Pacific University Athletics

Track & Field Enters 2014 With Great Foundation

2/28/2014 3:07:00 PM

By Blake Timm '98, Sports Information Director

FOREST GROVE - As he enters his seventh year leading the Pacific track and field programs, Tim Boyce is seeing the growth in the program that has been so many years in coming.
 
The 2013 season served as a coming out of sorts for the men's squad as the Boxers finished third at the Northwest Conference Championships and amassed the second most points for a Pacific team in conference meet history.  The Boxers had seven All-NWC performers (top-three conference meet finishes) and three conference titles from Tyler Shipley (So., Forest Grove, Ore.) and Kelson Kawai (Sr., North Kohala, Hawaii).
 
Shipley was named the NWC Championships Men's Track Athlete of the Meet after winning both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters as a freshman.
 
While the women placed eighth at the conference meet, they showed considerable growth and enter 2014 with the expectation to move up the podium.  The Boxer women had one All-NWC performer in Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (Sr., Makakilo, Hawaii) in the 100 meters while three others just missed all-conference distinction with fourth place finishes.
 
With the ability to get a jumpstart on the season with their second official indoor season, Boyce enters the outdoor schedule with a positive mindset.  "Most of the folks that are returners improved significantly on their indoor performances over last year," Boyce said.  "We have returned a lot of performers from last year, which gives us a great base, but we have also added some experience and new athletes to the program that will fill some of the holes that we had."
 
MEN
The performances during the indoor season, coupled with the third place finish at the NWC Championships last year, the expectations for the Pacific men are high.  The team's 122 points were the second most scored by a Pacific team at the conference, and athletes responsible for 88 of those points return in 2014.
 
While the point-scoring potential provides promise, Boyce remains cautiously optimistic.  "The challenge is maintaining where you were last year and Pacific won't sneak up on anyone this year in the conference race," Boyce said.  "In every meet, you have to go out and earn those spots, but we feel optimistic that we can be just as good of a team as last year, if not better."
 
 
Zane opened the year by setting a Pacific record of 6.97 seconds in the indoor 60-meters, a time that ranked 32nd in Division III.  He also set school indoor records in the 200 meters (22.49 seconds) and 300 meters (37.49 seconds).  "We were conservative with his racing last year, but in 2014 he seems fully fit and healthy," Boyce said.  "We are really confident that he can be one of the premiere 100 and 200-meter runners in the NWC, if not Division III."
 
Trey Oshiro-Atabay (Jr., Aiea, Hawaii) will be a double threat for the Boxers in the sprints and jumps.  He placed fifth at the NWC Championships in the 400 meters and just missed qualifying for the finals in the long jump. He set school indoor records this season in both events.  Oshiro-Atabay will also be a mainstay in the 1,600-meter relay and could add both the triple jump and the 400-meter hurdles to his repertoire this season.
 
Conner Pappas (So., Heppner, Ore.) had the Boxers' second fastest time last year in the 200 meters (22.75 seconds) and will figure into both the sprint events and the relays.
 
Kris Sapp (Fr., Sacramento, Calif.) and Sean Higginbotham (Fr., Phoenix, Ariz.) both provide solid scoring potential in their first season.   Sapp was named his prep conference's athlete of the year as a senior and come to Pacific with a prep best of 10.64 seconds in the 100 meters.  Higginbotham was a three-time Arizona state meet qualifier and owns bests of 23.5 seconds in the 200 meters and 50.6 seconds in the 400 meters.
 
 
Shipley tuned-up well during the indoor season.  His school record of 15:03.59 is just six seconds off of his outdoor best from last year.  "There is a strong tradition of distance running in the NWC and it will be a tough challenge to repeat that feat," Boyce said.  "He's training at a high level, though, and I think he will continue to improve during the outdoor season."
 
