Track & Field Weekly Notebook
QUICK LINKS: Men's Roster | Women's Roster | Schedule & Results | NWC Top Performances List (TFRRS)
THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC TRACK & FIELD
LINFIELD JENN BOYMAN MEMORIAL INVITATIONAL
Sat., Apr. 2, 9 a.m.,
Maxwell Field, McMinnville, Ore..
THE HARD CHARGE TO THE NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS BEGINS
After taking a well deserved week off from competition over Spring Break, the Pacific track and field squads begin the stretch run to the Northwest Conference Championships on Apr. 22 & 23. The Boxers will look to add more qualifiers to their already long list on Saturday as the Boxers take part in the Linfield Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational.
BOXER BYTES
• Kasey Fisher and John Fredericks won the women's and men's pole vault, respectively, to lead Pacific's performances at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open on Mar. 19. Fisher cleared a height of 10 feet, 5.25 inches, while Fredericks cleared 13 feet, 3 inches.
• Pacific put together another pair of strong team performances at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open. The Pacific men placed fourth out of 19 teams, while the Pacific women finished fifth out of 13 squads.
• Pacific added four more NWC Championships qualifiers at the L&C Spring Break Open. Chloe Hallyburton qualified in the 400-meter hurdles, Nicole Brown qualified in the triple jump and Aaron Koford and Ryan Culp qualified in the men's discus.
• Michael Hunker ran a pair of season best times at the Mar. 19 Oregon Preview at Eugene's Historic Hayward Field. Hunker turned in a time of 15.60 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 56.50 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.
• Pacific will have four more meets in which to earn NWC Championships qualifying marks. After this weekend, the Boxers will host their own Luau Meet on Sat., Apr. 9 and will then will split between the L&C Invitational and the Rich Allen Classic at George Fox on Sat., Apr. 16.
MEET RECAPS
LEWIS & CLARK SPRING BREAK CLASSIC
Pole vaulters led the way for the Pacific track and field teams Saturday as the Boxers won both the men's and women's side of the events to lead efforts at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open, held at the Eldon Fix Track.
John Fredericks (Sr., Forest Grove, Ore.) won the pole vault in the men's competition, clearing the bar at 13 feet, 3 inches. Kasey Fisher (So., Denair, Calif.) won the women's section with her mark of 10 feet, 5 inches. The two victories led a strong day for the Boxers despite the team sending their top point scorers south to the Oregon Preview. The Pacific men finished fourth of 19 teams, compiling a score of 61 points. The women finished fifth in the 13-team field with a score of 69 points.
In addition to her win in the pole vault, Fisher took third in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.50 seconds. Teammate Chloe Hallyburton (So., Dayton, Ore.) amassed a pair of second place finishes and a fourth. The sophomore finished second in the high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 9 inches, and was second in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:13.10 to earn a spot at the Northwest Conference Championships in the event. Hallyburton finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.24 seconds. The Pacific women also received fourth place finishes from Nicole Smith (Sr., Wailuku, Hawaii) in the 400 meters in 1:02.72, and Lauren Barnard (Jr., Lyons, Colo.) in the 800 meters in 2:25.95. Both times are season bests.
On the men's side, both Aaron Koford (Fr., Wilsonville, Ore.) and Ryan Culp (Jr., Woodburn, Ore.) earned NWC Championships qualifying marks in the discus. Koford finished third with a mark of 133 feet, 10 inches, while Culp was just behind in fourth with a mark of 133 feet, 7 inches. In addition, the men's 400-meter relay team of Tony Lam (Sr., Portland, Ore.), Davis Jacobs (Fr., Tigard, Ore.), Cameron Yip (Fr., Waihe'e, Hawaii) and Vince Mull (So., Beaverton, Ore.) placed third in a time of 45.06 seconds.
OREGON PREVIEW
Michael Hunker (So., Cornelius, Ore.) set season bests in both hurdle disciplines Saturday, leading the efforts of a select group of Pacific athletes competing at the Oregon Preview at Historic Hayward Field.
