FOREST GROVE - The increased numbers were good, but the performances were even better.
While the Pacific track and field program certainly saw numbers as a step in the right direction, an even better indicator was the number of strong performances the Boxers saw across the board late in the season. The Boxers saw their highest Northwest Conference Championships point totals in recent history.
Even more significant was the performances Pacific saw in the sprints, hurdles and jumps, areas in recent history where the Boxers have not scored many points.
“I think we are demonstrating that we're working hard to build an overall well-balanced program,” said fifth year Head Coach Tim Boyce. “We had some good success in pretty much every area last year. This year, we return some strong individuals and we've added some talented folks.”
It is once again those same areas of the sprints, hurdles and jumps where the Boxers will look to be be strong once again. Pacific returns the majority of their conference meet scorers in both the men's and women's sides as well as a number of distance runners who came off one of Pacific's best cross country seasons in recent years.
The numbers within the program remain solid, with nearly 60 athletes out in 2012. And many of the additions bring a quality to the team that will pay dividends immediately.
“We did lose a couple of significant contributors from last year's team, but this year I think we have more people who are capable of scoring at the conference meet,” Boyce said. “And every place is important. We feel like we have a lot less holes than we had last year.”
MEN'S PREVIEW
SPRINTS/HURDLES
The sprint and hurdle corps proved to be the Boxers' most successful area in 2011. Over half of Pacific's scoring at the NWC Championships came in those events.
The return of the majority of those point scorers make the two areas Pacific's deepest once again. On the men's side, Vince Mull (Jr., Beaverton, Ore.) placed fourth at the NWC meet in the 100 meters, and his best of 11.01 seconds was the best run by a Boxer since the 1970s. Sean Valente (So., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) was a conference qualifier in the 200 meters and 400 meters and will also continue to play a key role in both the 400 and 1,600-meter relays.
Michael Hunker (Jr., Cornelius, Ore.) returns as a major scoring threat in the hurdles. Hunker placed fourth at the NWC meet in the 110-meter hurdles and fifth in the 400-meter variety, yet he didn't run his seasonal best in the 110-meters of 15.50 seconds until a week later at the Pacific Twilight.
The newcomers in the group almost all come with state meet placing credentials. Michael Zane (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) could be a top-three placer as a freshman. A two-time Hawaii state runner-up in both the 100 meters and 200 meters, Zane's personal bests of 10.92 seconds in the 100 and 22.10 seconds in the 200 would have won last year's conference meet.
“Mike may be one of the top recruits we have had come into our program in some time,” Boyce said. “He has played a key role in Punahou's Hawaii state championship teams all four years he was in high school. He is a legitimate sprinter.”
Ted Wogan (Fr., Klamath Falls, Ore.) was the Oregon 4A state champion in the 110-meter hurdles for Klamath Union High School and Johnson said he has adjusted well to the increased collegiate barrier height. Wogan will also participate in the sprints and is expected to try the decathlon.
Trent Dixon (Fr., North Powder, Ore.) finished third in the Oregon 1A state meet in the 110-meter hurdles. Andy Harris (Fr., Midvale, Utah) placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles at the Utah state meet while Daniel Wagner (Kailua, Hawaii) finished third in the Hawaii state meet in the long barriers.
“The hurdles are a place where we can score a lot of points again this year,” Johnson said. “Depending on how the races shape up and who competes in what heats, I could see us having four or five guys who could make the final.”
DISTANCES
Pacific's distance crew is not only experience, but coming off their best cross country season in five years. Dan Flora (Jr., North Bend, Ore.) and Joe Deardorff (Jr., Independence, Ore.) both earned All-NWC and All-West Region honors during the fall and have continued training strong into the spring. Both are expected to anchor the Boxers in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Jerry Sanchez (Jr., Mecca, Calif.) was Pacific's regular No. 3 runner in his first cross country season and could compete in any event from 1,500 meters to 10,000 meters. John Gillem (Sr., Prineville, Ore.) will look to cap off his career well, concentrating his efforts at 800 meters.
John Cushman (Sr., Lakewood, Wash.) is the team's top returning runner at 800 meters and 1,500 meters. He qualified for the NWC Championships in the 800 and ran a season best of 1:59.06.
JUMPS
Much like the hurdles, a strong group of returners gives Pacific hope for some big points in the jumps. Kelson Kawai (So., North Kohala, Hawaii) finished fifth at the NWC Championships in the high jump a year after winning the Hawaii state championship in the event and also placed fifth in the triple jump.
Taylor Hickson (So., Red Bluff, Calif.) was a two-event placer at the NWC Championships, finishing sixth in both the long jump and triple jump.
Dixon will be as valuable of a commodity in the high jump as he is in the hurdles. A two-time Oregon 1A state champion in the high jump, Dixon won the title as a senior with a lifetime best of 6 feet, 6 inches. Spencer Wilson (Fr., La Pine, Ore.) brings some raw talent that the Boxers can use both in the long jump and in the sprints.
With the graduation of conference placer John Fredericks, Ryan Terao (Jr., Kaneohe, Hawaii) will carry the Boxers in the pole vault. Terao made one appearance in an injury-shortened year, vaulting 12 feet, 9.5 inches.
THROWS
Pacific experienced a year of growth in the throws in 2011 and returns a number of performers in position to turn in potential breakthrough seasons.
