Hurdlers Lead The Way For Boxers At NWC Championships
Final Results
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – It was hurdlers providing the majority of the points for Pacific Saturday as the Northwest Conference Track & Field Championships concluded Saturday at Linfield College's Maxwell Field.
Nathan Gilpin (Sr., Oregon City, Ore.) and Michael Hunker (So., Cornelius, Ore.) came up with the Boxers' best individual finishers on the men's side. Gilpin finished third in the 400-meter hurdles with a personal best time of 56.20 seconds. Hunker followed right behind, finishing fifth in 57.45 seconds. Earlier in the afternoon, Hunker placed fourth in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.80 seconds.
Jenna Matsumoto (Jr., Kailua, Hawaii) scored top finishes on the women's side. She led three Boxers with a fifth place finish in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:08.33 and placed seventh in the 100-meter hurdles in 16.52 seconds. Kori Bellwood (Fr., Yamhill, Ore.) finished seventh in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:09.17 while Jessica Head (Fr., North Bend, Ore.) was eighth in 1:10.60.
Pacific's hurdlers led the way for a 47-point improvement for the Boxers over the 2009 championships. The Pacific men finished the team race in sixth place with 57 points. The women finished in eighth place, tallying 42 points.
Pacific's sprinters also accounted for plenty of scoring, particularly on the women's side where the tandem of Nicole Smith (Sr., Wailuku, Hawaii) and Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (Fr., Makakilo, Hawaii) scored over a third of the team's points. Smith finished fifth in the 100 meters in 13.12 seconds and then placed fourth in the 200 meters with a time of 27.05 seconds. Aken-Pagdilao finished right behind in both events, placing fifth in the 200 in 27.06 seconds and sixth in the 100 in 13.14 seconds.
Vince Mull (So., Beaverton, Ore.) placed fourth in the men's 100 meters, clocking 11.26 seconds, while Alex Florence (Sr., Tigard, Ore.) finished sixth in the 200 meters in 23.30 seconds. The two men opened the day by combining with
Aaron Koford (Fr., Wilsonville, Ore.) and Hunker for a third place finish in the 400-meter relay, clocking a season best 43.13 seconds. Avery Neal (Jr., Los Alamos, N.M.) finished fourth in the 800 meters with a season best time of 1:57.17.
The Boxers also received points in the men's 1,600-meter relay with the team of Sean Valente (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii), Florence, Hunker and Neal placed seventh in 3:24.38.
In the men's field events, Kelson Kawai (Fr., North Kohala, Hawaii) placed fifth in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 11.25 inches, and fifth in the triple jump with a season best leap of 43 feet, 7 inches. Taylor Hickson (Fr., Red Bluff, Calif.) followed up his sixth place in the long jump on Friday with a sixth place finish in the triple jump with a season best of 43 feet, 1.5 inches.
Sam Lee (Sr., Fort Wayne, Ind.) was Pacific women's only other placer on the track, finishing sixth in the 5,000 meters with a season best of 18:18.51. Annie Mutchler (Fr., Sisters, Ore.) was the lone placer in Saturday's field event finals, finishing fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 33 feet, 10.75 inches.
While the conference meet has passed, the season is far from over for Pacific track and field. The Boxers will host the fourth annual Pacific Twilight meet next weekend. The two-day meet begins Friday at 2 p.m.
