SALEM, Ore. – The George Fox men's track and field team swept both the men's and women's championships for the sixth consecutive year, as the 2023 NWC Track & Field Championships concluded on Saturday, April 22.

Top Performances
The Bruins won this year's women's team title with a score of 257 points, beating out Whitworth by nearly 100 points. On the men's side, Fox totaled 221 points, once again ahead of second-place Whitworth.

Multi-Event Championships, held at Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington, on April 10-11. Points scored in finals contested on Friday and Saturday in Salem, Oregon, also were included. Individuals and relay teams earning top three finishes qualified for All-Northwest Conference recognition.

Northwest Conference special awards in track and field were presented following the meet. George Fox Head Coach John Smith was chosen NWC Men's Track & Field Coach of the Year and NWC Women's Track and Field Coach of the Year, while Cameron Seymour was named Outstanding Men's Field Performer of the Meet and Dieumerci Migani the Men's Rookie of the Meet.

Ellie Rising of George Fox and Kenzie Feinglas of Linfield were named Co-Outstanding Women's Track Performers of the Meet, while Christine Strickland was Outstanding Women's Field Performer of the Meet. 

The George Fox 4 x 100-meter relay team (Cameron Seymour, Byron Morris, Garet Wisenbaker, Dieumerci Migani) earned first place in 41.51 seconds. The Bruins won by 0.27, as Pacific took second place in 41.78 seconds.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Taylor Phillips of George Fox took first place in 15.11 seconds. Peter Weiss of George Fox earned second place in 14:41.55 in the men's 1500, while Caden Hildenbrand, placed third with a 15:03.68.

The Bruins were second in 3:21.93 men's 4x4, as the team of Josiah Sohus, Dillon Rising, Patrick Adkisson, and Tayler Phillips placed just 0.02 behind Pacific Lutheran.

James King won the men's high jump for George Fox with a height of 6' 8", while Phillips cleared 6' 5.75" in a tie for second, but finished third on jumps.

Migani prevailed in the triple jump as he earned a combined distance of 48' 6.25". Ethan Kassabaum was close behind his teammate with second with a mark of 46' 7.50". 

For the women's results, Brenna Sclair was first in the 1,500-meter run, as she registered a time of 4:34.36.  Brecken VandenHoek placed second in 14.88 seconds in the 100m hurdles, with Ayahna Bahati finishing in third at 15.15 seconds.

In the 800-meter run, Ellie Rising placed first with a 2:10.86. Annalise Gonzales placed third in the same event at 2:18.09.

The Bruins went 2-3 in the 5000m with Sclair in second with a 18:05.28 and Kayla Aalpoel placing third at 18:10.99.

Winning the 4 x 400-meter relay was the team of Elizabeth Warren, Kylie Bean, Gonzales, and Rising, as the Bruins completed the race in 3:57.1 

In the javelin throw, Chrissy Strickland of George Fox conquered her demons with the event win. Strickland had been in a years-long battle with fellow national contender Ava Nelson of Pacific Lutheran, and came out on top for the first time.  Strickland threw a 151' 10" while Nelson of PLU registered a throw of 139' 11" to place second.

Ellena Corwin from attained second place in the women's shot put at 40' 0.75" to round out the events.

Coach's Thoughts
Soon to Come.

What Happens Next
The Bruins still have one month to go before nationals. Several select Bruins will compete next week in the OSU High Performance Meet.