Aaron Koford (So., Wilsonville, Ore.) broke through to place eighth in the NWC Championships in the discus as a freshman with a seven-foot personal best of 140 feet, 10 inches. He has the potential to qualify again in that event as well as the javelin. Koford also just missed scoring in the conference decathlon with a total of 5,274 points, the fourth best total in school history.
Chris McLinden (Jr., Redwood City, Calif.) and Chris Johnson (So., Everett, Wash.) finished 2011 with two of the Boxers' best finishes ever in the hammer. Johnson went 121 feet, 9 inches at the NWC Championships, while McLinden turned in a performance of 121 feet, 3 inches. Both athletes will also contribute in the shot put.
Ryan Culp (Sr., Woodburn, Ore.) and Travis George (So., Grants Pass, Ore.) will also be potential point-scorers for the Boxers in the throws. Culp, a discus specialist, went over 133 feet in the event last year to qualify for the NWC Championships. George was Pacific's top hammer thrower last year with a personal best of over 144 feet.
WOMEN'S PREVIEW
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Much like the men, the Pacific track and field team will likely see most of their points scored by a strong group of sprinters and hurdlers. Much of the excitement will come from a pair of sprinters expected to duke it out for the 100-meter record all season long.
Nicole Smith (Sr., Wailuku, Hawaii) set the Pacific record in the event with a time of 12.89 seconds in the NWC Championships preliminaries. The record lasted of two minutes as teammate Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (So., Makakilo, Hawaii) ran 12.85 seconds in the next heat.
Both women provide big points for the Boxers in the conference meet. Smith and Aken-Pagdilao finished fifth and sixth in the 100 meters and fourth and fifth in the 200 meters.
“Nicole is looking really strong right now,” Johnson said of the senior who earned an unexpected fifth year of eligibility over the fall. “Both of them are looking like they will perform quite well.”
In addition to the sprints, Smith discovered at the end of last season that she has what it takes to be a successful heptathlete. Smith finished with 3,337 points in the West Coast Invitational in May, which proved to be the third best performance in school history. Her javelin performance in the meet of 106 feet, 8 inches, which came off a standing start, was Pacific's best mark of the season.
Hayley Palmer (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) will bolster the efforts of Smith and Aken-Pagdilao in the sprints. Palmer owns bests of 13.11 seconds in the 100 meters and 26.97 seconds in the 200 meters.
Pacific returns a group of three hurdlers who all scored at the NWC Championships. Jenna Matsumoto (Sr., Kailua, Hawaii) was a two-event placer, finishing fifth in the 400-meter hurdles and seventh in the 100-meter hurdles. Her best efforts, though, came after the conference meet as she ran a personal best of 1:06.64 in the long hurdles at the May Mt. Hood Track Festival.
Kori Bellwood (So., Yamhill, Ore.) finished seventh in the long hurdles while Jessica Head (So., North Bend, Ore.) finished eighth. Chloe Hallyburton (Jr., Dayton, Ore.) qualified for the NWC Championships in the 400-meter hurdles.
DISTANCES
While Pacific's distance squad is young as compared to it's male counterpart, there is lots to be excited about. Jilinda Franklin (Jr., Fort Jones, Calif.) is coming off a strong cross country season where she finished as the 12th best runner in school history over 6,000 meters. She just missed scoring at last year's NWC Track Championships, finishing 12th in the 10,000 meters.
“Jilinda had a fine cross country season, and I am excited to see if this is the season that she can sustain her fine running into the conference meet and beyond,” Boyce said.
Kiersten Iwai (So., San Diego, Calif.) and Ally Shackelford (So., Portland, Ore.) come into their second seasons coming off strong cross country seasons themselves. Shackelford qualified for the NWC Championships last year in the 10,000 meters.
Hayley Brusewitz (So., Longview, Wash.) returns to the team after a year off and will concentrate in the steeplechase. Brusewitz just missed placing in the event as a freshman at the 2010 NWC Championships.
Rachel Schreiber (Fr., Longmont, Colo.) and Kailee Green (Fr., Hillsboro, Ore.) will compete anywhere between 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. Schreiber continues to practice well after a strong cross country season. Green, who played soccer for the Boxers in the fall, was a conference champion in the 3,000 meters last year for Century High School.
Punneh Abdolhosseini (So., Seattle, Wash.) and Haley Nevins (Fr., Sacramento, Calif.) will anchor the Boxers at 800 meters. Abdolhosseini was a NWC Championships qualifier last year, while Nevins was a high school conference champion with a best of 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
JUMPS
The athletes Pacific has in the jumps all provide scoring potential at the end of the season. Hallyburton qualified for the NWC Championships in the high jump and has shown great improvement over the offseason, which should bode well in the event and in the heptathlon. Hallyburton finished ninth in the seven-eventer with a total of 3,090 points.
Aken-Pagdilao qualified for the NWC Championships in the long jump, while Smith and Nicole Brown (Jr., Wailuku, Hawaii)could qualify in both the long jump and triple jump.
Shawna Kinilau (Fr., Waipahu, Hawaii) enters her freshman season with scoring potential after competing in both the long jump and triple jump at the Hawaii state championships.
THROWS
With returner Julia Naumes unable to compete in 2012, the Boxers will lean on two athletes to carry the women in the throws. Anna Toyas (So., Seaside, Ore.) qualified for the NWC Championships in the javelin and is looking to add either the discus or hammer to her program.
Cassie Boykin (Fr., Eagle Point, Ore.) will be competing in the shot put and discus for the first time after being a standout sprinter at Eagle Point High School.
