Craig Boekenoogen crossed the finish line in the Steeplechase with an NAIA 'A' standard time in a winning effort for Corban. (Photo Credit: Doug Pfeiler)
SALEM, Ore. – Craig Boekenoogen hit the NAIA 'A' standard mark on Thursday in the Steeplechase at the Willamette Dual Meet, qualifying for nationals with the fastest current time in the NAIA while highlighting the Corban University track & field programs' strong performances across the board against the cross-town foe.
Click the 'Play Button' on the photo above for video highlights from the meet.
"We felt really good about the meet today with the weather being fantastic, and we had a great national qualifying time for Craig Boekenoogen, and so far it puts him as the top runner in the nation in the steeplechase," said Corban head coach Norm Berney.
RESULTS
Boekenoogen's winning time in the Steeplechase of 9:19.80 was a lifetime career-best mark, and he downed the second-place finisher from Willamette by eight seconds en route to capturing top honors in the race. His NAIA 'A' standard time qualifies him automatically for nationals, and he currently ranks No. 1 overall in the NAIA in the event. The time was also the fastest in school history.
Other highlights from the meet for the Navy and Gold on the track came from rookie Michael Schmidt, as he clocked a winning time of 51.46 seconds in the 400 Meters and a first-place time of 15.93 seconds in the 110m Hurdles. Also winning an event on the track was Christian Bohuslavizki, as he crossed the finish line in first place with a time of 55.59 seconds.
In the field events, Jason Bracken won both the Discus (139' 5") and the Javelin (172' 6"), while Timothy Yee claimed top honors in the Triple Jump (41' 7.25").
On the women's side, an exciting 4x400 come-from-behind relay win capped off the meet for the Warriors, as Kristi Childers, Kristina Yzaguirre, Lindsay Asplund, and Shelby Jenkins downed Willamette right at the finish line with a time of 4:09.40 to take first place in the meet's final event.
"Michael Schmidt did an outstanding job for the team, and the women's 4x400 Relay ran a very competitive race and came through with great effort," said Berney.
Other winning highlights from the track events were Amy Jo Murphy with a first-place mark of 41:21.00 in the 10k and Brooklyn Baker took second place with a three-minute PR time in the event of 41:29.39, qualifying for the conference championships.
"We were really excited about the girls' performance in the 10k, and both Amy Jo and Brooklyn Baker had outstanding performances," said Berney.
In the sprints, Kristi Childers won the 100m Hurdles with a time of 16.58 seconds and ran past the competition in the 200 Meters with a mark of 26.36 seconds.
In the field events, Asplund shined with the top mark in the Pole Vault at 10' 2", while Jenkins won the Triple Jump with a distance of 32' 11". In addition, veteran Crystal Lynch won the Shot Put with a toss of 38' 10.5" and Renee Inscore narrowly edged out teammate Rebecca McLean for first place in the Javelin, recording a distance of 117' 2.5" – just two inches further than McLean's toss. Moreover, Naphtali Ward finished as the top collegiate competitor in the High Jump, clearing a height of 5' 2.5".
"Everyone competed well," said Berney, "and we are excited about the rest of this season as we continue to build towards a strong finish."
With the team scores completely tallied, the Warrior women blew past the Bearcats, 72-54, while the Willamette men narrowly edged the Corban men, 71-67.