SPOKANE, Wash. -- Led by three returning All-Americans, Whitworth University will send a contingent of eight men and one woman to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships this week in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The meet will take place Thursday through Saturday (May 22-24) at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Click here for the official championship website. Elizabeth Mattila (Fr., Ferndale, Wash.) has qualified in the 400 meter hurdles. She is seeded seventh with a time of 1:02.47. Meanwhile Cody Stelzer (So., The Dalles, Ore.), Emmanuel Bofa (So., Puyallup, Wash.) and Kory Kemp (Jr., Redmond, Wash.) hope to repeat, or improve on, All-American finishes from 2007. Stelzer, who took third place in the high jump as a freshman and was runner up at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships in March, is seeded second in the high jump with a mark of 6-11.5". His mark is a Whitworth school record. Bofa, who was fourth in the 800 run last year, returns as the second-seeded runner in the event this season with a school record time of 1:50.74. Kemp, who finished third in the javelin throw last spring, is the third seed heading into the meet this season with a entry mark of 205'-9". Three Northwest Conference champions will also compete for the Pirates. Brandon Howell (Sr., Clarkston, Wash.), who won the NWC title in the 800 run, is seeded 13th in that event with a time of 1:51.75. Jeff Kintner (So., Wenatchee, Wash.), who won both the shot put and discus at the NWC Championships, is seeded 13th in the shot put with an entry mark of 53'-6.25". Joey VanHoomissen (Jr., Renton, Wash.) won the javelin at the NWC Championships with a distance of 196'-2", which is seeded 15th heading into the weekend. Ben Spaun (Sr., Wenatchee, Wash.), who was the 2008 NWC Men's Athlete of the Year after winning the 110 high hurdles, 400 hurdles and leading off the winning 4x400 relay, will focus on the decathlon where he has a qualifying score of 6,641 (seeded 5th). Alex Hymel (Fr., Damascus, Ore.), who has improved his personal record in the javelin by more then 20 feet over the last two weeks of the outdoor season, is seeded 10th in the event with an entry mark of 198'-7". A complete schedule of events, along with results when they become available, will be posted on the official website. Last season the Whitworth men finished 16th at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, the highest team finish since the Pirates left the NAIA following the 1997 season. Go to Athletics Home Page >> Track & Field >> Sports Releases >> |
