2010 Track & Field Season Preview
As Tim Boyce enters his third season leading the Pacific track and field program, the Boxers continue their quest to continue to build their roster, both in terms of quantity and quality.
As the numbers go, Pacific continues to build a larger and formidable squad. Entering the season, Pacific finds 26 men on the roster and 14 women. The combined squad is one of the largest in recent school history, but is flush with youngsters. Ten athletes are sophomores in terms of eligibility, while 18 are in their first seasons of collegiate competition.
Boyce sees both the roster size and the number of underclassmen as a positive. “We’re still nowhere close to where we hope to be someday, but were moving forward,” Boyce said. “We feel that not only the number of athletes in the program is better, but the quality of folks we have from top of bottom is better. We’re still very young in terms of sophomores and freshmen dominating the roster, but that’s a good problem for us to have.”
The potential for new quality athletes in the program will be critical as the Boxers lost a number of big conference scorers from last year’s squad. On the women’s side, triple jump standout Risa Allen graduated while long jumper Angie Miller and distance specialist Amanda Basham have moved on. For the men, multi-event and 400-meter specialist Avery Neal is spending the season on a study abroad experience.
While the departure of those four are significant, that should open the door for a new group of athletes to step up and make their mark. “I think we should be a more well-rounded team this year,” Boyce said. “I don’t know that we have somebody that will lead the conference in a particular event, but we have folks in a number of areas that have the potential to impact the NWC leaderboard. From the hurdles to the pole vault to the distance races, we will have a better overall team.”
SPRINTS
Alex
Florence (Jr., Tigard, Ore.) came alive late in 2009 and will be the men’s
top returner in the sprint events. Florence finished with Pacific’s best
times in the 100 meters (11.50 seconds) and the 200 meters (23.19 seconds)
after working through injuries that plagued him for a season and a half.
“He’s had a healthy year, has worked hard in the weight room and should
be an impact for us from 400 meters on down,” Boyce said.
A pair of freshmen will add some serious punch both individually and in the relays. Jarred Franklin (Fr., McMinnville, Ore.) brings a best of 11.04 seconds in the 100 meters to Forest Grove. He placed eighth at the 2008 Oregon 6A stare championships in the event. Vince Mull (Fr., Beaverton, Ore.) also has quality speed with prep best of 11.26 seconds in the 100 meters and 24.48 seconds in the 200 meters.
Nicole Smith (Jr., Wailuku, Hawaii) will lead the charge on the women’s side as she enters her first true injury free season. After suffering a season-ending hamstring injury in her first collegiate meet, Smith made a slow comeback last year, posting bests of 13.54 seconds in the 100 meters and 28.39 seconds at 200 meters. “Nicole is the fittest she has been since her freshman year,” Boyce said. “We’ll be interested to see if she can have a healthy and prosperous season.”
Elyse Brouhard (So., Vancouver, Wash.) could also be a contributor after spending the 2009 season studying abroad. Brouhard owned the team’s top times in the sprints in 2008, clocking 13.47 seconds at 100 meters and 27.60 seconds at 200 meters.
DISTANCES
By
and large, the Boxers’ successes at the distances will rest on the shoulders
of a young group of athletes who showed great potential during the cross
country season. Whitney Nelson (Jr., Federal Way, Wash.) returns as a point
scorer after having placed sixth in the 10,000 meters in the 2009 NWC Championships.
Nelson turned in a strong cross country season and is poised to improve
on last year’s performance.
Samantha Lee (Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) just missed scoring for the Boxers at conference, finishing ninth in the 1,500 meters, and could also figure into the mix in the steeplechase. Lauren Barnard (So., Lyons, Colo.) returns with something to prove after injury kept her out of the conference meet. Barnard owned Pacific’s top times in the 800 meters and 1,500 meters last season with times of 2:22.09 and 4:54.87, respectively.
Hayley Brusewitz (Fr., Longview, Wash.) and Jilinda Franklin (Fr., Ft. Jones, Calif.) will also provide depth in the distances after both posting times in the Boxers’ top-15 all-time at 6,000 meters during the cross country season.
For the men, the Boxers will lean a corps of nine who have been training consistently since the cross country season. Steve Stoller (So., Canby, Ore.) returns after a season studying abroad and brings the potential of a sub 2-minute 800-meter time to the table. Casey Nishimura (Sr., Hawaii Kai, Hawaii) is expected to finish strong as the Boxers’ top returning runner at 1,500 meters.
