HILLSBORO, Ore. – The George Fox Bruins will look to sweep the Northwest Conference Men’s and Women’s Track & Field Championships this weekend, hosted by University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, WA.
MEN
Four-time defending Northwest Conference Champion George Fox University looks to make it five-in-a-row, coming in as the favorite to the 2022 NWC Championships. The Bruins won the 2021 title with 251.5 points, enjoying a 32-point advantage on runner-up Whitworth University. Pacific Lutheran placed third with 101.5 points, followed by Linfield with 87.5, Lewis & Clark with 54, Pacific (Ore.) with 47, Puget Sound with 31, Willamette with 19 and Whitman with one point. The 2022 championships are shaping up to be another tight battle in the team standings.
The Bruins hold the top performer in seven of the 18 individual events. Peter Weiss holds the top time in the 5,000 meters (14:26.46) and 10,000 meters (29:40.36). Tayler Phillips, who just came off a decathlon win, also holds the top spot in the high jump with a clearance of 6’- 6.25" (1.99m). Levi Gibson ranks first amongst pole-vault competitors with his vault of 15'-1.75" (4.62m). Drew Quach leads the men in the long jump, jumping 23'-0.5" (7.02m). Ben Meade sits in first in the NWC amongst hammer throwers with his toss of 163’-1” (49.71m). The Bruins also hold the top time in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:25.45.
Voted fifth in the NWC preseason coaches’ poll, Lewis & Clark will look to George Karamitsos, who ranks first in the men’s 1,500 meters (3:54.37) and sits second in the men’s 5,000 meters (14:28.35). Teammate Max Aldrich ranks sixth in the 3,000 steeplechase (9:47.18) and Andrew Scott holds the eighth farthest triple jump in the NWC of 40’-11” (12.47m). The Pios also hold the fifth fastest time in the 4x100 meter relay with 43.78.
Linfield holds five of the top times and marks in the NWC. Keaton Wood leads the NWC in three of those events. Wood holds the fastest time in the 400 meters (49.07), the 110 hurdles (14.73), and has the best overall decathlon score this season with 7254 points. Dylan Jackson holds the fastest time in the 200 meters with 21.90, along with the second fastest time in the 100 meters with 11.00. The Wildcats 4x100 relay team raced to the top of the NWC with a time of 42.52. In the throws, teammates Jacob Slifka and Matt Metcalf hold the second-best throw in their respective events of the discus and javelin.
Riley Stewart of Pacific (Ore.) holds the fourth fastest time in the 1,500 meters (3:55.00) and 10,000 meters (30:33.95). He also has the sixth fastest time in the 5,000 meters (15:03.25). Oliver Joss ranks fourth in the 800 meters with a time of 1:57.00 and teammate Dominic Funk holds the fifth best javelin throw in the NWC of 185’-8” (56.60m).
Pacific Lutheran, who was third in the preseason coaches’ poll, has five athletes ranked first in the NWC standings. Hezekiah Goodwin’s time if 1:52.60 in the 800 meters is the fastest this season. He also holds the top time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:25.22. In the field events, Masum Real holds the top discus throw of 157’-1” (47.86m), while teammate Darius Chaffin holds the top mark in the javelin with 199’-11” (60.93m). Kellen Meade, Ryan Stracke, Grady Lemma, Stefans Lusis, Corey Solomon, Tyson Wyatt, and Larson Fairbairn could be other possible point scorers for the Lutes as they all rank in the top five in the NWC in at least one event.
Colin Monaghan and Ben Kerr will be the stars of the show for Puget Sound. Monaghan holds the top time in the 10,000 meters with 29:52.78 and ranks third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:38.36. Kerr holds the third best time in the 1,500 meters with 3:54.95. In the long jump, Silas Washington holds the eighth farthest jump of the season going 21’-2” (6.45m).
Matt Mascavage has the tenth fastest time for the Whitman Blues in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.64 seconds. Whitman also holds the fifth fastest 4x400 meter time with 3:33.72.
