PORTLAND, Ore. --- The Portland Pilots men's and women's track and field teams open their outdoor season this weekend at three different meets. The Teddy Opener at Roosevelt High School and the Linfield IceBreaker in McMinnville will both be held on Friday, while the Willamette Open will take place on Saturday in Salem.
Junior Jeff Thies has had a successful 2017 indoor season thus far, leaving his mark in the record books as he ranks fifth all-time in the 3000m (8:03.36), eighth all-time in the mile (4:07.73), and ninth all-time in the 5000m (14:04.01). He will compete Friday at the Teddy Opener in the 2K Steeplechase.
Sophomore Reuben Kiprono will also compete Friday night at the Linfield IceBreaker at Linfield College. He looks to break his personal record of 29:51.48 in the 10,000m, which he set at the West Coast Invitational last season.
Senior Danny Martinez and Alex Dillard will then both compete in the 1500m on Saturday at the Willamette Open at McCullouch Stadium. Martinez will attempt break his current PR of 3:56.42, while Dillard holds a 3:53.43 PR. Sophomore Trent Mazelli has also had a successful indoor season, ranking second all-time in the 1000m and seventh all-time in the 800m, and he has an impressive mile time of 4:10.89. He will be competing in the 800m while in Salem.
"We have men competing in three different meets this week, which means even more fun than normal!" said men's head coach Rob Conner. "We are excited to debut some men in the steeplechase at the Teddy Opener at Roosevelt High School. The guys have been working hard on their hurdling so I am excited to see how they do. We also have some 10k guys competing at Linfield on Friday night so that will be exciting, as it is always a large field. Saturday most of the team will be running the 1500 at Willamette."
For the women's team, sophomore Maria Montt and senior Madison Leek currently rank third and fourth, respectively, all-time at UP in the outdoor 200m, and they'll compete in Saturday's 200m at the Willamette Open. Leek has also had an exceptional indoor season just missing the all-time indoor 60m record.
"This is a small, low-key meet that marks the start of our outdoor season," said women's head coach Ian Solof. "It will be a great opportunity for some of our younger people get their first meet in and have a benchmark of their fitness level."
Teddy Opener: Roosevelt HS, Portland, Ore.
Friday, March 3, 2017
5:30pm - 9:00pm
2K Steeplechase – Jeff Thies, Joe Horen, Sean Tan, Cobie Chavez, Riley Osen
Linfield IceBreaker: Linfield College, McMinnville, Ore.
Friday, Mar. 3rd
8:00pm Men's 10,000 – Reuben Kiprono, Michael Murphy, Cole Shugart, Andrew Jenck
Willamette Open: McCulloch Stadium, Salem, Ore.
Saturday March 4
Field Events
10:00 a.m. Javelin – Maya Murphy-Cook, Pauline Reiley
11:00 a.m. Combined Triple Jump – Courtney Vacek
12:00 p.m. Women's High Jump – Maya Murphy-Cook
Track Events
11:00 a.m. Women's 1500m – Courtney Cox, Stella Gilman, Dylan Hite, Sophia Noto, Emily Peterson, Natalie Smith, Allegra Vanderwilde, Maddie Woodson, Olivia Powell
11:10 a.m Men's 1500m – Carter Aebi, Sam Lomax, Danny Martinez, Keegan Symmes, Alex Dillard, Erik Holm, Gabriel Haughey, Conor Johnston, Rory Johnston
11:45 a.m. Men's 5000m – Andrew Jenck, Reuben Kiprono, Keegan Symmes, Cole Shugart, Sean Tan, Michael Murphy, Tomas Fabian
12:40 p.m. Women's 100m – Grace Bley, Skye Chen-Johnson, Maria Montt, Maya Murphy-Cook, Pauline Reiley, Courtney Vacek
1:20 p.m. Men's 800m – Brent Knutzen, Trent Mazelli, Malcolm Roux, Jeff Thies, Danny Martinez, Jack Welch
1:30 p.m. Women's 200m – Grace Bley, Dani Castillo, Skye Chen-Johnson, Michal Jones, Madison leek, Mariela Martinez, Maria Montt, Maya Murphy-Cook, Pauline Reiley, Natalie Root
