Paul Siegmund, a freshman, gave Whitman its best showing, placing third in the 200 meters. Teammate Greg Postel placed fifth in the same event. Siegmund and Postel also gave the Missionaries a one-two punch in the 100-meters, finishing sixth and eighth.
Sean Menton placed fourth in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, while Brett Kmiec was 10th and Dan Moore 11th in the 5,000 meters.
In the women's competition, Whitman placed third in the 4x400-meter relay. Carrying the baton for the Missionaries were Bala Dodoye-Alali, Nicole Marshall, Amy Kushner and Ashley Weir. In the other women's relay, the 4x100-meter event, the foursome of Wendy Wilford, Weir, Kushner and Robyn Johnson placed fifth.
Marshall, a freshman, sprinted to a fifth-place finish in the 100 meters. Kushner, also a freshman, was seventh in the 200 meters, placing just ahead of Weir. Dodoye-Alali was seventh in the 100-meter hurdles.
Events canceled by the weather included the high jump and triple jump. That kept Johnson, Wilford, Dodoye-Alali and Syreeta Cardiff from competing in their strongest events.
Freshmen Jamey Allsop and Heather Crockett-Washington missed the competition due to injuries. Amanda Bradford, who placed third and second in the javelin at the last two NAIA national championship meets, recently completed her basketball season and did not compete in Whitman's first track meet.
While still missing a few key athletes, the women's team placed sixth.
Freshman Nicole Marshall won her heat in the 100-meter sprint and tied for eighth overall. Wendy Wilford was seventh in the long jump, Syreeta Cardiff was eighth in the high jump, and Ashley Gelvin placed 10th in the discus.
On the men's side, Brett Kmiec placed 14th in the 5,000 meters and Dan Moore was 16th in the 3,000 meters. Both had personal-best times. Greg Postel was 21st in the 100 meters and 23rd in the 200 meters. Kelii Kotubetey placed 30th in the 3,000 meters.
Paul Siegmund gave the Whitman men their best finish, placing fourth in the 100-meter dash in a time of 11.85 seconds. He finished just five one-hundredths of a second out of second place.
Siegmund also placed seventh in the 200 meters. Teammate Greg Postel placed ninth in both the 100 and 200.
Also placing for the men Sean Menton, who was fifth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Brett Kmiec, who was ninth in the 5,000 meters.
Nicole Marshall gave the Whitman women a fifth-place showing the 100 meters. Amy Kushner was fifth in the 400 meters and seventh in the 200 meters. Ashley Gelvin placed eighth in the discus.
Two other Whitman women registered sixth-place performances. One was Bala Dodoye-Alali, who was timed in a season-best 16.98 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, and Ashley Gelvin, who tossed the discus 97 feet, six inches.
Dodoye-Alali, who aggravated hamstring injuries during the meet, also placed seventh in the women's long jump with a leap of 14 feet, six inches. Robyn Johnson and Ashley Wier placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 400 meters. Nicole Marshall placed ninth in the 100 meters.
In the men's competition, Whitman freshman Paul Siegmund placed 16th in a crowded field in the 100 meters. Teammate Greg Postel was 18th in the same event.
Bradford, who gets a late start in track & field because she plays on the basketball team, threw the javelin 130 feet, eight inches. The distance was good enough to meet the qualifying standard for the Northwest Conference championships and left her less than five feet short of the national qualifying standard.
Bradford, a junior who holds the Whitman school record for the javelin at 146 feet, one inch, has placed second and third at the past two NAIA national championship meets.
Whitman's Wendy Wilford placed eighth at the Willamette meet in both the long jump and triple jump. Her distance in the triple jump -- a season-best 33 feet, one and one-half inches -- also met the qualifying standard for the Northwest Conference championships.
Wilford and Bala Dodoye-Alali, who sat out Saturday's meet with strained hamstrings, have both qualified for conference in the triple jump and long jump.
Robyn Johnson also had a season-best leap in the high jump Saturday to qualify for conference. Johnson, who tied for fifth place at four feet, 11 inches, just missed at five feet, one inch, which is her personal best.
Other Whitman women with conference-qualifying times or distances thus far this season are Nicole Marshall in the 100 meters, Amy Kushner in the 400 meters and Syreeta Cardiff in the high jump.
In other women's results from Saturday, Ashley Gelvin threw a personal-best 102 feet, one inch to place 15th in the discus; Marshall won her heat in the 100 meters but placed 22nd overall; Kushner placed 14th and Johnson 16th in the 400 meters; and Cardiff was 17th in the high jump.
In the men's competition, Whitman freshman Paul Siegmund was second in his heat in the 100 meters but placed 26th overall. He was fourth in his 200 meters heat and 31st overall.
