FOREST GROVE, Ore. - The Whitworth University men and women each finished as Northwest Conference runners-up at the 2009 Track and Field Championships Saturday, hosted by Pacific University at Lincoln Park Stadium. Click here for complete results. The Pirate men lost a tight three-team dual to Willamette. The Bearcats finished with 217 points, Whitworth had 198 and Linfield was third with 178. The Pirate women finished second with 150 points, the team's best finish since winning in 2001 and also finishing as runner-up in 2002. Willamette won its eighth straight women's title. Dusty Caseria and Jeff Kintner won events for the Whitworth men, who had some big scoring events but also had holes in events they could not overcome.
Caseria won a closely contested 800 meters in 1:57.49, while teammates Emmanuel Bofa and Tyler Alsin were third (1:57.78) and fourth (1:58.28), respectively. Caseria, a junior, earned his first NWC title. Earlier in the meet Bofa finished second (3:56.00) and Caseria was third (3:56.96) in a tight 1,500 meter run. Leo Castillo of Willamette won in 3:55.57. Kintner led a 1-2-3 Whitworth sweep in the shot put. He went 54'-10", while Michael Nahl tossed the shot 53'-3" and Danjuma Quarless was third in 50'-6". Nahl improved his previous best NCAA provisional mark. Nick Gallagher nearly pulled off a distance double. But he could not repeat his victory in the 10k from Friday night, finishing second in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:19.61. Elorm Atisu finished third in the 200 dash in 23.04 and fifth in the 400 dash (51.18). Jonathan Soulier gave the Bucs a runner-up finish in the 400 hurdles with a time of 56.79. Whitworth's 1,600 meter relay also finished second with a time of 3:20.80. Joey VanHoomissen (3rd), Kintner (4th) and Ron Whitley (5th) gave Whitworth three of the top-five finishers in the hammer throw. The final men's team scores were: Willamette 217, Whitworth 198, Linfield 178, George Fox 84, Pacific Lutheran 62, Puget Sound 43, Lewis & Clark 24, Pacific 8.
Elizabeth Mattila led the Whitworth women by winning the 400 hurdles and finishing third in the 100 hurdles. Her winning time in the 400 distance was 1:02.78, a strong NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Her 15.20 in the 100 is a season-best. Dana Misterek set a new school record and scored in two events as well. She finished second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:20.68 and fourth in the 1,500 in 4:39.93. The 1,500 time broke the old Whitworth mark of 4:41.22 set by Gwen Hilbing in 1990. Tonya Turner took fourth in the 5,000 with a time of 18:13.31. The Pirate women got a pair of runner-up finishes in field events on Saturday. Kayla Hughes finished second in the high jump, clearing 5'-1.25". Erica Cox threw the hammer 146'-6" to finish second in that event. Allyssa Thompson was fourth in the triple jump (34'-11.75") and sixth in the high jump (4'-11.5"). The final women's team scores were: Willamette 196.5, Whitworth 150, George Fox 124, Pacific Lutheran 112, Linfield 104.5, Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound 50, Pacific 31. |
