NEWS RELEASE

Track and Field | Tuesday, May 13, 2003

NEWS RELEASE

THIS WEEK: Bearcats host multi-event, Last Chance meet
Willamette will be hosting two events this week for collegiate athletes still hoping to qualify for NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA national championship meets. Willamette will host a multi-event on Thursday (10:00 a.m.) and Friday (9:30 a.m.) at Charles Bowles Track. On Saturday, WU will host the Last Chance Meet (10:30 a.m.), also at Charles Bowles Track.
Results of the meets can be found on the web at either:
/www.willamette.edu/athletics
http://www.run-down.com/bearcats/wu.php

LAST WEEK: Sorenson breaks hammer record again; 4x400 relays post hot times
Willamette received strong performances from individuals and relays Saturday during the Ken Foreman Invitational at Husky Stadium in Seattle. The following are Bearcat highlights of the meet:
• Kasey Sorenson (Sr., Scappoose HS) improved her NCAA provisional mark in the hammer by placing eighth with a throw of 152-7 — a new school record. Her previous season best and school record of 150-1 was set May 3 at the Linfield Invitational.
• Alicia Andrews (So., Asotin HS, Wash.) improved her NCAA provisional time in the 800 by placing third in a time of 2:14.51, which is No. 4 all-time in WU history.
• The women’s 4x400 relay team of Lindsay Ogle (Sr., Flathead HS, Mont.), Roseann Kassebaum (Fr., Oregon City HS), Shannon McGrane (So., Colville HS, Wash.) and Alicia Andrews (So., Asotin HS, Wash.) placed third in a time of 3:59.16, which ranks No. 3 all-time in WU history.
• The Willamette men’s 4x400 relay team of Brennan Garrelts (Fr., Roseburg HS), Brian Roesler (Jr., Portland Christian HS), Everett Thomas (Fr., Benson HS) and Jonas Welsch (Jr., Clackamas CC) finished fourth in 3:17.60 (No. 3 all-time in WU history), just missing the NCAA Division III provisional time of 3:17.50.
• Marques Johnson (Sr., Grant HS) and Zach Larsen (So., Triangle Lake HS) went 1-2 in the high jump with identical marks of 6-6 3/4.
• Brian Roesler (Jr., (Portland Christian HS) placed seventh in the 800 in a season best of 1:52.77, improving his previous NCAA Division III provisional time.

BEARCAT NWC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK TO DATE:
WOMEN MEN
March 17 Shannon McGrane —
March 25 Kari Holbert Nick Symmonds
April 7 Natalie Muren —
April 14 — Nick Symmonds
April 21 — Tyler May

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS, NOTES: The Bearcats won both the men and women’s side of the NWC Four-Way at George Fox on March 15 … Nick Symmonds (Fr., Bishop Kelly HS, Idaho) won the 800 in the Oregon Preview with a school-record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 1:51.18. The previous school record in that event had stood for 45 years after Dale Hartman ran a 1:51.94 in 1958 … in the second NCAA Division III power rankings of the season, the Willamette men are ranked No. 2 in the nation and the women are No. 3. The rankings are based on “overall team strength in a dual meet type scoring” against Division III competition … in the NWC Championship meet on April 25-26, the Bearcat women set or improved on 17 all-time WU top 10 marks, while the men set or improved on seven marks. The two teams defended both 2002 NWC championships, combined for 20 individual titles and Kelly Sullivan was named NWC Coach of the Year for both the men and women … three Bearcats broke school records in two meets on May 3. Kasey Sorenson (Sr., Scappoose HS) won the hammer at the Linfield Invitational with a throw of 150-1, breaking her own 2002 school record and exceeding the NCAA provisional mark of 147-8. At the Oregon Twilight in Eugene, Jazzmin Reece (Jr., Sehome HS, Wash.) and Nick Symmonds (Fr., Bishop Kelly HS, Idaho) each broke a WU record. Reece won the 100 hurdles in an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 15.08, which broke last year's WU record of 15.13 set by Laura Leineweber. Symmonds won the prestigious Bill McChesney Jr. Memorial Twilight Mile in a time of 4:03.85. The time converts to a 3:45.81 in the 1,500, which automatically qualifies him for nationals and breaks the 1980 school record of David Fleming.