In the men's 5,000 meters, Brett Kmiec placed 29th in a crowded field. Also placing in the event for Whitman were Sean Menton in 34th, Dan Moore in 37th and Kelii Kotubetey in 38th.
"It was a good day for Amanda," Whitman track coach Keith Jensen said. "She had six throws and four were over the national qualifying standard, which is a 135 feet. Plus, none of her throws were that good from a technical standpoint. This was only her second meet of the season, so hopefully she can throw farther."
Despite strained hamstring muscles, Bala Dodoye-Alali leaped a season-best 34 feet, nine and three-quarter inches to place second in the triple jump. Teammate Wendy Wilford also had a season-best distance in the event, 34 feet, four inches, to place fifth.
In the men's competition, Whitman freshman Paul Siegmund placed third in the 100 meters (11.61 seconds) and fourth in the 200 meters (23.68 seconds). "Both were season-best times for him," Jensen said. "He's getting close to the qualifying standard for the conference championships in the 100 meters."
The Whitman women also enjoyed season-best times in the 400- and 1,600-meter relay events. Robyn Johnson, Jamie Allsop, Amy Kushner and Ashley Wier placed third in the 1,600 with a time of 4:14.3 -- the fifth-best time in the conference thus far this season. Kushner and Allsop teamed with Wilford and Nicole Marshall to place fourth in the 400-meter relay in 52.92 seconds. "Both relay teams should qualify easily for the conference championships," Jensen said.
Syreeta Cardiff also posted a season-best in the high jump, leaping four feet, 10 inches to place to place fourth. In other women's results, Wilford placed fourth in the long jump (14 feet, 10 inches), Marshall was sixth in the 100 meters (13.54 seconds), Johnson was sixth in the high jump (four feet, eight inches), and Ashley Gelvin was seventh in the discus (99 feet, two inches).
In other men's results, Greg Postel placed eighth in both the 100 meters (12.21 seconds) and 200 meters (24.84 seconds). In the 5,000 meters, Brett Kmiec was fourth (17:13.9) and Sean Menton fifth (17:29.8).
"There were hundreds of athletes there, and this could have been one of the best small-college meets of the season," Whitman coach Keith Jensen said. "But the weather was horrible. It was cold, and it wasn't just raining, it was pouring."
Whitman's Amanda Bradford, who tossed the javelin 141 feet the previous week, could do no better than 116 feet, nine inches against the nasty elements. Her best throw was good enough for third place, however. George Fox's Becci Harper, who edged Bradford for the NAIA national title last year, placed fifth.
On the men's side, Brett Kmiec placed fourth in the 10,000 meters in a personal best time of 34:50.5
Whitman's Ashley Weir placed seventh in the 400 meters, while Wendy Wilford was 11th in the long jump. Other competitors for Whitman included Nicole Marshall, Greg Postel, Sean Menton and Dan Moore.
Whitman's Amanda Bradford uncorked her best javelin throw of the season to
outdistance competitors from a handful of NCAA Div. I schools at the 25th
annual Pelluer Invitational at Eastern Washington University in Cheney,
Wash.Bradford tossed the javelin 143 feet, five inches to win the event by more than two feet. Zoey Renbarger of the University of Montana was second with a throw of 141 feet, three inches. Jill Wimer of the University of Idaho was third at 140 feet, 11 inches, followed by Molly Monroe of Washington State at 138 feet, 11 inches.
"Amanda keeps getting stronger each week, and she obviously had a good day," Whitman track coach Keith Jensen said. "But she also knows she has yet to hit her peak."
In men's results, Whitman freshman Paul Siegmund sped to a season-best time in the 100 meters, placing 10th in a crowded field. His time, 11.55 seconds, missed the qualifying standard for the Northwest Conference championships by one one-hundredths of a second. Siegmund also ran the 200 meters, placing sixth in 24.01 seconds.
Whitman's Wendy Wilford placed seventh in the triple jump (35-7 3/4) and 10th in the long jump (14-11 1/4). Teammate Bala Dodoye-Alali was eighth in the triple jump (33-8 3/4).
Whitman's 4-by-400 relay team placed third in 4:20.9. Running the event were Jamey Allsop, Robyn Johnson, Amy Kushner and Ashley Weir. Kushner also ran the 400 meters, placing 11th in 1:03.04, while Johnson competed in the high jump, clearing four feet, eight inches to place 10th.
Nicole Marshall, a Whitman freshman, placed 14th in the women's 100 meters. Her time was 13:57 seconds.
A lively competition among some of the nation's best NAIA javelin
throwers failed to materialize because of poor weather conditions at the
Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges (NCIC) championships at
Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.Whitman junior Amanda Bradford, who finished second a year ago at the NAIA national championships, placed third in this year's conference event, which was held on Saturday, May 2. Because of rain and a slippery runway, Bradford's best throw was 128 feet, six inches -- nearly 20 feet off her school record.
