EUGENE, Ore. – While competing at both the Oregon Relays in Eugene and at the Cougar Open up in Clackamas, some of the top Corban University track & field athletes excelled on the track and in the field, building further towards the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships.
Highlighting the day for the Warriors was senior standout Cecilee Russell (Hillsboro, Ore.) in the 400 Hurdles at the Oregon Relays. While competing against primarily NCAA Division I competition, she turned on the burners and uncorked yet another school record time of 1:02.84 to take fourth place overall at the meet. On top of all that, she ran the school record time in lane eight, making it all the more difficult to perform well, and she only narrowly lost out in the race to a pair of Oregon State University runners and one University of Oregon runner.
Russell's time currently ranks fifth overall in the NAIA.
"Cecilee Russell broke her own school record in the 400 Hurdles and moved up in the national rankings in the 400 Intermediate Hurdles," said Corban head coach Norm Berney. "She was competing against primarily NCAA Division I competitors, so it was outstanding to see her performance."
Providing a phenomenal performance at the Cougar Invite was Warrior men's junior runner Craig Boekenoogen (Poulsbo, Wash.), as he ran the second-fastest time in program history in the 1500 Meters, crossing the finish line in a time of 4:00.60. While taking third at the meet in the event against top-notch competition, his time qualified him for the CCC Championships, should he choose to run in the event.
Winning the High Jump for Corban was senior Sarah Taylor (Bend, Ore.), as she cleared a height of 5' 0.25". In the Discus, Warrior sophomore Mackenzie Howell (Sherwood, Ore.) uncorked some career-best throws, registering a third-place mark of 119' 11", further showing that she is ready to make some noise at the CCC Championships.
In the Hammer Throw, it was senior Kelsey Wright (Beaverton, Ore.) who excelled, placing third with a mark of 131' 7".
"The Cougar Invite was a great day for us to get some PR's and get ready for the SOU Meet and the Conference Championships," said Berney. "Craig Boekenoogen became our second-fastest 1500 runner in program history after taking some time off the last two weeks to recover from a foot injury, and Mackenzie Howell PR'd in the Discus and had a great series of throws. In addition, Sarah Taylor came through with a solid performance and another first-place showing."
The Corban track & field teams return to action this week for the CCC Multi-Event Championships. The Warrior decathletes and heptathletes look forward to competing down in Ashland at Southern Oregon University on Thursday and Friday in this conference championship event.
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