Pacific University Athletics

Track & Field Weekly Notebook

4/30/2013 4:10:00 PM

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THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC TRACK AND FIELD
PACIFIC TWILIGHT
Fri., May 3, 4 p.m., and Sat., May 4, 10 a.m.
Lincoln Park Stadium, Forest Grove
Live Results: GoBoxers.com/livestats

BOXERS BOAST BREAKOUT PERFORMANCES AT NWC MEET
It could not have been a better day for the Pacific track and field teams at last week's Northwest Conference Championships.  The men's third place finish was their best since 1977 thanks in part to three conference champions.  All combined, the men's and women's teams saw 15 individuals selected as All-NWC and three school records fall.  The Boxers will bring their show back in front of the home crowd this weekend as they host the Pacific Twilight on Friday and Saturday.

BOXER BYTES
• Tyler Shipley was named the NWC Men's Track Athlete of the Meet after winning conference titles in both the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.  Shipley won the 10,000 meters on Friday in 31:58.63 and then captured the 5,000 meters on Saturday in 15:10.26.

• Kelson Kawai captured the Boxers' third NWC title, winning the men's triple jump with a mark of 44 feet, 6.25 inches.  Kawai also earned All-NWC honors in the high jump, tying with Budweiser Hawkins for second place with a clearance of 6 feet, 6.25 inches.

• Kelli Aken-Pagdilao reset her own school record in the women's 100 meters, running 12.59 seconds in Friday's preliminary heats.  She went on to finish second in the final, earning All-NWC honors with a time of 12.68 seconds.

• Travis George set a school record in the men's hammer throw, finsihing 10th at the NWC Championships with his performance of 160 feet, 6.75 inches.

• The women's 1,600-meter relay team of Emily Tuffey, Sarah Tuffey, Alexis Damo and Kelli Aken-Pagdilao broke the school record by seven seconds Saturday, finishing fourth with a time of 4:05.10.

• Taylor Hickson threw for a 26-foot personal best in the men's javelin to place fifth at the NWC Championships and finish just short of the school record.  Hickson popped his big throw on the third attempt, throwing 189 feet, 0.75 inches.

• The Pacific men finished third as a team for the first time since 1977, compiling a total of 122 points.  Their total was just 10 points short of second place Willamette.

LAST WEEK'S MEET RECAPS
NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS - DAY 1
The first of what will be many championships in the career of Tyler Shipley (Fr., Forest Grove, Ore.) and a pair of school records highlighted and excellent first day for the Pacific track and field teams Friday. at the Northwest Conference Championships.
 
Shipley completed the first leg of a potential double conference title in the long distances, closing the day with his victory in the men's 10,000 meters with a time of 31:58.63.  The performance moved the freshman to No. 3 on the Pacific all-time list in the event and was enough to hold off second place Matt Klein of Puget Sound by nine seconds.
 
Pacific also picked up a pair of school record performances.  Travis George (Jr., Grants Pass, Ore.) threw for a record of 160 feet, 6.75 inches to finish 10th in the men's hammer, bettering the previous record of 155 feet, 8 inches, set by Murphy Busek in 2010.  Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (Jr., Makakilo, Hawaii) significantly lowered her own school record in the women's 100 meters, qualifying third for Saturday's final in a time of 12.54 seconds.  The previous record of 12.67 seconds was set at last year's NWC Championships.
 
Budweiser Hawkins (So., Las Vegas, Nev.) added eight points to the Pacific cause with his second place finish in the men's long jump with a season best of 22 feet, 11.25 inches.  Jesse Bethke (So., Cave Junction, Ore.) finished sixth in the men's discus with a throw of 138 feet, 8.5 inches.  Dan Flora (Sr., North Bend, Ore.), meanwhile, joined Shipley in the top-eight of 10,000 meters, placing sixth in a lifetime best 32:53.02 that ranks No. 6 all-time for the Boxers.

NWC CHAMPIONSHIPS - DAY 2
Two more conference champions, massive personal best performances, another school record and the men's best team finish in four decades highlighted a banner day for the Pacific track and field teams as they concluded the Northwest Conference Championships Saturday.
 
The Boxer men had 17 individual event placers, led by the second conference title of the meet for Tyler Shipley and a title for Kelson Kawai (Jr., North Kohala, Hawaii), to finish third in the team standings with 122 points.  The Boxers were just 10 points short of perennial NWC power Willamette for second place in what is the Boxers' best finish at conference since 1977.  Pacific's women finished with seven individual event placers, topped by a school record effort for the 1,600-meter relay team, to place eighth with a total of 33 points.
 
Shipley completed an amazing long distance double, capturing the title in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:10.26.  The freshman cruised to beat Lewis & Clark's Samuel Smith by five seconds.  After having won the 10,000 meters the night before, Shipley was selected by the conference's coaches as the Men's Track Athlete of the Meet.

