Placing eighth in their events, Sierra Witnov (5,000 meters) and Michelle Rees (pole vault) gave the Whitman track & field teams their best performances Saturday in the season-opening Linfield Icebreaker in McMinnville, Ore.
Witnov finished the 5,000 meters in 20:26.8 and had the fourth-best time among Northwest Conference runners. Rees, who owns the Whitman school record at 8 feet, 1.15 inches, started her season with a leap of 7 feet, 8.5 inches.
David Cai, a freshman, gave the Whitman men's team its best performance by placing 12th in the hammer throw. Cai's best throw was 132 feet, 6 inches was the fifth-best toss among NWC competitors.
Cai also competed in the discus, placing 32nd (ninth among NWC athletes) with a throw of 105 feet, 6 inches.
Joining Witnov in the women's 5,000 meters were teammates Piper Foster, who was 10th in 20:36.2, and Jeanne Knechtges, who placed 12th in 20:47.8.
Julie Silipo, a Whitman freshman, uncorked the eighth-best throw among NWC competitors in the women's discus. She placed 30th overall with a toss of 79 feet, 5 inches.
Others competing for the Whitman men included David Prins, 13th in 400-meter intermediate hurdles (1:07.30); James Voelckers, 18th in the 5,000 meters (16:57.3); and Dan Parks, 20th in the 1,500 meters (4:28.3). Prins, Voelckers and Parks all had the fourth-best times in their events among NWC runners.
Also placing for the Missionary men were Patrick Cade, 22nd in the 1,500 meters (4:32.8); Ryan Choi, 22nd in the 5,000 meters (17:10.1); Wayne Yorita, 29th in the hammer throw (79-2) and 41st in the discus (76-4); and Dane Stevenson, 39th in 200 meters (24.83).
Whitman's Ariel Andrews ran a 19:06.93 and placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at Saturday's Western Intercollegiate track & field meet, hosted by Western Oregon University in Monmouth, Ore.
Andrews, Whitman's top cross country runner last fall, finished less than two seconds behind the third-place runner, Susan Young of Northwest Nazarene. Stacy Edwards of the University of Alaska-Anchorage won the race in 18:40.46, while Aimee Pragle of the Oregon State Track Club was second in 19:02.09.
Andrews, a junior competing in her first track meet of the spring, was one of only three Northwest Conference runners in the 5,000 meters. Runners from George Fox and Linfield placed sixth and tenth, respectively.
Three other Missionary athletes competed in the meet, which coincided with the final weekend of Whitman's Spring Break.
Freshman Patrick Cade placed 32nd in the 800 meters in 2:15.34 and 35th in the 1,500 meters in 4:30.97.
Morgan Agnew, also a freshman, placed sixth among six competitors in the men's triple jump, leaping 35 feet, 11.5 inches. Agnew finished 15th in the long jump with a leap of 16 feet, 9.25 inches.
Whitman sophomore Michelle Rees was one of 11 competitors who failed to make the beginning heighth (9.25 feet) in the women's pole vault. Becky Holliday won the event at 13 feet, 1.5 inches.
Outracing her closest opponent by more than 90 seconds, Whitman's Ariel Andrews topped all runners in the 5000 meters Saturday afternoon at the Whitworth Invitational in Spokane, Wash.
Andrews, a junior, won the race in a time of 18:45.82, cutting about 21 seconds from the time she posted a week ago in her first race of the spring.
Whitman freshman Sierra Witnov placed third in Saturday's race, checking in at 20:25.79. She finished about four seconds behind the runner-up, Nicolle Clutter of North Idaho College.
Michelle Rees, a Missionary sophomore, placed sixth in the women's pole vault, raising her school record to 8 feet, 9.5 inches. Her previous record, set last spring, was 8 feet, 1.25 inches.
Rees also competed Saturday in the 100-meter dash, placing 15th in 15.32 seconds.
In the men's events, sophomore Braden Burkholder placed seventh for the Missionaries in a time of 17:00.02. Two Whitman freshmen, Patrick Cade and Ryan Choi, placed 10th and 13th, respectively, in times of 17:26.75 and 17:59.19. Cade also competed in the 800 meters, placing 12th in 2:06.65.
Noah Whitmore ran the 100-meter dash, and Patrick Cade competed in the 800-meter run and the 5000-meter run, finishing tenth in the long distance event.
Freshman Morgan Agnew finished sixth for the Missionaries in the long jump (18-6) and eighth in the triple jump 37-09.25). David Cai, also a freshman, tossed heavy objects, placing 13th in the hammer (120-02) and 16th in the discus (105-0). A third freshman, Noah Whitmore, finished 17th in the 100 meters in 12.05 seconds.
Whitman assistant coach Neal Christopherson snuck his name into the scoring column, placing 18th in the 1500 meters in 4:25.24.
Whitman's Ariel Andrews placed third in the women's 10,000 meters and Braden Burkholder was eighth in the men's 8,000-meter steeplechase at the highly competitive Willamette Open track & field meet Friday and Saturday in Salem, Ore.