Ranking second in the preseason coaches’ poll, Whitworth holds three of the top spots in the NWC rankings heading into the championship meet. Solo Hines raced to the fastest 100-meter time with 10.88 seconds and Xavier Betancourt sits atop the rankings in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.37. In the field events, Samson Irish-Lodge has the farthest mark in the triple jump, soaring to 43'-8.5" (13.32m). Other possible points scores for the Pirates include Cameron Lantagne, Kainoa Figueira, Matthew Christianson, Joseph Tingstad, Jalen Martin, Logan Wright, Reed Hurst, Luke Davis, Ignacio Garcia, Malachi Areta, and Benjamin Brinkley.
Willamette will look to Simon Kidder, Alex Matteson, and Oliver Anderson, who all hold top five spots heading into the NWC meet. Kidder raced to the fifth best time in the 400-meter hurdles in 58.42 seconds, while Matteson ranks second amongst NWC athletes in the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 9:38.40. Anderson holds the second farthest triple jump with a mark of 43’-5.75” (13.25m).
The Pirates currently sit in first place after the conclusion of the NWC Multi Event Championship, held last week, with 19 points. George Fox is in second with 14 points, followed by Pacific Lutheran with 6 points.
WOMEN
The reigning four-time Northwest Conference Champion George Fox women look to a roster with plenty of depth as they pursue their fifth consecutive NWC crown. The Bruins had a dominating performance in 2021, winning by 118 points over Pacific Lutheran. Whitworth placed third with 133 points, followed by Pacific (Ore.) with 71, Puget Sound with 58, Linfield with 51, Lewis & Clark with 50, Willamette with 26 and Whitman with 10 points.
Chosen as the preseason favorite, the Bruins hold the top performer in eight of the 18 individual events. The Bruins holf the top time in the 200 meters, with Sydney Radigan leading the way with a time of 25.03 seconds, followed by Emily Rohrer, in third, with a time of 25.38. Rohrer has the second fastest 100-meter time (12.25) and Radigan holds the third best time in the NWC (12.28). Bethany Schmidt holds the fastest 400-meter time of 57.63, along with the top time in the 400-meter hurdles (1:01.08). Teammates Brenna Sclair, Jessie Bailey and Annalise Gonzales sweep the top three times in the 1,500. Sclair also holds the second fastest time in the 5,000 meters (18:23.68) and Gonzales sits third in the 800 meters (2:18.31). Kara Helland, Ayahna Bahati, and Jenessa Teachout also hold top five times on the track in the NWC. The Bruins are set to score plenty of points in the jumps, holding four of the top five spots in the high jump (Karlie Stewart, Marina Carrol, Maddie O’Hare and Brecken VandenHoek) and two of the top five spots in the long jump (Emily Dubois and Brecken VandenHoek). Ashley Korb-Doty has the top mark in the triple jump of 36’-2.75” (11.04m), followed by teammate Bella Dean in second with her season best jump of 36’-2” (11.02m). In the pole vault, Alison Young, Payton Davidson, and Grace Tully rank two, four and five amongst NWC competitors. The throws are also stacked for the Bruins. In the discus, Kailee Walker holds the third farthest throw this season of 133’-3” (40.61m). She also holds the third farthest throw in the shot put of 39’-5.25” (12.02m). Tahnisha Manibusan ranks second in the hammer throw with a toss of 154’-5”. She also holds the fourth best throw in the discus. Chrissy Strickland sits first in the javelin with a mark of 147’-9” (45.04m). Ellena Corwin and Kaitlyn Johnson will also look to be point scorers for the Bruins in the throws.
Riley Buese of Lewis & Clark has two top three times in the NWC. Her time of 18:24.79 ranks her third amongst the women in the 5,000 meters, while her time of 38:49.97 places her in second in the 10,000 meters. Katya Schwieterman and Cameryn Nagaji will also look to be point scorers for the Pios with their top five standings in the 3,000 steeplechase (11:59.23) and long jump of 34’-6.75” (10.53m), respectively.
