– Photo By Meghan Meehan/For the Review

Matt Jonathan

For the Review

The Linfield track and field men’s and women’s teams both placed first March 7 in the NWC South Meet held at the new Lincoln Park Stadium at Pacific University.

The Linfield men won 12 events to snag first place honors, and the women won eight events, also capturing first place over the three other schools.

The men finished with 190 total points, decimating second place Lewis & Clark College with 129 points. Pacific came in third with 125 points, narrowly beating George Fox University, in fourth.

The women had 168 points, winning by seven points over second place George Fox. Lewis & Clark finished in third with 145, while Pacific came in fourth at 60.

Sophomores Josh Lovell and Shawn Fisher along with junior Kreig Holland each won multiple events. Lovell won the javelin and the high jump, and came in second in the long jump. Fisher finished in first place in the 800- and 1,500- meter runs. Holland won the triple long jump.

Junior Mat Strum won the 400 with 51.47 seconds, while sophomore Chris Slezak grabbed a win in the 200 race with 23.24.

Freshman Benton Canaga took second place in the 800 in his first collegiate track meet, with sophomore Tyler Davis right behind him in third. Junior Eric Snow finished first in the 400 hurdles timing in at 58.64, as well as third place in the 110 hurdles.

Sophomores Chris McIsaac and Jesse Davis placed first and third, respectively, in the steeplechase.

Snow, Slezak, Holland and Lovell were all a part of the winning 4×100 relay team with a time of 3:27.98. Strum, Fisher, Lovell and Slezak the 4×400 relay team to victory.

In the throwing events, sophomore Clint Moore came in second in the shot put. Moore and Junior Bobby Rudel both tied for third-place in the discus.

Moore and Rudel went on to take second and third honors in the hammer throw, respectively, with fellow Wildcat sophomore Russell Sells finishing fourth. 

For the women, the ’Cats started out hot with junior Laura Sibley capturing first in the 400 hurdles and third place honors in the 100 hurdles. Senior Chelsey Gellatly grabbed second place in the 200 dash.

Freshman Brooke Bekkedahl continued her impressive season, helping lead the women’s 4×100 relay team to a first-place finish, the 4×400 relay to second place and taking third individually in the 400.

Junior Michelle Harteloo finished in third place in the 800. Sophomore Marci Klimek continued in strong form, taking first place in the 5,000, timing in at 18:18.39 and placing second in the 1,500.

Junior Anna Lehman and sophomore Tasha Tolzman joined Gellatly and Bekkedahl to win the 4×100 relay. Bekkedahl and Gellatly teamed up with senior Casey Stepan and Sibley for the 4×400 relay and took second place.

In the field events, the young guns stepped up to grab big wins.

Freshman Chelsea Machida soared to first place in the high jump, while freshman Brooke Carstenson flew to first place in the pole vault.

“My form was a bit out of control, but I was in a great place mentally,” she said.

Machida is practical about her approach to the high jump.

“I try to jump as high as I can every time. I don’t worry about the other jumpers.”

Freshman Kaycee Hallstrom hurled to double first-place finishes in the discus and shot put, also notched third in the hammer.

Freshman Carolyn Blood finished in third place in the discus and fourth in the hammer throw.

With the impressive showing of young teammates, the upperclassmen aren’t to be forgotten.

Junior Cecilia Speer seized first place in the hammer, completing the triple sweep of the event for the ‘Cats. Speer also nabbed second place in the discus throw.

Junior Rachel Logan finished in third place in the triple jump.

Carstenson was upbeat about her victory, though she is confident she has room for improve.

A performance like this has to be a positive influence on the team.

“It’s a major morale booster,” said Holland. “We aren’t pulling, any punches and some of our best athletes didn’t even compete.”

The Wildcats set 20 stadium records at the meet, 12 on the men’s side and eight for the women.