Track & Field Weekly Notebook
With two weeks to go before the conference meet, the Boxers look to add some more qualifying marks in their own Pacific Luau Meet
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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC TRACK & FIELD
Sat., Apr. 9: Pacific Luau Meet, 10:00 am
TWO MEETS TO GO BEFORE THE BIG ONE: The Pacific track and field program has two meets to go before hosting the Northwest Conference Championships on Apr. 24 and 25. The Boxers come home for the second of four meets at Lincoln Park Stadium this season on Saturday, hosting George Fox, Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound in the Pacific Luau Meet.
WILLAMETTE INVITATIONAL: Amanda Basham (Fr., Sweet Home, Ore.) may have found her event of the future. The freshman turned in a record performance in the steeplechase to lead Pacific's performances at the Willamette Invitational, held Friday and Saturday at the Charles Bowles Track.
Running in just her second steeplechase ever Friday night, Basham finished second in a time of 11:55.65, four seconds behind winner Karen Owens of Spokane Community College. The mark established a new Pacific record, bettering the previous best of 11:57.02 set by Sarah Smith in 2006.
The performance in the distances highlighted a meet that saw Pacific athletes gain six more qualifying marks for the upcoming NWC Championships. On the women's side, Lauren Barnard (Fr., Lyons, Colo.) earned a qualifying mark in the 1,500 meters, running a time of 4:54.87. Jasmyne Settle (Fr., St. Helens, Ore.) added the 100-meter hurdles to her list of events, finishing 24th in 18.06 seconds. She also improved her time in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 1:16.37. Angie Miller (So., Alsea, Ore.), meanwhile, improved her season best in the long jump by an inch and a half, placing sixth with her mark of 16 feet, 8.5 inches.
On the men's side, Kody Kramer (So., Oroville, Wash.) earned a spot at the NWC Championships with a time in the 200 meters of 23.35 seconds. Likewise, Ryan Culp (Fr., Woodburn, Ore.) qualified in the discus, posting a five-foot season best with a throw of 131 feet, 7 inches. Avery Neal (So., Los Alamos, N.M.) also earned a spot in the 400 meters with a time of 51.89 seconds.
ABOUT THE LUAU MEET: Pacific will host a trio of Northwest Conference teams on Saturday, with George Fox, Lewis & Clark and Puget Sound joining the Boxers at Lincoln Park Stadium. Unlike the NWC Preview, the meet is closed to competitors outside of the four competing teams. The Luau Meet is so named because it falls on the same day as the University's annual Luau. Now in its 59th year and produced by Pacific's Hawaii Club (Na Haumana O Hawaii), the Luau is one of the largest of its kind produced in the mainland United States.
BOYCE'S BANTER: Quotes From Head Coach Tim Boyce
On Pacific's Performance At The Willamette Invitational: "We felt that the Willamette meet was a very positive one for the Boxers. We made many personal and season best that resulted in NWC qualifying marks in multiple events. It was good to have decent weather and the competition was very solid throughout the meet."
On Avery Neal: "Avery contributed two solid relay legs and set a personal best to qualify for the 400 meters out of lane one. We look forward to his efforts in the coming weeks."
On Amanda Basham: "Amanda had a very good weekend. Her effort in the steeplechase was a huge improvement on her first attempt. It looks like it could be a great event for her. I was also pleased by her 800-meter personal best and leg of the 4x400 relay."
On Angie Miller: "Angie is getting back to where she was last year and had a foul that was a big jump. She is still working on consistency on the runway. A big jump is in there!"
On Ryan Culp: "Despite a little shoulder trouble, Ryan had a good result in the discus after deciding to forego the shot put. As he gets a bit healthier he will improve in both events."
Look Ahead To The Luau Meet: "The Luau meet should be a fun competition. We hope the weather cooperates a little better than it did on Mar. 14. Lewis & Clark, George Fox and Puget Sound will be joining us as we all try to gets additional athletes qualified for the conference meet and fine tune the technical events."
BASHAM SETS FIRST RECORD OF SEASON: The race was just Amanda Basham's second steeplechase of her career, but it appears that she may have found her track specialty. The Sweet Home, Ore., native set a Pacific record in the steeplechase at the Willamette Invitational on Saturday. Her second place time of 11:55.65 surpassed the former record of 11:57.02 set by Sarah Smith in 2006. The time was a 35-second over her first race in the event, a 12:30.02 at the Mar. 14 NWC Preview. Her time ranks sixth best in the NWC this season. In addition to her steeplechase performance, Basham ran a personal best of 2:29.24 in the 800 meters at the Willamette meet and ran one leg of the Boxers' 4x400 relay.
CULP-ABILITY: Freshman thrower Ryan Culp is starting to make some solid improvements as the conference meet comes closer. The Woodburn native earned his first NWC Championships qualifying mark at the Willamette Invitational, throwing a Pacific season best 131 feet, 7 inches in the discus. The effort marked a five-foot season best. Culp elected not to participate in the shot put due to a sore shoulder. His season best of 39 feet, 1 inch is two feet off of a NWC Championships qualifying mark.
FASTER AND FASTER: Avery Neal continues to hone his fast-twitch fibers in the 400 meters. Neal earned a qualifying time for the NWC Championships at the Willamette Invitational. Running out of lane one in his heat, he ran a time of 51.89 seconds to establish a new collegiate best for the Los Alamos, N.M., native. The time is ranks 15th on the conference's top times list, but only two and a half seconds separate Neal and the top time of 49.10 seconds.
ALLEN PROVISIONALLY QUALIFIED: Risa Allen provisionally qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships on Mar. 21, thanks to an effort of 37 feet, 1.75 inches at the Oregon Preview. Allen was the first athlete to earn a nationals qualifying mark in the event this season. To date, Allen owns the eighth best mark in the nation.
ALUMNI REPORT: A pair of recent Pacific alumni have continued to perform extremely well as unattached competitors. Kelsey Owens set a personal best in the 5,000 meters in the Willamette Invitational on Friday. Owens placed fifth with a time of 17:03.56 and trailed the race winner, Natalie Hemphill, by just five seconds. Owens set the Pacific record in the 5,000 meters in 2008. In the javelin, former Pacific All-American DeeDee Arnall placed fourth at the Willamette Invite with a throw of 136 feet, 10 inches. A 2006 graduate of Pacific and the 2006 NCAA Division III runner-up in the javelin, Arnall owns the Pacific record of 154 feet, 6 inches, and has the ninth best mark in NWC history.
PACIFIC TO HOST NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS: Pacific will have a grand opportunity to show off their new facility in grand fashion in April. The Boxers will host the Northwest Conference Championships on Apr. 24 and 25 at Lincoln Park Stadium. This will be the first time Pacific has hosted the conference meet in 11 years. They hosted the 1998 championships at Linfield's Maxwell Field because, at the time, Pacific did not have an on-campus track facility.
Posted by Blake Timm (timmbr@pacificu.edu) on Apr 7, 2009 at 10:36 AM
