Nivala Runs to Bronze in 110 Hurdles at NWC Championships
By Charlie McGuire, Athletics Communications Assistant
NEWBERG, Ore. – The Willamette University men's track & field team completed the second day of competition at the 2024 Northwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday, April 20 at Stoffer Family Stadium. Matthew Nivala (Fy., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) put up a personal-best time of 15.39 to claim the bronze in the 110-meter hurdles. Mason Williams (So., Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas HS) and Jonas Cherry (So., Browns Valley, CA/Marysville HS) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 16.32 and 16.69.
Williams added a fourth-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a PR time of 56.91. Simon Kidder (Sr., Bend, OR/Summit HS) had an identical PR of 56.91 to take fifth by a fraction of a second.
The Bearcats opened Saturday with an eighth-place finish in the 4 x 100-meter relay. Kidder led off with Finn Gibson (Fy., New Paltz, NY/New Paltz HS) and Myles Crandall (Fy., Monmouth, OR/Central HS) running the middle legs. Nivala was on the anchor, crossing the line in 43.31.
Kaleb Mcarthur (So., Independence, OR/Central HS) charted a personal best in the triple jump, clearing 43' 8" to place fifth. Former West Salem Titan Judah Ali'ifua (So., Salem, OR/West Salem HS) was just shy of the top ten in the javelin with a throw of 158' 3".
Crandall was fifth in the 400 meters with a season-best of 50.82 while Gibson came across seventh with a mark of 51.24. Liam Bergevin (Fy., Walla Walla, WA/Walla Walla HS) was in the top ten of the 800 meters with a personal record time of 1:56.89.
In the 1,500 meters William Hennum (Jr., Henderson, NV/Liberty HS) and Adam Lewis (Fy., Glendale, CA/Eagle Rock HS) clocked personal records times of 4:00.37 and 4:04.78, respectively, to both finish with top 20 performances.
The 4 x 400-meter relay closed out the meet with a seventh-place finish. Crandall and Gibson ran the lead and anchor legs with Kidder and Nolan Wright (Fy., Fall City, WA/Mount Si HS) for a time of 3:25.12.
The Bearcats finished seventh in the team standings. Host George Fox University won the team title with 221 points while Whitworth University was second with 192 and Pacific Lutheran claimed third with 104. The Bearcats will next compete on Friday, April 26 at the Oregon State University High Performance Meet. They will travel to the Whyte Track & Field Center in Corvallis.