2009-04-02 10:19
Mary Vaughn's 11'1" pole vault put her in third place in the Oregon Preview Meet. Vaughn finished behind two University of Oregon athletes. Photo by JB BOTWINICK/The Torch
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Brent Ryberg of Park City, Utah leads the pack during the 800-meter dash in the Oregon Preview Meet on Saturday, March 21. Photo by JB BOTWINICK/The Torch
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Sophomore hurdler Dennis Olstedt trails Portland State's DeShawn Shead in the 110-meter hurdles during the Oregon Preview Meet. Olstedt's time of 15.48 qualified him for the NWAACC championship meet. Photo by JB BOTWINICK/The Torch
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After a strong showing in the Southern Oregon University Invitational on March 7, the LCC track team continued what has been a successful start to its season on March 14 at the Mt. Hood Community College Open in Gresham, Ore.
Head Coach Grady O'Connor was proud of his team's performance against a lot of Southern region competition.
"Mt Hood, we got to see a lot of league competition and we got a lot of qualifying marks," O'Connor said.
Two LCC athletes were named the Field Event Athletes of the Week for their strong performances in Gresham. Sophomore thrower Tyler Lindgren, who broke the school's hammer throw record three weeks ago, won his event by more than 14 feet with a throw of 172'6". Lindgren also qualified for the NWAACC meet by placing third in the discus with a 131' toss.
Sophomore Rocksi Miller was also named Field Athlete of the Week for her performance. Miller continued what has been a very impressive season. Her 38'7" shot put was three feet farther than her next closest competitor's, and her 118'6" discus throw was more than six feet better than the second place mark.
Sophomore Annie Hayward performed strong in Gresham, winning the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:00.03. Teammates Diana Batson and Angelyn Salyer came in third and fourth respectively in the 400.
Jeanine Menzies joined Hayward, Batson and Hayward in the 4x400 meter relay, an event they won easily. The group put up a time of 4:10.70, six seconds ahead of the next closest finishers.
In the pole vault, Mary Vaughn's 11-foot vault was enough for first place. It was Vaughn's third pole vault victory in as many meets.
Tauni Powell, a freshman javelin thrower, also took first for the Titans. Powell's throw of 131'5" was three feet further than Mt. Hood's Jill Peoples' second place throw.
On the men's side, sprinter Bryan Harper's 50.47 time in the 400-meter dash earned him first place.
In addition to Harper, Dennis Olstedt, Brent Ryberg and Larry Ragsdale teamed up for a first place finish in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:26.56.
Max Perry's 157'9" hammer throw put him in second place in the hammer throw behind teammate Tyler Lindgren.
In the discus, sophomore Chris Bellitt's 147-foot throw was good for first place. Fellow sophomore Tyler Lindgren came in third, with a 131'2" throw.
The Titans pole vaulters dominated the competition in Gresham, with the top four finishers all hailing from LCC. Robby Fegles lead all pole-vaulters with a 16'2" mark. While Adam Brink, Jack Hippler and Garrett Pruitt finished second, third and fourth respectively.
The following Saturday, March 21, the Titans partook in the ultra-competitive Oregon Preview meet at Hayward Field. LCC athletes competed against some of the Northwest's better collegiate track teams such as University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Idaho State University, Western Oregon University and Portland University.
Freshman pole vaulter Scott Elliott earned Athlete of the Week honors for his performance in the Oregon Preview. Elliott's 15'7" vault put him in second place in the meet.
Both 4x400 relay teams turned in second place finishes. The men's team featuring J.J. Rosenberg, Brent Ryberg, Dennis Olstedt and Bryan Harper finished in 3:20.39, less than a second behind UO's relay team.
Annie Hayward, Jeanine Menzies, Diana Batson and Angelyn Salyer made up the women's 4x400-relay team. The runners finished just .2 seconds behind Western Oregon's first place relay team.
"Hayward had a real nice meet, she had a personal best in the 800 with 2:19.61. Better yet, she anchored the 4x400 relay team that was .2 seconds from running a victory lap on Hayward Field. Their time was an NWAACC leading mark and a very inspiring relay leg for Annie. And all the girls did super. Those relays are really what it's all about, and they are perfect examples of the team aspect of our sport," O'Connor said.
Katie Sterling's time of 15.54 in the 110 hurdles put her in third place.
Chris Bellitt's 145'7" throw in the discus put him in third place in the meet.
Bryan Harper finished fourth in the 400, finishing in 49.57 seconds.
"This year's team really seems to be coming together, and those relays are examples of that. We've got some great athletes and the pieces are there, but we've still got a lot of work to do," O'Connor said.
The team also underwent some personnel changes over the break.
"There are still transfers they are waiting on, but there are two new guys that just enrolled. Chris Dubbs, who was the runner up in 400-meter dash in the high school state meet last year, and Trent Edwards a long and triple jumper from Springfield. Both those guys should be competitive in their events, so they definitely make us stronger." O'Connor added that Dubbs' ability in the 400 meter should strengthen an already talented relay team.
Unfortunately, the team did lose a few athletes as well. O'Connor called losing his athletes to grades as "heartbreaking" but assured his team would be fine in the long run.
The track team will travel to Salem on April 3-4 to compete in the Willamette Invitational. O'Connor calls the meet a "good barometer" for the Titans, as the team will see a lot of the competition they will be facing down the road.
Tyler Pell
The Torch
Issue date: 4/2/09 Section: Sports
