PORTLAND, Ore.– The George Fox Bruins take home the championship title for men’s and women’s track & field programs for the eighth consecutive year after a competitive two days at the Lewis & Clark’s Griswold Stadium.
The Bruin men finished with a total of 215 points at the end of day two, followed by Whitworth (167), and Willamette (111). On the women’s side, the standings fell into a similar lineup, with the Bruins on top with 219 points, Whitworth at 167.5, and Willamette in third at 78.5.
Four field finals took place on day two of competition, kicking things off at 10:00 AM this Sunday, April 27th. In the shot put, senior Nick Olsen of Linfield took home gold with the farthest throw of 15.15 meters, while Whitworth’s Amblessed Okemgbo set a personal record and claimed victory with a throw of 14.20 meters. Okemgbo took home another gold in women’s discus, throwing a dominant 44.13 meters. Whitworth teammate Eddie Vu placed first in the men’s discus with a personal record of 53.16 meters.
In the jumps, Pacific Lutheran’s Kyleigh Archer claimed first place, jumping a distance of 11.59 meters. On the men’s side, Kaleb Mcarthur of Willamette jumped a first place distance of 13.94 meters. In the men’s high jump, James King of George Fox was crowned the NWC champion with a jump of 2.00 meters. On the women’s side, Brianna Tira of Whitworth jumped 1.66 meters to take home first place.
Ten track finals events took place Sunday– kicking off first with the 4x100-meter relays. The Pacific Boxer men’s relay squad composed of Romel Moreland, Kamron Shields, Zion Booker, and Charles Bennett took home first place with a time of 41.84. On the women’s side, the Puget Sound squad of Sophia Rivas, Elizabeth Beiswanger, Victoria Bradshaw, and Kyrstin Wilson posted a season best of 48.73 to claim victory.
The Bruins dominated the next two track events– taking home the gold on both men’s and women’s sides for the 1500-meter and the sprint hurdles. In the 1500-meter relay Aidan Arthur ran a 3:51.69, while Ellie Rising ran a 4:35.79. Blake Smith ran a personal record in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.65, while Ayahna Bahati also recorded a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles (14.33).
Puget Sound made an impact in the men’s and women’s 400-meter– Avery Keith running a 48.27 and Elizabeth Beiswanger racing a 56.54, both taking home the gold. In the fastest event of the championship, three Pacific Boxers finished with personal records in the 100-meter dash– Zion Booker (10.89), Romel Moreland (men’s second place, 11.00), and Ally Hammond (12.08).
In the 800-meter, Pacific Lutheran’s Kai Sorenson ran a 1:53.39 to place first, while George Fox’s Ellie Rising placed first with a 2:10.99. The men’s 400-meter hurdles title was claimed by Lewis & Cark’s Harrison Fung (54.42) and the women’s 400-meter hurdles title went to Emily Brown of Whitworth (1:03:51)– both setting personal records. To round out the sprinting events, Whitworth’s Camden Schmidt claimed victory in the men’s 200-meter dash (21.78), while Puget Sound’s Kyrstin Wilson finished first in 24.84.
In the men’s 5000-meter, Ryan Stracke of Pacific Lutheran put down a season best (14:36.36) to claim gold. On the women’s side, senior Riley Buese of Lewis & Clark set records by becoming the first woman to ever win four NWC Titles in the 5K– she made history with a time of 16:53.90.
George Fox’s men’s 4x400-meter relay squad (Max Ashour, Tom McMillan, Blake Smith, and Larry Trefry) finished the day with a win and a season best (3:19.22), while Puget Sound women’s 4x400-meter relay team (Kyrstin Wilson, Erin Schmidlin, Victoria Bradshaw, and Elizabeth Beiswanger) claimed gold with a time of 3:56.08.