SALEM, Ore.—In the final event of the meet, the Concordia men’s 1,600-meter relay team tackled a pair of records in a single run at the Willamette Invitational on Saturday.

 

The foursome of Edgar Vazquez, Jordan Reeher, Jason Brown and Andre Washington toured the Charles Bowles track in 3:17.09 to not only break the former CU school record of 3:19.17 but the stadium mark of 3:17.44 set by Linfield in 1979.

 

The time was just the third time a CU relay team broke the 3:20 mark, but still fell just short of the NAIA provisional qualifying standard of 3:17.00.

 

“The men’s team is really starting to show their new depth and strength,” CU head coach Randy Dalzell said. “The relay team is a good reflection of that. I think gaining the indoor experience has paid off for that group. We wanted to start the outdoor season where we left off and now the goal is to get down to a 3:15 or 3:14.”

 

Once again, the CU throwing squad turned in a number of high-placing performances.

 

The Cavaliers scored five of the top six spots in the men’s shot put with senior Eric Whalen leading the charge. Whalen unleashed a 55-2 3/4 to take the title over teammate Nate Moses’ 51-4 1/4, with both marks shy of previous season bests. Anthony Lantz and Ismael Osorio placed third and fourth in the event while Bo Johnson took sixth place to complete the quintet.

 

Moses then led a 1-2-3 Concordia finish in the discus throw with a 182-3 effort. Johnson followed with a 158-8 to secure an NAIA ‘A’ qualifier and Webster took third place with a 148-9.

 

In the hammer, Johnson scored a second-place finish with a 185-10 toss, only trailing another teammate in Matthew Webster. Webster tossed a 190-4 to move into No. 3 on the school’s all-time performance list, just short of Johnson’s career best of 191-8 set last week.

 

Anthony Lantz and Adam Riddle went 4-5 to complete another run on CU throwers. Lantz netted a provisional mark with a 172-8 effort while Riddle improved his previous season best with a 171-8.

 

On the track, Jasen Brown and Andre Washington flirted with setting the school record in the 400 with the duo finishing second and third overall. Brown crossed the line in 49.24, just off the all-time school best of 49.15 set by Curtis Parrish during the 2008 season, while Washington set a personal best by .09 with a 49.42.

 

Brown also competed in the 1,500, earning an NAIA provisional status with a 3:56.73, just missing the 3:55.25 automatic barrier.

 

Andrew Landstrom and Ben Foubert both finished within 10 seconds of cracking the 15-minute barrier and reaching provisional status with Foubert winning the ‘B’ section with a time of 15:10.03 and Landstrom taking 12th in the ‘A’ section with a 15:09.06. Both times represented huge personal records for the two harriers.

 

In the hurdles, Jordan Reeher improved upon his 53.95 from last week with a 53.35 to reach the NAIA ‘A’ standard. Reeher won the race over teammate James Ratliff, who crossed in 54.69, to move into No. 3 on CU’s all-time performance list. In the 110 hurdles, Maxwell Waters snagged a season-best 15.58 for a fourth-place finish.

 

In the 100, DeAndre Jackson and Eric Tolento posted top 10 finishes with season bests of 11.08 and 11.11. Jackson’s 11.08 moved the newcomer up to the No. 2 fastest time in CU history while Tolento jumped to No. 3 all-time on the Cavalier performance list.

 

Three Concordia women earned new NAIA automatic marks and had a pair of performers improve upon previous qualifiers. The indoor national champion in the 800, Junia Limage opened her season with a runner-up in the 400 with a 56.91. Emily Painter, making her track debut, took first place in the 10,000 with a 36:38.41, earning an ‘A’ bid as well as the school’s second-best all-time time in the event.

 

Gabriella Dixson led the female throwers with meet wins in the shot and the discus. Dixson added almost a full foot to her season opener shot put from last week with a 45-4 1/2  and tacked on more than 13 feet in the discus with a 161-10. Heading into the week, both marks would top the NAIA season-best performance list for the season.

 

The nation’s leading athlete in the hammer throw, Sharayah Kenady captured first place with a 174-2 launch. Kenady led a clean sweep in the event as Dixson took second at 167-5 and Breezy Wentz third with a 136-5.

 

Like Reeher in the men’s 400 hurdles, Eunice Makinde turned a provisional dash into the coveted ‘A’ variety with a 14.86 in the 100-meter hurdles. Makinde slashed .16 off her time from a week ago to earn the new status.