John Gillem (So., Prineville, Ore.) was one of the Boxers’ top runners of the cross country season and is the top returning runner at 800 meters, 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. Joe Deardorff (Fr., Independence, Ore.) and Jon Larson (Fr., Hermiston, Ore.) also have conference meet scoring potential after strong cross country seasons in the fall.
HURDLES
Much
of Pacific’s success in the hurdles is expected to be on the men’s side
with two potential conference scorers returning to the fold. After concentrating
on the decathlon most of the season, Nathan Gilpin (Jr., Oregon City, Ore.)
discovered his potential as a hurdler. Gilpin owned the team’s best time
in the 110-meter hurdles at 15.70 seconds. He made his first try at the
400-meter hurdles at the Pacific Twilight and proceeded to turn in the
Boxers’ top time of the season at 58.42 seconds.
Tony Lam (Jr., Portland, Ore.) will continue to be a top performer for the Boxers in the 400-meter hurdles after clocking 59.15 seconds as a sophomore. Michael Hunker (Fr., Cornelius, Ore.) has great potential in the 110-meter event after placing sixth at the Oregon state meet in the 300-meter hurdles at 42.07 seconds. Hunker will also contribute in the 200 meters and in the relays.
Jenna Matsumoto (So., Kailua, Hawaii) will lead the way for the Pacific women in both hurdle distances. She led the team in the short discipline last year, going 16.60 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles. Chloe Hallyburton (Fr., Dayton, Ore.) finished third in the Oregon state meet last year in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking 17.33 seconds. She will also be expected to be a conference scorer in the high jump with a best of 4 feet, 10 inches, that placed fourth at the state meet.
JUMPS
While
Hallyburton will be the Boxers’ primary high jumper this season, the Pacific
women will be blessed with a wealth of horizontal jumpers. Smith and Nicole
Brown (Fr., Wailuku, Hawaii) will contribute in both the long jump and
triple jump. Jenny Novak (So., Dexter, Ore.) will also compete in the jumps
while possibly attempting the heptathlon.
On the men’s side, Alex Nguyen (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) returns to the team and could be a conference player in both the long jump and triple jump. Nguyen just missed placing in the triple jump at the 2008 conference meet, finishing ninth with a leap of 39 feet, 7.75 inches.
POLE VAULT
Pacific enters the season with a quartet of vaulters with the potential
of being conference scorers. John Fredericks (Jr., Forest Grove, Ore.)
came on late in the season, qualifying for the conference meet in the last
possible week before surging to place seventh with a season best of 13
feet, 7.25 inches. Ryan Terao (Fr., Kaneohe, Hawaii) will also be a potential
placer after surpassing 14 feet in high school.
On the women’s side, Kasey Fisher (Fr., Denair, Calif.) has the potential to be a conference scorer once she moves past some early season injury problems. Matsumoto is trying the event for the first time and has shown good ability in the early season. Both women have cleared eight feet in practice.
THROWS
Perhaps
the most experienced part of the Pacific roster in the throws where the
Boxers return four men’s hurlers who have been conference qualifiers. “I
am excited to see where these guys can go,” Boyce said. “I think we have
a couple of guys who can place in multiple events if things go well for
them.”
Ryan Culp (So., Woodburn, Ore.) just missed placing at conference in the discus, finishing ninth after throwing a season best of 131 feet, 9 inches earlier in the year. He also just missed qualifying for conference in the shot put. Murphy Busek (Jr., Mountain View, Hawaii) completed in the NWC Championships last year in shot put and owns a personal best of 43 feet, 10.75 inches in the event. Kyle Stonelake (Jr., St. Helens, Ore.) stands to improve in the javelin after finishing 15th in the javelin at the NWC meet. He owns a Pacific best of 161 feet.
Bobby Larkins (Jr., Forest Grove, Ore.) returns after a year off with the potential to be a conference scorer in both the shot put and discus. Larkins placed sixth at the 2008 NWC Championships in the shot put and has flirted with 50 feet on a number of occasions.
Chris McLinden (Fr., Redwood City, Ore.) and Zach Kitamura (Fr., Ashland, Ore.) will add some considerable depth to the already strong core. McLinden owns a personal best of 46 feet in the shot put, while Kitamura boasts season bests of 44 feet in the shot and 123 feet in the discus.
On the women’s side, the Boxers roster two newcomers with conference qualifying credentials. Haley Tank (Fr., West Richland, Wash.) was an all-area selection in both the shot put and the javelin, with best of 33 feet and 134 feet, respectively. Julia Naumes (Fr., Ashland, Ore.) is a Hawaii state placer in the shot put and owns a best of 38 feet.