) took fourth and fifth in the 5000 meters with times of 15:39.79 and 15:54.15, respectively.
Liam Bergevin (Fy., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) was fifth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:58.71. Sage Soto (Fy., Kapolei, HI/Kapolei HS) was top ten in the 1500 meters, finishing eighth with a mark of 4:14.01.
Kaleb Mcarthur (So., Independence, OR/Central HS) showed well in the field with a pair of fourth place finishes. Mcarthur went 6.19 in the long jump and leaped 12.74 in the triple jump.
The 4x100 relay combined to take third with a time of 43.61. Kidder and Hickey ran the lead leg and anchor, respectively, with Gibson and Crandall in the middle.
The Bearcats travel to Hanson Stadium in Forest Grove, Oregon, on Sunday for the Pacific University Multi-Event Invitational. Competition will be held on Sunday, March 24 and Monday, March 25.