 

Back on the track, a pair of true freshman nearly generated national qualifiers as Natalie Ball and Sarah Whybark turned in impressive debuts. Ball took sixth place in the 800 with a 2:20.60 after crossing with a 4:52.79 in the 1,500 while Whybark registered a 17:54.40 in the 5,000 while placing second overall in her section.

 

“We still have work to do and have some more people to get into competition,” Dalzell said. “But we have had a lot of young kids stepping up and putting themselves in great positions early on the season already.”

The Willamette Invitational, one of the largest college track and field meets on the West Coast, featured a total of approximately 1,000 entries during the two days of competition.

 

 

Women’s Results

100: 15. Jennifer Roberts, 12.95; 16. Eunice Makinde, 12.96; 19. Kayla Richardson, 13.12; 20. Kristin Monda, 13.18. 200: 16. Kayla Richardson, 27.05; 20. NyEma Sims, 35.74. 400: 2. Junia Limage, 56.91; 3. NyEma Sims, 59.24. 800: 6. Natalie Ball, 2:20.60. 1,500 (B): 12. Natalie Ball, 4:52.79. 5,000 (A): 13. Lauren Moran, 17:43.18. 5,000 (B): Sarah Whybark, 17:54.40. 110 Hurdles: 3. Eunice Makinde, 14.86; 18. Jennifer Roberts, 18.40. Long Jump: Kristin Monda, Foul. Triple Jump: 10. Kristin Sass, 32-9 (9.98m). Shot: 1. Gabriella Dixson, 45-4 1/2 (13.83m); 6. Breezy Wentz, 37-8 (11.48m); 10. Sharayah Kenady, 34-7 1/2 (10.55m). Discus: 1. Gabriella Dixson, 161-10 (49.33m); 2. Breezy Wentz, 137-2 (41.82m); 5. Sharayah Kenady, 122-1 (37.22m). Hammer: 1. Sharayah Kenady, 174-2 (53.08m); 2. Gabriella Dixson, 167-5 (51.03m); 3. Breezy Wentz, 136-5 (41.57m).

 

Men’s Results

100: 8. DeAndre Jackson, 11.08; 9. Eric Tolento, 11.11; 13. Justin Oliveri, 11.21; 16. Chad Fowler, 11.35; 20. Jameson Futter, 11.49. 200: 12. Justin Oliveri, 22.87; 19. Eric Tolento, 23.13. 400: 2. Jasen Brown, 49.24; 3. Andre Washington, 49.42. 1500 (B): 3. Jasen Brown, 3:56.73. 5,000 (A): 12. Andrew Landstrom, 15:09.06. 5,000 (B): 1. Ben Foubert, 15:10.03. 110 Hurdles: 4. Maxwell Waters, 15.58. 400 Hurdles: 1.Jordan Reeher, 53.35; 2. James Ratliff, 54.69. Long Jump: 1. Ethan Moore, 21-3 1/2(6.49m). High Jump: 3. Ethan Moore, 6-4 (1.93m); 5. Branko Djuricic, 6-2 (1.88m). Shot: 1. Eric Whalen, 55-2 3/4(16.83m); 2. Nate Moses, 51-4 1/4 (15.65m); 3. Anthony Lantz, 50-0 1/2 (15.25m); 4.Ismael Osorio, 48-2 3/4(14.70m); 6. Bo Johnson, 43-4 1/4 (13.32m). Discus: 1. Nate Moses, 182-3 (55.55m); 2. Bo Johnson, 158-5 (48.30m); 3. Matthew Webster, 148-9 (45.34m); 5. Eric Whalen, 145-8 (44.39m); 11. Ismael Osorio, 137-5 (41.88m); 13. Anthony Lantz, 133-4 (40.65m). Hammer: 1. Matthew Webster, 190-4 (58.01m); 2. Bo Johnson, 185-10 (56.65m); 4. Anthony Lantz, 172-8 (52.64m); 5. Adam Riddle, 171-8 (52.33m). 400 Relay: 4. Concordia, 43.15 (D. Jackson, J. Reeher, C. Fowler, E. Tolento). 1,600 Relay: 1. Concordia, 3:17.09 (E. Vazquez, J. Reeher, J. Brown, A. Washington).