Strong Second Day Finishes Koford Third In Boxer Combined Event
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FOREST GROVE - A strong second day, which included a victory and a stadium multi-event record in the discus, allowed
Aaron Koford (Jr., Wilsonville, Ore.) to finish in third place in the decathlon Friday, leading three Pacific athletes at the Boxer Combined Event meet held at Lincoln Park Stadium.
In fifth place after the first day of competition, Koford was a top-four finisher in three of the second day's five events and closed the day with a Northwest Conference Championships qualifying 5,718 points. The performance is an improvement of 440 points over his best from last year.
Koford won the discus, the seventh event of the competition, with a throw of 122 feet, 6 inches, that also set a stadium record in the multi-event setting. He also notched fourth place finishes in the pole vault, clearing 11 feet 11.75 inches, and in the javelin with a throw of 129 feet, 2 inches.
Ted Wogan (So., Klamath Falls, Ore.) also used a solid second day to maintain seventh place before surging in the 1,500 meters to place fifth with 5,437 points, qualifying for the NWC Championship with a 302-point improvement over his best from last year. Wogan opened the day with the second best time in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing in 16.04 seconds, and tied for second in the pole vault with a clearance of 12 feet, 11.5 inches. He added some big points with a strong performance in the 1,500 meters, placing fourth in 5:04.71.
David Kelley (Fr., Warrenton, Ore.) made a strong showing in his first decathlon, placing ninth with 3,896 points. His afternoon was highlighted by a sixth place finish in the pole vault, clearing 9 feet, 7.75 inches.
Seth Buck of Clackamas CC used a strong second day to move up two places and win the decathlon with a score of 6,004 points. Buck finished no worse than fifth in any of Friday's events, won the javelin with a mark of 153 feet, 4 inches, and finished second in the 1,500 meters in 4:53.28. Brandon Ritchie of Southern Oregon finished second with 5,965 points.
In the heptathlon, George Fox's Beth Stam only built on her lead in the heptathlon, easily winning the competition with a stadium record total of 4,815 points. The performance ranks No. 3 this season at all levels of collegiate track. Stam secured her win by winning the javelin (145-2), placing second in the long jump (16-9.25) and sixth in the 800 meters (2:38.91).
Stam led a top-three sweep for the Bruins. Maria Green placed second with 4,522 points, ranking her No. 4 on the college leaderboard this season. Charity Arn placed third with 4,477 points, the sixth-best nationally so far this season. Arm was a winner in the long jump with a leap of 17 feet, 1.25 inches. There were no Pacific athletes in the heptathlon competition.
Pacific returns to action tomorrow with athletes heading to two meets. The majority of the squad will compete in the Wildcat Open in McMinnville on Saturday while a select group will compete at the Oregon Preview at Hayward Field in Eugene.