The Boxers add depth in the distances with freshmen Gary Fanelli (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii), Kaleb Bass (Fr., Slate Creek, Idaho) and Ben Thomas (Fr., Tualatin, Ore.).  Fanelli comes to Pacific after winning the Hawaii state championship in the 1,500 meters and finished second in the 800 meters as a senior, and will be a mainstay for the Boxers at 800 meters after setting the school indoor record in January.
 
Bass was a prep conference champion in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters, while Thomas was an all-conference cross country selection in his senior season.  Both will see action in events from 800 meters to 5,000 meters and could see a race or two in the steeplechase.
 
While the Boxers are not as deep as they have been in the past in the hurdles, they return a big point scorer in Daniel Wagner (Jr., Kailua, Hawaii).  Wagner earned All-NWC honors with a third place finish in the 400-meter hurdles and his season best of 56.45 seconds cracked Pacific's all-time top-10.  He also placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles and had a season best of 15.49 seconds.  Aaron Koford (Sr., Wilsonville, Ore.) will add depth in the event as he competes in concert with his work in the decathlon.  Koford had a season best of 16.79 seconds last year in the 110-meter hurdles.
 
 
Hawkins was a great addition to the team.  In addition for his tie for second in the high jump, Hawkins finished second at the NWC Championships in the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 11.25 inches and had the lead at the conference meet until the final jump.  He will join the team late after finishing competition with the Pacific men's basketball team.
 
Jeremy Parkinson (So., Hubbard, Ore.) finished fifth in the NWC Championships in the triple jump and surpassed Kawai with a season best of 44 feet, 8.75 inches.  He figures to be a strong performer again in both horizontal jumps.
 
Pacific also adds some talent in the pole vault.  Michael Teves (Fr., Makawao, Hawaii) returns to the sport after focusing for a year on a soccer career at Division II Hawaii Hilo.  He was the 2012 Hawaii state champion in the vault with a best of 14 feet, 3 inches.  In his one competition of the indoor season, Teves cleared a school record 12 feet, 5.5 inches. 
 
Koford will also compete in the pole vault and both athletes will compete for the Boxers in the decathlon.  Koford placed sixth in the conference decathlon in 2013 and his season best of 5,718 points is No. 4 all-time for the Boxers.
 
Pacific also returns a corps of experienced athletes in the throws.  Travis George (Sr., Grants Pass, Ore.) set the school record in the hammer with a mark of 160 feet, 6.75 inches at the NWC Championships.  Jesse Bethke (Jr., Cave Junction, Ore.) placed sixth at the NWC Championships in the discus and finished the indoor season with the school record in the weight throw.  Taylor Hickson (Jr., Red Bluff, Calif.) placed fifth in the javelin and his season best of 189 feet, 0.75 inches is second best in school history.
 
Chris McLinden (Sr., Redwood City, Calif.) rejoins the program after a year away and will help the Boxers in the shot put after a best of 41 feet, 1.5 inches during the indoor season.  Tim Claussen (So., Yamhill, Ore.)  finished with a best of 40 feet, 10.25 inches in the indoor season.
 
WOMEN
While their placing at the NWC Championships was far from what they wanted, the Pacific women experienced substantial growth and set a base for future success.  The Boxers placed eighth at the conference meet, but were within striking distance of both seventh place Puget Sound and sixth place Linfield.
 
"We may have had the most ninth place finishes at the conference meet last year," Boyce said in reference to the top-eight performers advancing to the finals.  "I feel that the women can move up in the conference standings.  We have the athletes in every event that can qualify for conference and contend for a scoring position.  We return most of our women and they are excited for the challenge ahead."
 
Aken-Pagdilao was an All-NWC performer in the 100 meters for the second straight year, placing second while reducing her school record to 12.59 seconds.  She just missed the finals in the 200 meters, placing ninth in the preliminaries and had a season best of 26.27 seconds.
 