Kawai, meanwhile, pulled out a lifetime best to win the triple jump with a leap of 44 feet, 6.25 inches.  Kawai also tied for second place with teammate Budweiser Hawkins in the high jump, with both clearing 6 feet, 6.25 niches.  The clearance was a lifetime best for Hawkins and moved him to No. 6 on the Boxers' all-time list.
 
The men were helped greatly by their depth in the jumps and hurdles, with a total of six placers in the jumps (four on Friday) and five placers in the hurdles.  Jeremy Parkinson (Fr., Hubbard, Ore.) finished fifth in the triple jump with an effort of 43 feet. 10.5 inches.
 
Daniel Wagner (So., Kailua, Hawaii) and Ted Wogan (So., Klamath Falls, Ore.) placed in both hurdles races.  Wagner placed third in the 400-meter hurdles in 56.64 seconds and added a fifth place finish in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.01 seconds.  Wogan was seventh in both races, clocking 58.39 seconds in the 400-meter discipline and 16.59 seconds in the high hurdles.  Michael Hunker (Sr., Cornelius. Ore.) finished his final NWC meet with a third place finish in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking 15.57 seconds.
 
Michael Zane (So., Honolulu, Hawaii) led three Pacific scorers in the sprints, placing second in the 200 meters in 22.43 seconds.  Sean Valente (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii) led three placers in the 400 meters as he crossed in third in a season best 50.06 seconds.  The time moves Valente into No. 7 on the Boxers' all-time list.  Trey Oshiro-Atabay (So., Aiea, Hawaii) placed fifth in 50.65 seconds while Stefan Lemak (Fr., Los Altos, Calif.) placed sixth with a season best 50.69 seconds.  Both men's relays secured top four finishes.  The 400-meter relay placed fourth in 43.24 seconds, while the 1,600-meter relay placed third in a season best 3:23.40 to give Lemak, Oshiro-Atabay, Hunker and Valente all-conference distinction.
 
In the throws, Taylor Hickson (So., Red Bluff, Calif.) threw for a 26-foot lifetime best in the men's javelin, placing fifth with his mark of 189 feet. 0.75 inches.  The performance is No. 2 all-time for the Boxers and missed the school record by just two feet.
 
A record effort in the 1,600-meter relay led the way for the Pacific women.  The team of Emily Tuffey (So., Valencia, Calif.), Sarah Tuffey (Jr., Valencia, Calif.), Alexis Damo (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii) and Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (Jr., Makakilo, Hawaii) placed fourth in 4:05.10, cutting seven seconds off the record time of 4:12.58 set last year.  The four opened the meet with a fourth place time of 50.23 seconds in the 400-meter relay, a time that ranks No. 2 all-time for the Boxers.
 
Aken-Pagdilao came through earlier in the day with a second place finish in the 100 meters, following up her school record in the preliminaries with a time of 12.68 seconds.  Sarah Tuffey added a fourth place finish in the 400 meters with a season best time of 1:00.33 that improved her No. 3 all-time mark.  Rachel Schreiber (So., Longmont, Colo.) finished fourth in the 1,500 meters.  Her time of 4:43.28 moved her into No. 2 on the Boxers' all-time list.  Dannika Sullivan (Fr., Portland, Ore.) added an eighth place finish in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:10.26.
 
Britta LaVoie (Fr., Spokane, Wash.) was the Boxers' only placer in the women's field events, placing fifth in the pole vault with a clearance of 10 feet. 2.5 inches.

ABOUT THIS WEEK'S MEET
PACIFIC TWILIGHT
Now in it's sixth year, the Pacific Twilight has developed a reputation as one of the can't miss small college meets in the Northwest.  Last year's meet featured competitors from 19 collegiate teams from Division I to the junior college ranks and numerous unattached, club and open competitors.  The meet is the first major meet following last weekend's Northwest Conference Championships and the last for qualifying for a number of conferences who regularly have teams appear at the Twilight, including the NAIA's Cascade Conference, the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the Division I Big Sky Conference (who will have their conference meet at Lincoln Park Stadium next week).

Over the last two years, performances in the pole vault have been among the top highlights in the Pacific Twilight.  In 2011, eventual junior college national champion Keisa Monterola set a meet record with her clearance of 14 feet, 1.75 inches.  The mark ranked in the top-10 nationally at all college divisions. At last year's meet, Eastern Oregon's Robbie Haynie cleared a NAIA national best 17 feet, 0,75 inches in the men's pole vault.  Haynie went on to win the NAIA national championship in the event.