Linfield’s Jerrica Pachl holds that top spot in the women’s high jump going 5’-6” (1.68m). McKenzie Feinglas has the fourth best time in the 200-meter dash (25.66) and the fifth best time in the 100-meter dash (12.46). Other possible points scores for the Wildcats include Justice McBride-Steiger, Makayla Erickson and Siera Crawford.
Pacific holds three of the top times in the NWC with Kara Putman leading the way in the 10,000 meters with a time of 37:31.43, Madelyn Hubbs topping the 3,000 steeplechase with a time of 11:34.81, and fellow Boxer Annie Berry the fastest woman in the 5,000 meters (18:16.61). Naomi Johnson ranks fourth in the discus with a throw of 131’-6” (40.08m), while Angelica Gatica Gomez holds the top time in the 400-meters (59.21).
Pacific Lutheran, voted third in the NWC preseason coaches’ poll, will look to better their second-place finish in 2021. Standout sprinter, Bailey Forsyth, leads the NWC in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.11. She also ranks second in the 200-meters with a time of 25.10. Pole vaulter, Lily Luksich tops the standings with her vault of 12’-4” (3.76m), while Julia Causbie has the best long jump of 17’-11” (5.46m) going into the meet. Causbie also ranks fourth in the triple jump going 34’-11” (10.64m). Peyton Santos’ discus throw of 134’-1” (40.86m) bests her competitors, while Ava Nelson ranks second in the javelin with her throw of 139’-1” (42.39m). Other possible point scorers for the Lutes include Zoey Diviney, Kayden Hulquist, Esther Brutus, Kristine Nguyen, Riley Buckmaster, Eva Wirth and Tabitha Messineo.
Jackilyn Lewis & Samantha Swartout will lead the way for Puget Sound as they head into the NWC meet. Lewis holds the second fastest time in the 400-meter (58.91) and the seventh fastest time in the 200-meters (26.08). Swartout holds the third best throw of 133’-0” (40.55m) in the javelin.
Whitman’s Sophia Bigio has the fifth fastest time in the women’s 10,000 meters racing to a time of 40:22.86. Bigio also holds the tenth fastest time in the 5,000 meters (18:54.06). Dori Buttleman’s time of 40:27.69 holds the seventh fastest time in the 10,000 meters.
Whitworth, who placed second in the preseason coaches’ poll, hold five of the top spots in the NWC. Amelia Hewson holds the fastest 100-meter hurdle time of 14.25 and sits fifth in the 200-meters (25.73). In the throws Renee Tiumalu has the top mark in the shot put of 40’-4.25” (12.30m), Lauryn Rawls launched the discus the farthest so far this season to 134’-10” (41.09m) and Abbie Jo Carlson’s hammer throw of 156’-11” (47.83m) is first amongst her competitors. The Pirates also hold the fastest 4x100 meter relay time in 48.31 seconds. Nikohl Jordan sits second in the 800-meters (2:17.96), while Devyn Cope has the fourth best long jump of 17’-0.75” (5.20m) and the third best triple jump of 35’6” (10.82m). Other possible point scorers include Alison Ball, Alexis Caniglia, Madelyn Buckley, Carmen Winslow-Gonzalez, Ellie Shoop, Madison Peffers, Breanne Rawls, Logan Spencer, Jamie Copeland and Eva Milan.
Willamette’s Sami Riggs ranks fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 59.48, while teammate Samantha Waters ranks third in the hammer throw with a mark of 154’-0” (46.95m). Fellow Bearcats Katherine Thorton and Audrey Piacsek hold the fifth best times in the 100-meter hurdles (15.41) and 3,000 steeplechase (12:12.24), respectively.
The Bruins currently sit in first place after the conclusion of the NWC Multi Event Championship, with 24 points. Whitworth is in second with 6 points, followed by Lewis & Clark with 5 and Linfield with 4 points.
?Additional information about the 2022 Northwest Conference Track & Field Championship can be found
here.