SALEM, Ore. – The Corban University men's and women's track & field teams competed in their annual dual meet against crosstown rival Willamette University on Thursday evening, compiling eight more Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) qualifying marks in the event.

The Warrior men cruised to an 83-47 victory in the team scores, while the Bearcats edged the Navy and Gold women by a 64-62 margin.

RESULTS

"I was very pleased with the team's energy and focus today," said head coach Todd Bos after the meet. "It was great finally having the distance runners join us, highlighted by Robert's fantastic 1500-meter run. The team should be encouraged heading into spring break. Their hard work is paying off, and if they stay focused and keep working over the break, they could make this a very successful season. Finally, God blessed us with an injury-free day, even as many athletes competed in multiple events, and for that I am grateful!"

The Warrior distance core made its 2022 season debut on Thursday, highlighted by outstanding efforts from Robert Swoboda and Gracie Long.

Swoboda clocked a blistering time of 3:59.28 in the 1,500 meters, marking the second-best time in program history in the event. The runner-up finisher—Willamette's Gabriel Regimbal—finished 15 seconds behind Swoboda in the event.

Long also put together a historic performance in the women's 1,500 meters, crossing the finish line at the 4:52.73 mark to take first place, while also establishing a new personal-best and the sixth-best time in the school's history in the event. Her teammate Samantha Dara finished second overall, clocking a time of 5:03.65.

Corban's female sprinters also shined on Thursday, as Valerie Schmidt hit the CCC qualifying mark in the 100-meter dash (12.52 seconds, first place) to spearhead a trio of Warrior finishers in the event. Kendra Murphy (12.67 seconds, second place) and Hero Peters (12.84 seconds, third place) finished just behind her.

Murphy's time is also a CCC-qualifying mark.

"Gracie and Samantha's efforts in the 1,500 meters were solid early season marks," Bos added. "The women's 100-meter race produced fast times for Valerie, Kendra, and Hero, but unfortunately the wind was a bit too strong to change our 100-meter top ten."

Seth Tripp headlined the men's sprinting unit, booking his ticket to the conference meet in both the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. He clocked a time of 11.23 seconds in the 100 meters and crossed the finish line at the 22.84-second mark in the 200 meters, taking home the title in both races.

"Seth ran well in the 100 meters and 200 meters, hitting conference qualifying times in both, but the tailwind was too strong to change our top-ten lists," Bos said, discussing his sprinters on the men's side. "Two freshmen showed their competitive spirit and gutted out tough wins today: Caleb Schmoll in the 400 meters and Forrest Cooley in the 800 meters."

Schmoll (53.36 seconds) topped a field of five to take home the crown in the 400 meters, narrowly edging Willamette's Andres Huante by three-tenths of a second in a thrilling finish. Cooley also turned in a gritty effort in the 800 meters (2:06.12), making up a 10-foot gap in the stretch run to overtake the Bearcats' Gabriel Regimbal in a photo finish.

The other two conference-qualifying marks for the Navy and Gold came from the women's throws, as Schmidt uncorked a 117'10" toss in the javelin, and Madi Kleiber took home first in the shot put with a mark of 34' 2.25".

Looking ahead, the Corban women will send Schmidt and Murphy to the Buc Scoring/Combined Events Meet on March 24-25, hosted by Whitworth University. The next time the entire track & field program will be in action will be on April 2, when the squads split between the Jenn Boyman Memorial Invite (at Linfield University) and the Northwest Distance Jamboree (at Lane Community College).