Emily Tuffey (Jr., Valencia, Calif.) and Alexis Damo (So., Honolulu, Hawaii) are expected to continue to improve and be potential point scorers.   Tuffey qualified for the NWC Championships in the 400 meters.  Her season bests of 27.39 seconds in the 200 meters and 1:01.72 in the 400 meters are sixth-best all-time for the Boxers.  Damo returns to full strength after struggling with health issues as a freshman and has the potential for a sub-60-second time in the 400 meters.  She ran a school record 1:02.51 indoors this season in the 400 meters.
 
Haley Nevins (So., Fair Oaks, Calif.) and Elaina Gillespie (Fr., Nampa, Idaho) will anchor the Boxers in the 800 meters.  Nevins returns to the program after a year off and has already set the school record indoors this season in the 600 meters (1:46.48).  Gillespie ran for the Pacific cross country team in the fall and set indoor school records in the 800 meters (2:29.09) and the 1,000 meters (3:15.75).  Sidney Davis (So., Redmond, Ore.) will primarily compete in the 1,500 meters and will also run the steeplechase, where she was a conference meet qualifier.
 
Lisa Martin (So., Gresham, Ore.) will provide the strength for the Boxers at the long distances.  After a solid cross country season, Martin set Pacific indoor school record in the 3,000 meters (10:57.64) and the 5,000 meters (18:55.62).  She has the potential to be a conference meet qualifier in both the 5,000 meters and the 10,000 meters.
 
Dannika Sullivan (So., Portland, Ore.) leads Pacific's hurdle corps after placing eighth in the NWC Championships in the 400-meter hurdles as a freshman.  Her time of 1:08.45 in the preliminaries ranks as the sixth-best in school history.  Cyan Agena (So., Kapolei, Hawaii) qualified for the NWC Championships in both hurdles races and her season best of 17.06 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles is No. 6 on the Pacific all-time list.  Kelsey Lee (So., Monroe, Wash.) will also contribute after running an indoor best of 1:06.53 in the open 400 meters.
 
Mackenzie Huddleston (So., Milwaukie, Ore.) finished just short of the school record in the high jump last year and stands a chance to break it in 2014.  Huddleston qualified for the conference meet as a freshman with a season best of 5 feet, 1 inch.  She surpassed that already this indoor season, setting the school indoor mark at 5 feet, 1.75 inches.  Huddleston also placed ninth at the NWC Championships in the javelin, where she had a lifetime best of 118 feet, 1 inches last year, and is looking to try the heptathlon.
 
"Mackenzie has a strong fitness level heading into the outdoor season," Boyce said.  "She is doing a lot of extra event work for the heptathlon and that has already made her jumping and throwing better than it was last year."
 
McKenna Davidson (So., Kailua-Kona, Hawaii) should see continued growth in her sophomore year as a specialist in the long jump.  She had a season best of 15 feet, 7.75 inches, the ninth best mark in school history.
 
 
Tesla Wright (Fr., Bend, Ore.) and Emily Geddes (Fr., Bend, Ore.) both come to Pacific with prep bests of over 10 feet.  Wright placed third at the Oregon 5A state championship with her personal best of 11 feet, 3 inches.  Geddes has cleared 10 feet, 6 inches and will also compete in the heptathlon.
 
The throws crew is young, but has shown great improvement during the off-season and indoor campaign.  Anna Toyas (Sr., Seaside, Ore.) qualified for the NWC Championships in the javelin and earlier in the season had a lifetime best of 122 feet, 4 inches, which ranks No. 3 all-time at Pacific.
 
Returners Sara Davidson (So., St. Paul, Ore.) and Katie Rock (So., Seattle, Wash.) qualified for the NWC Championships in both the shot put and the discus and are poised to improve as sophomores.  Davidson had Pacific's top mark in the discus last year at 109 feet, 8 inches, and also had the second best marks in the shot put and hammer.
 
Jackie Brooks (Fr., Pleasant Hill, Ore.) will add more depth to the squad in the shot put and hammer.  Brooks finished seventh at the Oregon 3A state championships in the shot put and had a lifetime best of 34 feet, 5 inches.