Becci Harper of George Fox University, the reigning NAIA javelin champion, won the conference javelin title Saturday with a toss of 132 feet, 10 inches. Trina Gumm of Whitworth was second at 129 feet, six inches.
The slippery runway hurt Bradford as much as anyone, according to Whitman track coach Keith Jensen, because the wet conditions negated her speed. "Amanda really relies on her speed," he said. "When you're unable to plant your left leg at the end of your approach to stop your momentum, it throws everything off."
Jensen said Gumm fell and skinned her leg on one of her early attempts. "That set the tone right from the right start," he said. "Everyone could see what was going to happen if they were too aggressive under those conditions."
In other events Saturday, Whitman's Syreeta Cardiff placed seventh in the high jump with a season-best leap of five feet, one-quarter inch. Cardiff was one of nine athletes who cleared that distance and finished anywhere from fourth to 12th based on fewest number of missed attempts. Robyn Johnson placed 16th for the Missionaries in the long jump with by clearing four feet, six inches.
Despite a bruised heel, Whitman's Bala Dodoye-Alali also had a good day Saturday, breaking the school record in the triple jump. Dodoye-Alali, who also has been slowed in recent weeks by strained hamstring muscles, cleared 35 feet, one and five-eighths inches to place ninth and break teammate Wendy Wilford's old record of 34 feet, 11 and one-quarter inches. Wilford jumped 34 feet, six and three-sixteenths Saturday to place 11th.
"Bala is a competitor; she's tough," Jensen said. "She has qualified for next week's Pacific Northwest regional championships in both the triple jump and long jump."
In Friday's long jump, neither Dodoye-Alali nor Wilford placed in the top eight.
In other women's results from the two-day meet, which began Friday, Amy Kushner placed eighth in 400 meters, Nicole Marshall finished sixth in her 100 meters preliminary event but did not place in the finals, and Whitman's relay teams placed eighth in both the 4-by-100 and 4-by-400.
In the men's events, Whitman's Brett Kmiec placed 10th in the 10,000 meters. His time was not available because of technical difficulties with administration of that event.
Dodoye-Alali extended her school record to 35 feet, seven inches, which was good enough to earn her a sixth place finish Saturday. She jumped 35-1 5/8 the previous week at the Northwest Conference championships to break teammate Wendy Wilford's existing record (34-11 1/4).
Dodoye-Alali, a junior, has been slowed by injuries for much of the season. She also competes in the long jump and hurdles, but decided late in the season to concentrate solely on the triple jump.
"If Bala says healthy and keeps her focus on the triple jump, she has the potential to qualify for nationals next year," Whitman track coach Keith Jensen said.
Dodoye-Alali also held Whitman's triple jump record in 1995. Her record at that point was 34 feet, 10 inches.
Dodoye-Alali was Whitman's only competitor at Saturday's Pacific Northwest championships. With finals week approaching, Whitman's Amanda Bradford decided to stay on campus to study rather than compete in the javelin. Bradford has already qualified for the NAIA national championships, which begin May 21 at Life Univeresity in Marietta, Georgia.
Jensen and his coaching counterpart at the University of Puget Sound, Joe Peyton, were honored Saturday as co-winners of the NAIA Pacific Northwest Coach-of-the-Year award. Both Jensen and Peyton are retiring this spring after long coaching careers.
Jensen, who played in the Rose Bowl as a tailback for UCLA, is concluding a 35-year coaching career. He spent the last 28 years at Whitman.
Amanda Bradford's hopes for a national title in the javelin slipped away Wednesday, May 21, as windy conditions played tricks with the event at the NAIA national track & field championships at Life University in Marietta, Georgia.
With a gusting side wind disrupting the competition, Bradford finished fourth with a best throw of 139 feet, three inches. Last year as a sophomore, Bradford set a new Whitman school record when she tossed the javelin 145 feet, one inch to place second at nationals.
Becci Harper, a senior from George Fox University, won her second straight javelin title Wednesday with a best throw of 145 feet, eight inches. That was well off her winning distance (156-11) at last year's national championships.
"Because of the wind, none of the competitors today were able to throw a personal-best distance, or even a season-best distance," Whitman coach Keith Jensen said. "The women's javelin is so light that any kind of wind, especially a side wind, has a significant effect."
Annie Guilliet, a foreign student at Life University, placed second with a throw of 145 feet, five inches. Jennifer Lunde of North Dakota's Mary College, was third at 139 feet, 10 inches.
Trina Gumm, a senior Whitworth College, finished sixth with a throw of 130 feet, two inches. Gumm won the event as a freshman.
"The level of competition and talent at the national championships continues to get stronger each year," Jensen said.