Also in 2011, former Washington All-American and Nike athlete Jordan Boase set a stadium record in the men's 400 meters with a time of 46.28 seconds.  Boase used the meet to prepare him for the start of the IAAF Diamond League season as he made the 200-meter the next week in the circuit's opening meet at Doha, Qatar.

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
SHIPLEY WOWS EVERYONE: The 5,000-meter/ 10,000-meter double is a tough road for a conference championship.  Tyler Shipley did not just pull off the double, but did so in champion's form as a freshman.  Shipley opened the NWC Championships on Friday with a title in the 10,000 meters, crossing the finish line in a season best time of 31:58.63.  He finished nine seconds ahead of Matt Klein of Puget Sound and established the No. 3 time on Pacific's all-time list in the event.  On Saturday, Shipley completed the double with a closer victory in the 5,000 meters.  He crossed the line five seconds ahead of Lewis & Clark's Samuel Smith in a time of 15:10.26.  For his two titles, Shipley was named the meet's Men's Track Athlete of the Meet.  He is the first Pacific men's athlete to be named as one of the Athletes of the Meet (first selected in 1991) and the first for Pacific since Brooke Barker won the women's award in 2005.  Shipley enters the week owning Pacific's third best time ever in the 10,000 meters.  His conference winning time trails the record 31:21.20 set by Russ Rodriguez in 1978 and Adrian Shipley, Tyler's brother, who ran 31:40.69 in 2009.

HOP, SKIP AND JUMP TO A TITLE: One of the top jumpers in the conference made that title official with a title in the men's triple jump.  Kelson Kawai won the NWC championship in the event on Saturday, finishing with a winning performance of 44 feet, 6.25 inches.  He bettered second place Carson Kennedy of Willamette by just over two inches.  The performance moved Kawai back into No. 8 on Pacific's all-time list in the event.  In addition to the 10 points in the triple jump, Kawai provided the Boxers eight points in the high jump with his tie for second place with a clearance of 6 feet, 6.25 inches.  Kawai was also a NWC Championships qualifier in the long jump, but just missed advancing to the finals with his jump of 21 feet, 0.75 inches.

LOWERING HER SPRINT RECORD: Kelli Aken-Pagdilao has made it a habit to set school records at the NWC Championships.  For the third consecutive year, the junior did just that by running a time of 12.59 seconds in the preliminary heats of the 100 meters at the NWC Championships on Friday.  The time was almost a full one-tenth of second ahead of her previous best of 12.68 seconds set at last year's NWC Championships.  Aken-Pagdilao went on to finish second in the final with a time of 12.68 seconds, just behind the winning time of 12.63 seconds of George Fox's Emily Wyatt.  Aken-Pagdilao also qualified for the NWC Championships in the 200 meters, but her time of 26.68 seconds just missed qualifying for Saturday's finals.

BLOWING THE DUST OFF OF THE ALL-TIME LIST: After having his performance at last year's NWC Championships limited by injury, Michael Zane stepped forward this year to crack a Pacific all-time list that hadn't changed since 1983.  Zane ran 22.06 seconds in the preliminary heats at the NWC Championships, which ranks the sophomore No. 5 on the Pacific all-time list.  The effort is the best for a Pacific athlete since Bill Penny and Mark Burt each ran 21.32 seconds in 1976 (times converted from 220-yard performances).  Zane went on to place second in the 200-meter final, earning All-NWC honors with with his time of 22.43 seconds.  Zane appeared to have broken onto the list with a winning time of 22.33 seconds at the Pacific Luau Meet on Apr. 13, but the performance was aided by a above-legal wind of 2.7 meters per second.

A SUPER EFFORT AT THE RIGHT TIME: The javelin is the type of event where one effort can come out of nowhere and make a good meet great.  Such was the case for Taylor Hickson at the NWC Championships.  Entering the meet with a personal best of 163 feet, 6 inches from the Apr. 19 L&C Pioneer Open, Hickson found that big throw on his third attempt as he sent the spear soaring 189 feet for a 26-foot personal best.  One of three Pacific wild card selections allowed into the meet, Hickson went from not having met the conference qualifying standard to placing fifth and earning four team points for the Boxers.  The performance also moves Hickson into No. 2 on the Boxers' all-time list for thr javelin and just two feet behind the record of 191 feet, 6 inches set by Carson Bartlett in 2007.

HAMMERING HOME A RECORD: He came close the week before and now Travis George has himself the Pacific record in the men's hammer.  George put together an effort of 160 feet, 6.75 inches at the NWC Championships.  That was five feet better than the old record of 155 feet, 8 inches set by Murphy Busek in 2010.  George just missed advancing to the finals for the hammer, placing 10th in the preliminary rounds.

