Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz tossed the shot put 37 feet, 11.25 inches to place 14th in the McDonald's Indoor I track meet Saturday in the University of Idaho's Kibbie Dome in Moscow, Idaho. Idaho's Aloha Santiago won the women's shot with a throw of 46 feet, 5.5 inches.
Ruiz won the Northwest Conference shot put title last spring with a distance of 40 feet, two inches. She also won last year's discus title, although she didn't compete in the discus on Saturday.
Whitman's Jennie Wood, a senior, placed ninth in the 3,000 meters in 10:44.93. In the men's 3,000 meters, senior Lars Tysver ran a 9:46.45 to place 33rd.
Competing in windy and cold conditions, Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz won the discus and placed second in the shot put in Saturday's Spring Break Open in Edmonds, Wash.
Ruiz, the defending Northwest Conference champion in both the discus and shot, won Saturday's discus event with a throw of 133 feet. Her second-place toss in the shot put was 39 feet.
Ruiz holds the Whitman school record in the discus at 148 feet, 10 inches -- a mark she set in winning the NWC title last spring. That throw also set a new record for the NWC Championship Meet. Her best throw in the shot put last season was 40 feet, two inches.
Whitman's only other competitor Saturday was senior Lars Tysver, who placed sixth in the men's 5,000 meters with a time of 16 minutes, 30 seconds.
Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz won the discus and placed fourth in the shot put on a cold Saturday at the Whitworth Scoring Invitational in Spokane.
Ruiz, the defending Northwest Conference champ in both the discus and shot, won Saturday's discus with a throw of 133 feet, four inches -- her season-best distance. Eastern Oregon University's April Haney was second with a toss of 121 feet, six inches.
Haney hurled the shot 44 feet, 5.25 inches to win that event. Ruiz tossed the shot 36 feet, 7.75 inches, finishing eight inches out of third place.
Whitman freshman Jeanne Knechtges placed fifth in the 3,000 meters (11:55.54) and seventh in the 1,500 meters (5:28.58).
In the men's meet, sophomore David Prins gave the Missionaries their best showing, placing fifth in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a time of 1:03.35.
Senior Lars Tysver placed 10th in the 5,000 meters (16:47.16) and 11th in the 1,500 meters (4:28.09). Freshman Braden Burkholder finished 12th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:45.20) and 14th in the 5,000 meters (16:59.62). Sophomore Ryan Gold was 17th in the 5,000 meters (17:24.64).
Whitman's Mari Ruiz won her third consecutive discus event Saturday with a season-best effort at the Whitworth College Invitational in Spokane, Wash. Ruiz, a sophomore, added a sixth-place finish in the shot put.
Ruiz won the discus with a throw of 139 feet, 7 inches. She beat the University of Montana's Jamie Slyder by seven inches. Whitworth's Elysia Hanna took third with a toss of 128 feet, 3 inches.
Ruiz holds the Whitman school record in the discus at 148 feet, 10 inches -- a mark she set in winning the Northwest Conference title last spring. Her best throw Saturday is the best distance in the NWC this spring by more than three feet.
Montana's Slyder won Saturday's shot put with a toss of 43 feet, 9 inches. Ruiz was sixth with a throw of 37 feet, 10.75 inches.
Michelle Rees, a Missionary freshman, took second in the pole vault, clearing 7 feet, 5.75 inches. The Whitman school record in the pole vault is 7 feet, 6.5 inches, set in 1999 by Ingrid Backstrom. The winner Saturday was Whitworth's Erika McGraw, who cleared 7 feet, 11.50 inches.
Jeanne Knechtges, also a freshman, was Whitman's only other competitor Saturday in the women's meet. Knechtges placed 10th in the 3,000 meters in a season-best 11:52.86.
In the men's competition, Whitman sophomore David Prins placed fifth in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles in 1:01.84. It was his best time this spring by almost two seconds.
Senior Lars Tysver and freshman Braden Burkholder ran two events each. In the 3,000- meter steeplechase, Tysver placed sixth in 10:51.56, while Burkholder was eighth in 10:57.60. In the 5,000 meters, Tysver was clocked in 17:00.80 in the 5,000 meters to finish 16th, two spots ahead of Burkholder and his time of 17:28.63.
The Whitman track & field team traveled with a small crew to Cheney on Friday afternoon for the Pelluer Invitational, hosted by NCAA Div. II Eastern Washington University. Whitman's Mari Ruiz had the strongest Missionary showing, placing seventh in the discus with a throw of 124 feet, six inches.
For Ruiz, it was not her strongest outing. Coming off three consecutive discus victories in recent weeks, Ruiz has already hurled the discus over 139 feet this season. Ruiz finished 16th in the shot put, with a throw of 35 feet, ten inches.
Michelle Rees finished ninth in the women's pole vault, clearing 7 feet, 6 inches - a half inch off the school mark of 7 feet, 6.5 inches.
On the Whitman men's side, Braden Burkholder finished in 9th place in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 10:19.52, and Lars Tysver finished the 5,000-meter run in 16:16.0, good enough for 18th.
