The Warrior men's 4x400 Relay (Left-to-right: Brett Johnson, Nathan Swanson, Amadi Amaitsa, and Michael Trofimchik) captured Corban's first-ever 4x400 Relay CCC Championship with an NAIA 'A' standard time.

Men's Track and Field 5/10/2015 12:06:00 AM Danny Day, Sports Information Director

Warrior Track & Field Captures Multiple Championships on Day Two of CCC Finale

ASHLAND, Ore. - If you thought day one of the 2015 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships was exhilarating, day two on Saturday may have even surpassed day one's excitement, as the Corban University track & field teams captured multiple titles in various events and finished off one of the most successful CCC Championships in program history. With a school-record 139 points, the Warrior men placed fourth overall to tie for the highest finish in program history, while the Warrior women performed well all over the meet, taking sixth with a total of 68 points.

Click 'Play' button on photo above to watch video highlights from the meet.

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"We surpassed all of our expectations for the men and the women, with all of our athletes competing at an extraordinary level throughout the meet," said head coach Norm Berney. "On top of our performances at the meet, all of our athletes conducted themselves in a fantastic manner that represented who Corban truly is."

With so many highlights from around the track and field events throughout the course of the day for both the men and women, it was the Warrior men's 4x400 Relay that stole the show and capped off the record-setting meet for the Navy and Gold. While blowing away the competition by more than 20 meters, the quartet of Amadi Amaitsa (Keizer, Ore.), senior Nathan Swanson (Newberg, Ore.), senior Brett Johnson (Bellingham, Wash.), and sophomore Michael Trofimchik (Salem, Ore.) combined for a championship performance and NAIA 'A' standard time of 3:15.59. For Corban, it was the first time the program had ever won the 4x400 Relay, and it snapped Concordia's three-year reign on the event.

While the 4x400 Relay was exhilarating for the men, the 200 Meters may have been just as rewarding, as Johnson led the way and uncorked a school-record time of 21.83 seconds, finishing in first place and claiming the CCC title. Complementing Johnson's efforts were Trofimchik who took second with a career-best 21.99 seconds, and freshman Nathan Martin (Turner, Ore.) also clocked a career-best time of 21.99 seconds for third place, just edging out the fourth-place competitor by 0.01 seconds. For the Navy and Gold, not only was it the first time it had ever swept an event at the conference finale, but it was the first time the Warriors had won the title in the 200 Meters.

In total throughout the 2015 CCC Championships, the Warrior men captured four titles, including both of the relay events --- a new school record for a CCC meet.

"We never dreamed of winning both of the relays, especially with when our program was originally just built around our distance runners, but we have come a long way, and this was a special meet," said Berney. "That was the first time in school history we've ever won more than one event at the CCC Championships, and it was the first time we've ever finished 1-2-3 in an event, so it was just a great all-around effort from everyone on the team!"

Johnson also shined in the 100 Meters, earning All-Conference honors with a third-place finish and career-best time of 10.96 seconds. While Johnson took third, it was the other Warriors who also came up big for Corban in the event, as Martin took fourth (11.00), Trofimchik fifth (11.02), and senior Jacob Ybarra (Boise, Idaho) seventh (11.11), all scoring crucial points. For both Trofimchik and Ybarra, the times were career-bests.

In the field events, Ybarra built on his momentum from Friday's pair of second-place finishes and registered his third runner-up finish at the CCC Championships, setting a new school record in the Triple Jump with a distance of 45' 7". Sophomore teammate Timothy Yee (Calexico, Calif.) performed valiantly in the event for Corban as well, registering a career-best jump by a large margin, taking seventh and scoring points for the Warriors with a distance of 43' 3".

In the 400 Hurdles, freshman Christian Bohuslaviski (Santa Margarita, Calif.) capped off his rookie campaign with a career-best time of 55.07 seconds, finishing in fourth place for the Warriors to score points in the event.

Additionally, scoring more points for the Navy and Gold was sophomore Luke Jackson (Milwaukie, Ore.) as he cleared a sixth-place height of 13' 1.5" in the Pole Vault. Elsewhere in the field events, freshman J'Rhett Baker (Silverton, Ore.) placed fourth for Corban in the Javelin with a toss of 167', while fellow freshman Jason Bracken (Battleground, Wash.) scored points for the Warriors with an eighth-place showing of 159' 6" in the Javelin.

The Warrior women experienced some great success as well throughout the day, and it began with Katie Udell (Hanford, Calif.) setting a new school record in the Pole Vault, clearing a height of 9' 8", finishing in fourth place in the event via a tiebreaker.

Later in the meet, junior Chelsea Reifschneider (Sister, Ore.) shocked everyone with an NAIA 'A' standard time in the 400 Hurdles, crossing the finish line in a school-record time of 1:03.53. The time was a career-best mark for Reifschneider by a significant margin. Fellow junior Cecilee Russell (Hillsboro, Ore.) finished not far behind in sixth place to score points for Corban with a time of 1:04.28.

Both sophomore Emma Berg (Port Orchard, Wash.) and junior Alli Ehrhardt (Rogue River, Ore.) performed well in the Triple Jump, with Berg registering a season-best distance of 36' 0.75" for fifth place, while Ehrhardt also jumped a season-best distance, coming in at sixth place (35' 11.5").

In the Javelin, freshman Renee Inscore (Dayville, Ore.) saved the best for last during her rookie campaign, as she hurled a career-best throw of 121' 8" to take fourth overall in the event. In addition, junior Kelsey Wright (Beaverton, Ore.) launched a season-best throw of 118' 6" to score points for Corban and place sixth.

Finally, the 4x400 Relay quartet of Reifschneider, Berg, senior Haley Holboke (Vancouver, Wash.), and Russell combined for a season-best time of 3:57.55, taking fourth overall at the meet and far surpassing their seed time.

Full Results

Team scores for Men: Eastern Oregon 165, Concordia 160, Southern Oregon 158, Corban 139, Oregon Tech 91, College of Idaho 63, Evergreen State 14, Warner Pacific 11, Northwest Christian 8, Northwest 7

Team scores for Women: College of Idaho 180, Concordia 153, Eastern Oregon 106, Southern Oregon 96, Oregon Tech 80, Corban 68, Northwest Christian 51, Warner Pacific 41, Northwest 34

Now that the CCC Championships are in the books, Corban will see both men's relays and all individuals who have registered NAIA 'A' standard marks go and compete at the NAIA National Championships later this month for both the men and women. Stay tuned for full details.

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