Lady Bearcats Hold Lead at NWC Track and Field Championships

Sarah Zerzan and Jena Winger achieved provisional qualifying times for the NCAA Division III National Championships.

The Bearcats received a provisional qualifying mark from Brooke Smith (Jr., Idleyld Park, OR/Glide HS) in the women's javelin. Photo courtesy: WU Athletics

NEWBERG, Ore. - Willamette University won five individual titles on the first day of the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships, Friday at George Fox University.

The Willamette women's team held first place in the team standings, while the Bearcat men were in third place and within striking distance of the lead.

Action in the NWC Championships will conclude on Saturday. Willamette has won six consecutive NWC women's titles and five of the last six NWC men's championships.

In the women's team standings, Willamette had 76 points and was followed by Whitworth University in second with 45 points. George Fox was third at 35.50, the University of Puget Sound was fourth at 34, Linfield College was fifth at 31, Pacific Lutheran University was sixth at 20, Lewis & Clark College was seventh at 16 and Pacific University was eighth at 15.50.

The men's team leader was Whitworth University with 72 points. Linfield held second place at 61 points and was followed by Willamette in third at 58, George Fox in fourth at 34, Puget Sound in fifth at 26, Pacific in sixth at 19, Pacific Lutheran in seventh at 2 and Lewis & Clark in eighth at 1.

Willamette women's team members earning first place finishes in the finals of their respective events were Sarah Zerzan (Sr., San Carlos, CA/Notre Dame HS) in the 10,000-meter run, Jena Winger (Jr., Bonney Lake, WA/Sumner HS) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Christina Edholm (So., Pleasanton, CA/Foothill HS) in the shot put.

Zerzan and Winger also achieved provisional qualifying times for the NCAA Division III National Championships. Zerzan completed the 10,000 in 37:37.35 to win the race and finish 2.65 seconds under the provisional qualifying standard of 37:40.00. Winger won the steeplechase in 10:46.5, as she lowered her own school record and previous provisional mark of 10:51.06.

Zerzan was one of three Bearcats to score points in the women's 10,000. Katrina Brett (Sr., Longview, WA/Mark Morris HS) took fourth place in 38:18.8. Hannah Vietmeier (So., Shoreline, WA/Shorewood HS) finished fifth at 38:28.2.

Edholm took first place in the shot put with a career-best toss of 37'7.25". Her throw was 4.25" ahead of Karen Chase from Puget Sound, who went 37'3.00".

Individual champions on the Bearcat men's team were Ian Batch (Jr., Eagle, ID/Capital HS) in the 10,000-meter run and Taylor Roholt (So., Albuquerque, NM/Sandia Prep) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Batch won the 10,000 by eight seconds with a time of 31:18.8. Francis Reynolds of UPS was second at 31:26.8.

Batch led four Bearcats among the top seven finishers in the 10,000. Steven Millard (Sr., Port Orchard, WA/South Kitsap HS) was fifth at 32:17.4, Tristan Knutson-Lombardo (Jr., Juneau, AK/Juneau-Douglas HS) placed sixth at 32:21.3 and Josh Clough (Jr., Auburn, WA/Auburn Riverside HS) was seventh at 32:24.6.

Roholt logged a time of 9:29.9 in the steeplechase to claim first place by 2.4 seconds. Chris McIsaac of Linfield placed second with a time of 9:32.3.

Joining Roholt in the top eight were four other Bearcats. Lucas Nebert (Sr., Cincinnati, OH/Wyoming HS) took third at 9:32.7 and Kellen Peters (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS/Pacific University) was fourth at 9:34.3. Chris Platano (So., Myrtle Point, OR/Myrtle Point HS) was seventh and Alex Jimenez (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) was eighth.

In addition to Zerzan and Winger, the Bearcats also received a provisional qualifying mark from Brooke Smith (Jr., Idleyld Park, OR/Glide HS) in the women's javelin. Smith took second place in the event with a throw of 129'8". Roxanne Gilbride of Lewis & Clark won the javelin with a toss of 132'10".

Source: WU Athletics

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