The meet attracted about 800 collegiate and open athletes from throughout the West.
Running the 10,000 for the first time this season, Andrews finished in 38:34.3. Dolores Bergmann of Humboldt State, an NCAA Div. II school, won the race in 36:53.6. Ellie Enos of Western Oregon University was second in 37:42.7.
Whitman's Sierra Witnov also ran in Friday evening's 10,000 meters, placing 11th in 42:00.6.
In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, which was run on Saturday, Burkholder placed eighth for Whitman in a time of 10:30.76. Teammate Conor Flynn was 13th in 10:49.48.
Burkholder also ran in Friday night's 5,000 meters, placing 28th in a crowded field. His time was a season-best 16:44.9.
Morgan Agnew placed 11th for Whitman in the men's triple jump. His best leap was a season-best 38-11. Agnew also posted a season-best effort in the long jump, sailing 19-2.75 to place 19th.
Whitman's David Cai placed 12th in the hammer throw with a season-best toss of 135-2. Teammate Wayne Yorita was 26th with a throw of 97-2.
Others competing for Whitman were Jeanne Knechtges, who placed 27th in the women's 3,000 meters in 11:51.97, and David Prins, who was 30th in the men's 400 meters in 59.93.
Running the 10,000 meters for only the second time this season, Whitman's Ariel Andrews won the event at the Whitworth Open Saturday in Spokane, Wash.
Andrews, a junior, outran her nearest competitor by about 90 seconds, finishing in 37:55.60, the fastest time posted this spring by a Northwest Conference runner. Her time beat the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Div. III national championships by about 17 seconds.
Sierra Witnov, a Whitman freshman, placed fifth in Saturday's 5,000 meters in 19:29.61 -- almost a minute better than her previous season-best time.
In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Whitman's Braden Burkholder and Conor Flynn placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in times of 10:32.46 and 10:41.14. Ryan Choi also competed in the event for Whitman, placing 12th in 11:05.66.
Flynn, a freshman, also competed in the pole vault, placing eighth with a heighth of 10 feet, two inches.
Whitman's Michelle Rees tied for seventh in the women's pole vault at eight feet, seven inches. Rees placed 12th in the long jump with a leap of 13 feet, two inches.
Jeanne Knecthtges ran the 1,500 meters in 5:27.08, placing 11th.
David Cai, a Whitman freshman, placed 15th in the hammer throw with a season-best toss of 137 feet, one inch. Wayne Yorita, also a Missionary freshman, placed 21st with a throw of 88 feet, nine inches.
Patrick Cade lowered his season-best time in the 800 meters to 2:02.54, placing 17th.
Just six days after running a hard and fast 10,000 meters, Whitman junior Ariel Andrews was unable to run a similar time in Friday's Northwest Conference track & field championships, placing third in a time of 38:41.97.
Leslie Nelson of Whitworth won Friday's race in 37:58.32. Pacific Lutheran's Lia Ossiander was second in 38:21.75.
Last Saturday, Andrews won the 10,000 meters at the Whitworth Open, in 37:55.60, which remains the best time posted this season by a Northwest Conference runner.
In the men's competition Friday, Whitman freshman David Cai placed ninth in the hammer throw with a toss of 136 feet, six inches. That mark was seven inches less than his season best.
In the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Whitman sophomore Braden Burkholder placed 12th in 10:16.10, lowering his season-best time by more than 14 seconds. Conor Flynn, a Missionary freshman, also ran a season-best time, placing 15th in 10:34.08.
The NWC championships conclude Saturday in Spokane. Sierra Witnov, a Whitman freshman, will run in the 5,000 meters. Andrews also has the option of running in the 5,000.
After placing third in the 10,000 meters Friday evening, Whitman's Ariel Andrews ran a season-best time of 18:43.69 to place fifth in the 5,000 meters Friday afternoon at the Northwest Conference track & field championships in Spokane, Wash.
Puget Sound's Dana Boyle dominated the field in the 5,000 meters, winning the event in 17:20.34 and beating her nearest competitor by more than minute. The runner-up, Leslie Nelson of Whitworth, ran in Friday's 10,000 meters, while Boyle did not.
Andrews, a Whitman junior, trimmed about two seconds off her season-best time in placing fifth in the 5,000. Sierra Witnov, a Missionary freshman, placed ninth in 19:26.47, her season-best effort by about three seconds.
Andrews and Witnov were Whitman's only competitors in Saturday's events.
All three members of the Whitman track team competing in the Duane Hartman Invitational, held Saturday at Spokane Falls Community College, posted season-best times.
Conor Flynn, a Whitman freshman, placed fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:29.0, his personal-best effort by about five seconds.
Sierra Witnov, also a freshman, clocked a personal-best time in the women's 5,000 meters, placing fifth in 19:23.0.
In the women's 1,500 meters, sophomore Jeanne Knechtges placed seventh in a season-best time of 5:23.18.