The Linfield track team performed well at both the Westmont Classic and the Lewis and Clark Spring Break Open by having top performances and conference qualifiers.

At Westmont College, Linfield was represented by a total of seven multi-event athletes who competed on both Thursday and Friday.

Olivia Bannerot, ’18, battled hard for first place in the heptathlon. She had personal records in each of the six events but ended up second place.

Bannerot scored a total of 4,479 points in the heptathlon and is now second on Linfield’s All-Time Top 10 records.

Madeline Shirley, ’19, also competed well as she placed eighth overall in her debut heptathlon. She scored a total of 4,099 points and is now seventh on Linfield’s top records.

JC Grim represented the ’Cats superbly by placing fifth in the decathlon with a score of 5,967 points. This was Grim’s first decathlon.

On Saturday a handful of Wildcats competed at the Westmont Classic in Santa Barbara, California.

After winning the division III 400-meters, Jake Mihelich, ’17, was able to run a personal best in the 100m by running 10.89 seconds and finishing second among competitors. He was just off his best time in the 200m as he placed second in 21.46.

Chris Beresford, ’16, and Morgunn Ewing, ’16, both had top-five performances in the javelin. After having a slow start to the season due to injury, Ewing was able to throw a top mark of 190 feet, six inches to earn fourth place. Beresford threw 187’4” for fifth place and a personal record.

Dallas Edge, ’17, had a busy day by competing in four events. She placed second in the 200m in a time of 26.39 and third in the 100m in 12.57. She finished fourth in the 100m hurdles in a time of 14.94.

The 4X100m relay team Edge anchored, which also consisted of Madison Gladding, Shirley and Jade Everage, finished first place in a time of 49.76.

Gladding also finished second in the 400m hurdles in a time of 1:06.5 and Everage placed sixth in both the 100m in 13.28 and 200m in 28.02.

Kaelia Neal, ’18, ran a season’s best in the 1500m and placed third in a time of 4:48.92.

At Lewis and Clark, the meet was extremely competitive. Many athletes running for clubs and for division I schools flooded the field. Still, Linfield athletes were able to post top-10 marks.

Olivia McDaniel, ’19, placed sixth in the pole vault with a clearance of 10’11.5” and Leslie Ramirez finished 10th in the long jump with a leap of 32’7.”

Taylor Vicknair, ’17, and Max Patterson, ’19, placed sixth and seventh in the 110-meter hurdles in 16.03 and 16.52.

Zach Nerdin, ’19, placed in the high jump with a mark of 6’0” and finished sixth place. Jeff Leider, ’18, placed eighth in the discus with a throw of 135’11.”

Despite the lack of top-10 finishes by the overall team at Lewis and Clark, there were still numerous ’Cats who qualified for the Northwest Conference meet in April. Linfield is moving in the right direction to make some noise at the conference meet.