NEWBERG, Ore. - Whitworth University claimed its first Northwest Conference title in Men's Track & Field since 2001 with strong efforts on the track and in the field, while the Pirate women finished third in the final standings. Ben Spaun was named the 2008 NWC Men's Outstanding Athlete, while Toby Schwarz was selected by his peers as the Men's Coach of the Year.

NWC Outstanding Men's Athlete Ben Spaun

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Spaun won both the 110 high hurdles and the 400 hurdles on Saturday, then led off the winning 4x400 relay. Those results go along with his runner up finish in the NWC decathlon last week, in which he earned an NCAA Division III automatic national qualifying score.

The Pirate men were able to grab a lead on Friday after going 1-2 in both the javelin and the shot put. Whitworth gained two more 1-2 finishes on Saturday, this time on the track.

Spaun won the 400 hurdles in 54.43, followed by Matt Perry who finished second in 55.45. One event later, Brandon Howell (1:54.05) and Emmanuel Bofa (1:55.73) finished first and second in the 800 run. Bofa's performance came only 30 minutes after he had finished third in the 400 dash with a time of 49.66.

Spaun's winning time in the 110 hurdles was 15.06. His 4x400 relay mate Dusty Caseria came from back in the field to finish second in the 1,500 with a time of 4:04.16.

Spaun, Caseria, Bofa and Howell concluded the meet by winning the 4x400 relay in 4:18.64.

Whitworth's field athletes also continued to shine on Saturday. Jeff Kintner, who won the shot put on Friday, added a second win when he took the discus title with a toss of 149'-9". Joey VanHoomissen was fourth in 142'-3". VanHoomissen nearly added to his Friday win in the javelin, but finished second in the hammer with a throw of 160'-8". Kintner was fourth in the hammer in 154'-2".

Cody Stelzer, who set a conference meet record while winning the high jump on Friday, finished third in the triple jump on Saturday with a lifetime best distance of 44'-0".

The final men's scores were: Whitworth 196, Linfield 181, Willamette 177.5, George Fox 115.5, Puget Sound 78, Pacific 37, Pacific Lutheran 26, Lewis & Clark 8. Linfield was the defending conference champion, while Willamette had won five straight (2002 - 2006).

Dormaier scored in six different events

Kristen Dormaier added to her individual point tally on Saturday. The Pirate senior took third in the triple jump (36'-1.5"), fourth in the 100 dash (12.94) and was part of both the 4x100 relay (6th in 51.29) and 4x400 relay (4th in 4:06.02). She had previously finished third in the NWC heptathlon last week and was second in the long jump on Friday.

Elizabeth Mattila took second place in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:02.90, and was also fourth in the 100 hurdles (15.42).

Erin Harvago and Erica Cox finished fifth (126-3) and sixth (123-10), respectively, in the hammer throw. Cox went on to also finish sixth in the discus (98-11). Kristin Santroch added a sixth place finish in the 800 (2:28.55).

The final women's team scores were: Willamette 224.5, George Fox 181.5, Whitworth 97.5, Linfield 86.5, Puget Sound 79, Pacific Lutheran 72, Pacific 40, Lewis & Clark 37. Willamette won its seventh straight NWC title.

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