After a great finish to the 2013 season, the 2014 Northwest Conference Championships stands a chance to be even better for the Pacific track and field programs.
The Pacific men posted a banner season in 2013, finishing third at the NWC Championships and scoring the second most points in a conference meet in school history. The Boxers saw Tyler Shipley (So., Forest Grove, Ore.) named the Men’s Track Athlete of the Meet after winning both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters as a freshman and Kelson Kawai (Sr., North Kohala, Hawaii) capture the triple jump title.
The Pacific women will aim to continue to grow as a number of young athletes make their first appearance in the meet. Senior sprinter Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (Sr., Makawao, Hawaii) will aim to end her career on a high note.
The Northwest Conference Championships begin Friday at 10 a.m. at the University of Puget Sound’s Baker Stadium. Preliminary heats will be held for the majority of running events while finals will be contested for the steeplechase, 10,000 meters, hammer, long jump, shot put, men’s high jump and women’s pole vault.
PACIFIC MEN’S ATHLETES TO WATCH
Tyler Shipley (5,000 Meters, 10,000 Meters): It will be a challenge for anyone to beat the defending NWC champion in both events. Shipley enters the NWC Championships with the league’s best time in both distance disciplines. His Pacific record of 30:24.44 in the 10,000 meters is currently eighth best in Division III and is 2 minutes, 30 seconds faster than anyone else in the NWC. Shipley, who enters with a season best of 15:01.51 in the 5,000 meters, will be challenged by a pair of talented runner. George Fox’s Joseph Pia owns a season best of 15:04.74 while Willamette’s Parker Bennett, who beat Shipley to win the 2013 NWC cross country title, has clocked 15:08.64. All three are capable of sub-15-minute times in the right conditions.
Kelson Kawai (High Jump, Triple Jump): The senior will need a big day in order to take his second straight NWC title in the triple jump. After jumping 44 feet, 6.25 inches in his junior campaign, Kawai has managed 42 feet, 4.25 inches this season, ranking him seventh in the league. Kennedy Johnson of Linfield is the conference leader at 45 feet, 11.75 inches. Kawai’s best chance for a title this year may be in the high jump. He and teammate Budweiser Hawkins (Jr., Las Vegas, Nev.) are the top two returning placers in the event and both have cleared 6 feet, 6.75 inches in 2014, sharing the conference lead with Whitworth’s Lucas McGill.
Budwesier Hawkins (High Jump, Long Jump): Hawkins has the potential to be a two-event champion for the Boxers. He enters the NWC Championships with a share of the top mark in the high jump and has shown consistency throughout the outdoor season. Hawkins also enters the meet with the conference’s best mark in the long jump at 22 feet, 7 inches, but is followed closely by teammate Jeremy Parkinson (So., Hubbard, Ore.). Hawkins appeared to have the NWC long jump title won last season, but was outdistanced by Whitworth’s Tyler Guinn on the final jump of the competition. Guinn enters this year’s meet with a best of 21 feet, 0.5 inches, 16th best this season.
Jesse Bethke (Discus): The senior may be the biggest surprise of Pacific’s track and field season. After placing seventh in the 2013 NWC Championships with a personal best of 138 feet, 10.75 inches, Bethke broke out with a Pacific record of 150 feet, 5 inches, at the Apr. 12 Pacific Luau Meet. He proved the performance was not a fluke last week, throwing 146 feet, 11 inches, at the Lewis & Clark Open. Bethke enters the conference meet with the best mark in the NWC by six feet and is among the top-50 performers in the event in Division III. Bethke is also qualified in the hammer.
Jeremy Parkinson (Triple Jump, Long Jump): Parkinson has performed better than the defending champion and teammate Kawai in the triple jump. His season best of 42 feet, 6.75 inches, set at the Mar. 28 Peyton Scoring Meet, ranks fifth in the NWC and is two inches better than Kawai. Parkinson qualified in the triple jump last year, but did not advance out of the preliminaries. Parkinson gives the Boxers’ a potential one-two scoring performance in the long jump. He sits No. 2 on the conference best list (behind teammate Hawkins) and his season best of 22 feet, 5.75 inches, gives him the eighth best mark in school history.