WILLAMETTE’S AUTOMATIC NCAA QUALIFIERS:
-----MEN
Nick Symmonds 800 meters *1:51.18 (Oregon Preview, March 22)
1,500 meters *3:45.81 (Oregon Twilight, May 3 — converted from mile)

WILLAMETTE’S PROVISIONAL NCAA QUALIFIERS:
-----WOMEN
Kari Holbert steeplechase 11:24.67 (automatic: top 15)
5,000 meters 17:48.0 (automatic: 17:15.00)
Shannon McGrane 400 hurdles *1:02.43 (automatic: 1:02.40)
Natalie Muren 5,000 meters 17:38.0 (automatic: 17:15.00)
Alicia Andrews 800 meters 2:14.51 (automatic: 2:12.00)
Kasey Sorenson hammer *152-7 (automatic: 168-11)
Jazmin Reece 100 hurdles *15.08 (automatic: 14.43)
Lindsey Patterson long jump 18-1 (automatic: 19-0 1/4)
Danielle Page triple jump 36-11 (automatic: 39-2 1/2)
Nancy Weyler discus 136-7 (automatic: 152-7)
-----MEN
Jake Stout steeplechase 9:13.90 (automatic: 9:06.40)
5,000 meters 14:39.1 (automatic: 14:32.00)
Scott Overby steeplechase 9:13.27 (automatic: 9:06.40)
1,500 meters 3:55.04 (automatic: 3:50.60)
Aaron Hollingshead 5,000 meters 14:50.0 (automatic: 14:32.00)
Brian Roesler 800 meters 1:52.77 (automatic: 1:51.30)
Tyler May decathlon 6,231 (automatic: 6,550)
Bill Sandbo hammer 170-7 (automatic: 183-9)
Zach Larsen high jump 6-9 1/2 (automatic: 6-10 3/4)
Brennan Garrelts 110 hurdles 14.90 (automatic: 14.45)

* Willamette school record

NWC, NCAA QUALIFICATION MARKS: The NWC and NCAA’s qualifying marks can be found on the NWC website at:
http://www.nwcsports.com/TrackandField/NWCT&F.htm

2003 WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE
DATE EVENT/OPPONENT LOCATION TIME/PLACING
March 1 WILLAMETTE SIX-WAY SALEM non-scoring
March 8 WILLAMETTE THREE-WAY SALEM non-scoring
March 15 NWC Four-way Newberg WU women: 1st
WU men: 1st
March 22 Oregon Preview Eugene non-scoring
March 24-25 Linfield Multi-event McMinnville
April 4 WILLAMETTE CELEBRATION OF DISTANCE
SALEM non-scoring
April 5 WILLAMETTE INV. SALEM non-scoring
April 11 GFU Distance Carnival Newberg non-scoring
April 12 Oregon Mini Meet Eugene non-scoring
April 14-15 NWC Multi-event champ. Tacoma, Wash. (UPS)
April 19 Clackamas CC Invitational Oregon City non-scoring
April 25-26 NWC Championships Tacoma, Wash. (PLU) WU women: 1st
WU men: 1st
May 3 Oregon Twilight Eugene non-scoring
Linfield Invitational McMinnville non-scoring
May 10 Ken Foreman Invitational Seattle, Wash. non-scoring
May 15 WILLAMETTE MULTI-EVENT
SALEM 10:00
May 15 WILLAMETTE MULTI-EVENT
SALEM 9:30
May 17 WILLAMETTE LAST CHANCE
SALEM 10:30
May 22-24 NCAA Division III Champ. Canton, N.Y. All day

THE KELLY SULLIVAN YEARS AT WILLAMETTE:
FINISHES IN THE NORTHWEST CONFERENCE
WOMEN MEN
YEAR PL PTS PL PTS
1998 5th 63 6th 65
1999 6th 86 4th 84
2000 5th 104 5th 118
2001 2nd 185.7 4th 126
2002 1st 225 1st 254
2003 1st 227 1st 264

HOW TO CONTACT HEAD COACH KELLY SULLIVAN:
Office: (503) 370-6803
Email: kmsulliv@willamette.edu

DIRECTIONS TO MCCULLOCH STADIUM: Take exit 253 off I-5 in Salem. The cross street is Mission. Drive west on Mission 2.7 miles until you see the “Willamette University” reader board of the left-hand side of Mission. Parking is available in the adjacent lot on the south side of Mission, or north of Mission throughout the neighborhood.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE WEB:
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY: /www.willamette.edu/athletics
UNOFFICIAL TEAM SITE: http://www.run-down.com/bearcats/wu.php
NORTHWEST CONFERENCE: http://www.nwcsports.com