Eugene, Ore. – The Corban University track & field teams competed all around the state of Oregon on Saturday, and thanks to a number of season-best performances, the Warriors showed well against some of the top competition in the country.
The Warrior men's 4x400 Relay squad made some noise at the Oregon Relays on Saturday, uncorking a season-best time of 3:16.09 to win the race by more than four seconds. The quartet of senior Jacob Ybarra (Boise, Idaho), senior Nathan Swanson (Newberg, Ore.), senior Brett Johnson (Bellingham, Wash.), and sophomore Michael Trofimchik (Salem, Ore.) look to continue to peak at the right time of the season, and that time ranks second on the all-time list for the program. Currently, the Warriors rank sixth nationally among all NAIA 4x400 Relay teams.
The Corban men's 4x100 Relay squad put its undefeated record up against Division-1 opponent, the University of Oregon, as well as others, and despite running a fast race, the Warrior foursome of Johnson, Ybarra, freshman Nathan Martin (Turner, Ore.), and Trofimchik combined to finish in fourth with a time of 42.30 seconds. The mark was the fastest of all NAIA schools competing, however, and did finish in front of Concordia's top team. The U of O finished that race in first place with a mark of 40.14 seconds.
Elsewhere in the Oregon Relays, junior Cecilee Russell (Hillsboro, Ore.) clocked another outstanding time in the 400 Hurdles, crossing the finish line in second place with a time of 1:04.08. That time was better than a pair of Division-1 hurdlers.
"It was a great day for Corban at the U of O Relays with a win in the 4x400 and a second-place finish for Cecilee Russell in the 400 Hurdles," said head coach Norm Berney.
At the Lewis & Clark Invite where most of Corban's athletes competed throughout the day, minus those at the Oregon Relays, the Warrior men took fourth place (94 points) and the women took fifth place (77 points).
"At the Lewis & Clark Invite, we had several PR's with Trey Hargrove's second-place finish in the 800 Meters and Christian Bohuslavizki breaking into the 55's in the 400 Hurdles," said Berney. "Chelsea Reifschneider had two strong third-place finishes in both Hurdles races, and our men's 4x400 B team won the race with a great anchor lap by Trey Hargrove."
Freshman Trey Hargrove (Salem, Ore.) built on his strong rookie campaign, uncorking a career-best time in the 800 Meters of 1:55.47, taking second place overall at the meet. Sophomore Amadi Amaitsa (Keizer, Ore.) took fourth place with a time of 1:58.12, while fellow sophomore Craig Boekenoogen (Poulsbo, Wash.) broke the two-minute barrier for the first time in his career, finishing in fifth place with a time of 1:59.18.
In the 1500 Meters, senior Justin Holden (Olympia, Wash.) and Boekenoogen shined for Corban, taking fourth and fifth with times of 4:01.83 and 4:02.54.
Freshman Christian Bohuslavizki (Santa Margarita, Calif.) broke past a new barrier in his showcase event, clocking a career-best time of 55.95 seconds to take second place overall.
The Warrior men's relays dominated at the meet, winning both the 4x100 (44.15) and the 4x400 (3:29.02).
Elsewhere, junior Dane Walker (Anchorage, Alaska) performed well and took third in the Discus (134' 10") and fourth in the Shot Put (44' 3.5").
On the women's side for the Warriors, junior Chelsea Reifschneider (Sisters, Ore.) ran well in the 100 Meter Hurdles, clocking a third-place mark of 15.88 seconds, while in the 400 Hurdles, she finished in third once again with a time of 1:05.57.
In the High Jump, junior Sarah Taylor (Bend, Ore.) won the event once again as she had done several times previously during the 2015 campaign, clearing a height of 5' 2.20" (1.58m). In addition, sophomore Emma Berg (Port Orchard, Wash.) scored for the Navy and Gold in the Long Jump (15' 11.7"), taking sixth overall. Junior Alli Ehrhardt (Rogue River, Ore.) finished right behind Berg in the event, taking seventh with a distance of 15' 7.8".
Finally, freshman Renee Inscore (Dayville, Ore.) continued to impress, scoring big points for the Navy and Gold by taking third place in the Javelin, launching a throw for a distance of 115' 4.25". Junior Kelsey Wright (Beaverton, Ore.) followed closely behind with a fourth-place finish and a toss of 114' 9.2"
"Next weekend we will be running our relay team against a strong field of NCAA Teams at Western Washington in Bellingham on Thursday and Friday," said Berney. "We also have the CCC Championships in the Decathlon and the Heptathlon."
With an exciting finish to the 2015 campaign ahead for the Warrior track & field teams, be sure to check out the 2015 Corban schedule for full details!