With Jennie Wood returning from injury to win the 3,000 meters, Mari Ruiz winning the shot put with a season-best throw, and freshman Michelle Rees shattering the Whitman school record in the pole vault, the Whitman women's track team had its share of highlights Saturday at the Whitworth Open in Spokane.
Rees cleared 7 feet, 11.5 inches to place fifth in the pole vault. Whitman's previous record was 7 feet, 6.5 inches, set in 1999 by Ingrid Backstrom. Her Saturday vault also qualified Rees for the Northwest Conference championships, which are set for May 4-5 in Salem, Ore.
Ruiz won the shot put event Saturday with a throw of 39 feet, 10.5 inches. Her best throw last year was 40 feet, 2 inches.The NWC champ in both the shot and discus, Ruiz has already qualified for to defend her titles, but she needs to reach 42 feet to meet the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Div. III national championships.
Ruiz had a far tougher day Saturday in the discus, managing just 114 feet, 3 inches to place third. Her season-best throw earlier in April was 139 feet, 7 inches.
Wood won Saturday's 3,000 meters with a time of 10 minutes, 44.64 seconds, which met the qualifying standard for the conference championships. Saturday's race was the first for Woods race since running a slightly slower time at the University of Idaho in early February. Teammate Jeanne Knechtges, a freshman, placed seventh Saturday in a time of 11:31.65.
Whitman's only other competitor Saturday was David Prins in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles. He placed sixth in 1 minute, 2.09 seconds.
Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz retained her Northwest Conference (NWC) discus title Friday as the conference track & field championships got underway at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. Ruiz won her second discus title in as many years with a season-best throw of 141 feet, 3 inches (initially reported by meet personnel as 140-7). Sarah Zempel of George Fox University placed second with a toss of 139 feet, 5 inches.
Ruiz set Whitman's school record in the discus at 148 feet, 10 inches in winning her first NWC title last spring. That qualified her for the NCAA Div. III national championships, where she placed fifth.
Ruiz has met the provisional qualifying standard for this year's national championships. To be assured of a discus berth at nationals, however, she needs to throw at least 145 feet, 8 inches. She plans to compete at two more meets this month in hopes of reaching that distance.
The NWC championships conclude Saturday with Ruiz hoping to win a second title in the shot put, which is what she did a year ago. She enters Saturday's competition with this spring's third-best throw -- 39 feet, 10.75 inches. She won the event last year with a throw of 40 feet, 2 inches.
Ruiz wasn't the only Missionary to have a good day Friday. Senior Jennie Wood placed third in the 3,000 meters, freshman Braden Burkholder finished eighth in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, and freshman Michelle Rees broke her school record in the pole vault.
Wood, slowed by injury for much of the spring season, finished Friday's 3,000 meters in 10:45.40, about one second off her season-best effort. Whitworth's Julia Lucas won the race in 10:23.01.
Burkholder's time in the steeplechase was 10:20.43, which was also about one second off his season-best time.
Rees broke Whitman's pole vault record last week by clearing 7 feet, 6.5 inches. On Friday, she elevated her record to 8 feet, 1.25 inches. She finished in a three-way tie for13th place.
Although Whitman has just three women entered in the championships, those three scored enough points Friday to move the Missionary women into sixth place in the team scoring. With 16 points, Whitman was ahead of Lewis & Clark, Pacific and Linfield, and just two points behind fifth-place Puget Sound.
Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz settled for third place in the shot put Saturday as the Northwest Conference track & field championships came to a close at Willamette University in Salem, Ore.
After winning the discus event Friday, Ruiz was gunning to win the shot put, which would have given her conference titles in both events for a second straight year.
Her best throw Saturday, however, was 39 feet, 7.75 inches -- about 18 inches behind the winner, Sarah Zempel of George Fox University. Zempel's winning toss was 41 feet, 2.25 inches, while Whitworth's Nichole Marich was second with a distance of 40 feet, 4 inches.
Ruiz won the shot put at last year's championships with a throw of 40 feet, 2 inches.
Ruiz was the only Whitman athlete to compete in Saturday's events. Despite having just three women entered in the meet, the Missionaries tied Lewis & Clark for seventh place in the team scoring with 22 points.
Whitman sophomore Mari Ruiz extended her season-best throw in the discus to 141 feet, 11 inches in placing sixth at the Oregon Twilight meet Saturday evening at the University of Oregon in Eugene.
That mark fell about three feet short, however, of the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA Div. III national championships, scheduled for later month in Decatur, Ill. Ruiz has met the provisional qualifying standard, which means she will get a berth at nationals only if she has one of the 16 best throws in the country.
In placing sixth at the Oregon Twilight, Ruiz finished behind four Division I athletes from the host school. The other athlete in the top five was representing the Calgary Track Club.
After losing much of her spring season to injury, Whitman's Jennie Wood wasn't able to meet the NCAA Div. III national qualifying standard for the 3,000 meters while competing Saturday in the Ken Foreman Invitational at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Wash.
Wood placed 13th in 10 minutes, 55.38 seconds. The race was won by Central Washington's Sarah Forrey, who was timed in 10:09.49.