PASSING THE BATON: The Pacific women's 1,600-meter relay did not just set a new record at the NWC Championships, they blew the old one away.  The Boxers' team of Emily Tuffey, Sarah Tuffey, Alexis Damo and Kelli Aken-Pagdilao placed fourth with a time of 4:05.10.  That was seven seconds ahead of the old record of 4:12.58 set at last year's NWC meet by Nicole Smith, Hayley Palmer, Kori Bellwood and Aken-Pagdilao.  The speed of those four has been building all season long with three of the Boxers' top-10 times in the long relay coming this season.

HIGH FLYING HURDLERS: Pacific's third place finish in the men's team competition would not have been possible had it not been for the Boxers' depth in the hurdles.  Daniel Wagner was a placer for Pacific in both distances.  He earned All-NWC honors with a third place finish of 56.64 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.  Earlier in the day, Wagner placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 16.01 seconds.  Michael Hunker earned All-NWC honors in the 110-meter event in his final conference meet, placing third in a time of 15.57 seconds.  Ted Wogan added a seventh place finish in both events, running 16.59 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 58.39 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.  In the preliminary rounds of the 110-meter hurdles, both Wagner and Hunker crossed with lifetime best times of 15.49 seconds, tying the duo for No. 6 on the Boxers' all-time list in the event.

THIS BUD'S FOR YOU: Budweiser Hawkins (So., Las Vegas, Nev.) was a later addition to the Pacific track and field roster, but the addition was big for the Boxers' successes at the NWC Championships.  Hawkins placed second for the Boxers in both the long jump and high jump, earning All-NWC distinction in both events.  Hawkins leaped 22 feet, 11.25 inches in the long jump, a mark that ranks him No. 5 on the Boxers' all-time list.  He led the event until Whitworth's Tyler Guinn went eight centimeters longer on his final attempt to win it.  In the high jump, Hawkins finished tied for second with teammate Kelson Kawai at 6 feet, 6.25 inches.  That allows Hawkins to enter the Pacific Twilight at No. 6 on the Pacific all-time list, less than two inches behind Kawai, who is the Boxers' co-record holder in the event.

FINISHING HER SHORT CAREER ON TOP: Sarah Tuffey (Jr., Valencia, Calif.) only ran one year of track for Pacific and one wonders what she could have done with more time based on her performance at the NWC Championships.  Tuffey finished fourth in the 400 meters, running a personal best time of 1:00.33.  The time ranks No. 3 on the Pacific all-time list and just three seconds behind the record of 57.66 seconds set by Brooke Barker in 2005.  It also places her three spots ahead of her sister, Emily Tuffey (So., Valencia, Calif.), who ran 1:01.72 in the preliminaries to move to No. 6 on the list.  Both Tuffeys also played key roles on both of the Pacific relay teams.

FIRST NWC MEET POINTS COME IN DECATHLON: Pacific earned their first points for next weekend's NWC Championships with their performances at the the NWC Multi-Event Championships on Apr. 15 & 16 in Tacoma.  Aaron Koford placed sixth with a total of 5,570 points while Ted Wogan finished eighth with a personal best performance of 5,477 points.  Koford's best individual performances came in a second place finish in the shot put at 34 feet, 10.25 inches, and a second place finish in the discus with a mark of 120 feet, 5 inches.  Wogan's top finish came in the pole vault, where he tied for third with a clearance of 12 feet, 3.5 inches.  The four points earned by two athletes will carry over to the NWC Championships.  Neither athlete is finished with scoring points.  Koford is entered in the conference meet in the discus while Wogan is entered in the 110-merer hurdles, 400-meter hurdles and the pole vault.

ANOTHER RECORD PERFORMANCE IN THE HIGH JUMP: Chloe Hallyburton (Sr., Dayton, Ore.) etched her name in the Pacific record book Saturday and gave the Boxers their second record effort of the season in the high jump.  Hallyburton cleared 5 feet, 3 inches at the L&C Pioneer Open, passing the Pacific record of 5 feet, 2.5 inches set by decathlete All-American Brooke Barker in 2005.

LINCOLN PARK TO HOST BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIPS: Affirming the facility's reputation as a high-caliber venue for track and field, Pacific University's Lincoln Park Stadium will host the 2013 Big Sky Conference Track and Field Championships.  The meet will take place May 8-11.  Portland State will be the host school for the meet.  The Vikings do not have a track to call their own and evaluated a number of Portland-area venues before settling on Forest Grove and Lincoln Park.  The meet was announced in Ken Goe's track and field notebook in The Oregonian.  The article can be read at bit.ly/ZxQ6SZ.

QUALIFYING STANDARDS: For the second straight season, there will not an “A” and “B” qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III Championships.  In 2013, the top-20 declared men's athletes and the top-22 declared women's athletes, in addition to the top-16 declared relay teams, will earn entry into the meet.  Qualifiers to the NWC Championships will still need to meet a pre-established qualifying standard.