Hunker placed second in the second section of the 110-meter hurdles, crossing the line in a time of 15.60 seconds. He then went on to place fifth in the first section of the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.50 seconds. Teammate Nathan Gilpin (Sr., Oregon City, Ore.) was third in the second section of the long hurdles, finishing in 59.74 seconds.
Jenna Matsumoto (Jr., Kailua, Hawaii) was the only Pacific women's athlete to compete at the meet, finishing sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:10.97.
Murphy Busek (Sr., Mountain View, Hawaii) finished 11th in the hammer with a mark of 134 feet, 2 inches, and then placed 12th in the shot put with a mark of 43 feet, 8.5 inches. Avery Neal (Jr., Los Alamos, N.M.) rounded out the Pacific field. He placed 12th in the second section of the 800 meters in a time of 1:59.21.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
VAULTING TO VICTORY: While the pole vault has traditionally not been a strong event for Pacific, the Boxers saw two of their own athletes win the event at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open. Kasey Fisher captured the women's pole vault with a mark of 10 feet, 5.25 inches. She earned the win over Pacific Lutheran's Nicole Jones based on fewer misses at previous heights. John Fredericks, meanwhile, did not need a judge's decision to win the vault over teammate Ryan Terao (So., Kaneohe, Hawaii), with Fredericks clearing the bar at 13 feet, 3 inches. Both efforts by Fisher and Fredericks were their second best of the year. Both Fisher and Fredericks have NWC Championships qualifying marks, with another couple of athletes close to the qualifying mark. Ryan Terao's second place mark of 12 feet, 9.5 inches is just an inch and a quarter off the qualifying mark of 12 feet, 10.75 inches. Chloe Hallyburton needs just one inch to qualify at 7 feet, 11.5 inches.
KNOCKING TIME OFF THE BARRIERS: Michael Hunker continues to put together a strong sophomore year and continues to improve as the season moves on. Hunker put together another pair of season bests at the Oregon Preview. He finished second in the second section of the 110-meter hurdles, tallying a season best time of 15.60 seconds. He came back to finish fifth in the first section of the 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 56.50 seconds. Hunker enters the week with second best mark in the conference in both events. In addition to Hunker's performance, Nathan Gilpin managed to lower his best in the 400-meter hurdles at the Oregon Preview. Gilpin finished third in the second section with a time of 59.74 seconds.
CHUCKING THE DISC: Pacific added a pair of qualifiers to the men's discus for the NWC Championships at the L&C Spring Break Open. Aaron Koford placed third in the meet with a throw of 133 feet, 10 inches. Ryan Culp was one place behind in fourth place with a mark of 133 feet, 7 inches. With their performances, the Boxers now have qualifiers for the NWC Championships in three of the four throwing disciplines.
ADD WOMEN'S QUALIFIERS: In addition to the two men's qualifiers in the discus, Pacific added two more qualifiers on the women's side. Chloe Hallyburton earned a qualifying mark in the 400-meter hurdles at the L&C Spring Break Open, placing second in a time of 1:13.10. With Hallyburton's qualification, the Boxers have four athletes to enter in the 400-meter hurdles at the NWC Championships. Nicole Brown, meanwhile, earned a qualifying mark in the triple jump. Brown finished fourth at the L&C Spring Break Open with her leap of 31 feet, 6.5 inches. She joins Annie Mutchler (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) as Pacific qualifiers in the event.
QUALIFIERS BY THE NUMBERS: With three weeks to go before the NWC Championships, the Boxers have longer qualifying lists than they have had in the recent history of the program. On the men's side, a total of 18 athletes have qualified in 17 different events. Eight Boxers' men have qualified in two events. On the women's side, 12 athletes have qualified for 17 different events. Sam Lee (Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) leads the women's list, having qualified in five different events from 800 meters to 10,000 meters.
SEASON PREVIEW: The full 2011 Pacific track & field preview can be read online by Clicking Here.