Michael Teves (Pole Vault): Pacific has not had a legitimate point-scorer in the pole vault in four years, but the freshman has already established himself as one of the guys to beat. After a lifetime best of 14 feet as a prep athlete (which won the 2012 Hawaii state title), Teves lifted himself to 14 feet, 6 inches at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open. The performance moved Teves to No. 2 on Pacific’s all-time list and currently ranks third in the NWC between two Whitworth competitors, Joseph Green and Everett Kleven.
Michael Zane (100 Meters, 200 Meters): Despite struggling with injury over the last three weeks, Zane is still aiming for NWC titles in the sprints. Zane became the first Pacific athlete since 1979 to break the 11-second barrier, running a lifetime best 10.91 seconds at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open. Only the Pioneers’ Curtis Shirey has equaled the performance. In that same meet, Zane ran the conference’s second best time in the 200 meters with a time of 22.32 seconds. Only Willamette’s Tom Fiechtner, at 22.12 seconds, has run faster this season.
Trey Oshiro-Atabay (400 Meters): After finishing fifth last year in a very close race at the 2013 NWC Championships, Oshiro-Atabay enters this year’s meet with the conference’s second fastest time with a lifetime best of 50.16 seconds. The performance is the eighth fastest in school history and makes him just the second athlete to crack the lost since 1981. In addition to the 400 meters, Oshiro-Atabay is qualified in the long jump.
PACIFIC WOMEN’S ATHLETES TO WATCH
Kelli Aken-Pagdilao (100 Meters, 200 Meters): The senior will be looking to end her career on a high note and possibly compete for her first NWC title. Aken-Pagdilao placed second in the 100 meters at last year’s NWC Championships and ran a school record 12.59 seconds in the preliminary rounds. This year, Aken-Pagdilao enters the meet with the league’s fifth fastest time at 12.76 seconds. Scoring in the 200 meters will be a challenge, but not out of the question. She currently ranks 16th among NWC runners with a time of 26.84 seconds, but owns a personal best of 26.13 seconds.
Britta LaVoie (Pole Vault): After a fifth place finish at the 2013 NWC meet, LaVoie has made considerable improvement. She appears heading into the conference meet on a roll, clearing a season best 11 feet, 1 inch, at last week’s Lewis & Clark Open. The mark ties LaVoie for fourth in the NWC and is just three-quarters of an inch shy of the school record of 11 feet, 1.75 inches. LaVoie leads five Pacific athletes who have qualified in the pole vault.
Mackenzie Huddleston (High Jump, Javelin): After qualifying in both events in 2013 as a freshman, Huddleston stands a chance to scoring in both as a sophomore. Huddleston just missed scoring in the javelin, finishing ninth with a mark of 111 feet, 5.75 inches. This year she has thrown 126 feet, 6 inches, ranking her No. 3 on Pacific’s all-time list and tied for seventh in the NWC this season (with Willamette’s Jameka Townsend). Huddleston has also improved in the high jump, with her season best of 5 feet, 1.25 inches, ranking her fourth on Pacific’s all-time list. She also enters the conference meet tied for seventh in the event (with Linfield’s Joy Harpham).
Lisa Martin (5,000 Meters, 10,000 Meters): If everything comes together, Martin could give Pacific points in the distance events that have been missing for a while. A transfer for Eugene’s Lane Community College, Martin owns the No. 7 times on Pacific’s all-time list in both events. She holds a season best of 17:48.32 in the 5,000 meters, ranking 10th best in the NWC this season. Martin ran 40:02.80 in the 10,000 meters at the season-opening Linfield Erik Anderson Memorial Icebreaker. She has not run a 10K since as the performance was a conference qualifier. Martin enters the meet with the seventh best time in the NWC.
Haley Nevins (800 Meters): Nevins stands a shot at a scoring spot in her first NWC Championship. She enters the meet with the eighth fastest time among declared entrants. Her time of 2:22.75 currently ranks No. 5 on Pacific’s all-time list.
Kelsey Lee (400 Meter Hurdles): Like Nevins, Lee stands a strong shot at scoring points for the Pacific women in her first conference meet. She enters the meet with the sixth best time among declared entrants. Her lifetime best of 1:07.63 is the fifth fastest in school history.