SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University track & field teams kicked off the 2017 campaign as a full team for the first time on Saturday, taking on talented NCAA Division I, Division II, and Division III competition. With Jason Bracken having a day to remember, the Warrior track & field teams impressed across the board, qualifying multiple individuals for the Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) Championships while registering numerous early-season quality marks.
COMPLETE RESULTS
"Today at the Willamette Opener, we saw one of the greatest performances in the history of Corban Track & Field when Jason Bracken won three events," said Corban head coach Norm Berney. "He had career-bests in the Javelin and the High Jump, and then he topped off the day with a win in the Discus. Several other athletes qualified for the conference and had better marks than they had last year at the opening meet."
Bracken, who qualified for the Decathlon at the NAIA National Championships in 2016 but was unable to compete due to injury, started the 2017 campaign with a bang, winning the High Jump while setting a new career-best mark of 6' 4.75". Then in the Javelin, he launched a throw of 184' 1.75" to dominate and win the event with another career-best mark, while in the Discus, he recorded a first-place throw of 137' 2".
On top of Bracken's standout performance on the men's side, fellow senior Amadi Amaitsa clocked a winning time in the 400 Meters, crossing the finish line in a great early-season mark of 50.23 seconds. Additionally in the sprints with a strong showing in his first-ever collegiate race, former Corban University men's soccer standout Kemar Prince clocked a time of 11.28 seconds in the 100 Meters to win his heat and register the third-fastest time on the day, only behind two NCAA DII athletes.
Christian Bohuslavizki registered a winning mark in the 400m Hurdles, crossing the finish line in a time of 56.67 seconds for Corban, while Holden Quinn placed second overall in the 200 Meters in a time of 23.05 seconds and Regan Shira took third in the 110m Hurdles with a mark of 16.31 seconds.
On the women's side, Naphtali Ward won the High Jump event, clearing a height of 4' 10.5", while Shelby Jenkins showed well in the Triple Jump, recording a distance of 34' 2.75" to take second overall.
In the throws, Crystal Lynch built on her record-setting and All-CCC junior campaign with a solid showing at her first meet of the 2017 season, notching a pair of second-place showings in the Shot Put (37' 0") and in the Discus (124' 0").
In the sprints, Kristi Childers recorded a pair of solid times, taking sixth overall in the 200 Meters with a mark of 26.50 seconds, while then placing second in the 100m Hurdles in a time of 16.31 seconds. Moreover, on the distance side, freshman Amy Jo Murphy clocked a time of 18:27.35 in the 5000 Meters to place third overall against some of the top competition in the entire northwest.
"On the ladies' side, we had a winner in Naphtali Ward in the High Jump and Crystal Lynch came through with two strong second-place showings," said Berney. "After being out of track for two years and playing volleyball for College of Southern Idaho, Shelby Jenkins came through with a second-place showing in the Triple Jump with two solid jumps over 34'. Also, Amy Jo Murphy ran an outstanding race in the 5k, finishing in third place against some quality runners from Western Oregon and Colorado College. Overall we felt it was a great day for Corban Track competing against NCAA competition, and we had several individuals qualify for conference," said Berney.
Corban returns to the track next Saturday at 9 a.m. at the Pacific Preview.
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