OSU Hosts First Track & Field Meet in 25 Years

A Historic Day

Athletes and Fans enjoy the meet at the Whyte Track & Field Center Aerial Photo by Upshotz Photography CORVALLIS, Ore. - It was an afternoon of firsts at the Whyte Track & Field Center, as the Oregon State track & field program hosted its initial meet since 1988 in front of hundreds of family, friends, student-athletes, alums and fans of the sport at its new facility in Corvallis on Saturday. For the first time in a quarter century, Beaver student-athletes were able to compete in front of their home crowd and NCAA results were reported from an event in Corvallis as OSU "broke in" its new home by hosting a meet with Portland and Willamette. "It turned out better than I could have expected all the way across the board," Oregon State head coach Kelly Sullivan said. "I think the student-athletes had a great time and the coaches from the visiting universities felt like their teams had a great experience." The key to resurrecting Oregon State track & field has been what Sullivan refers to as a "constant education" and Saturday at the Whyte Track & Field Center served to put a spotlight on just how far the Beaver program has come since it was brought back in 2004. "When you haven't had a track meet in 25 years, you aren't exactly sure how many people are going to show up, but our parking lot was full," Sullivan said. "That's a testament to a lot of hard work from passionate people. I think that's what makes our sport great and that's why the whole process of bringing this program back has been so important." Perhaps receiving a bit of an added boost from having a home to call their own, Oregon State's competitors on Saturday proudly showed how much this facility means to them with a number of strong marks and times.

Just one week after surpassing a 29-year school record in the triple jump, Michele Turney bested herself again and now tops the OSU all-time list after leaping 39' ". She also came out on top in the long jump with mark of 17' ". "Mainly I think it's a product of her work in the weight room and the staff we have in the Sports Performance Center," assistant coach Collin Cram said of the freshman's great start. "The majority of her improvement in the triple jump has been from that, but also [assistant coach] John Parks has been helping a ton with her technique. Relatively, though, the technique has been light because it's so new, so powerful and is such a demanding event. She's got a ways to go still and in the next few years will show she's pretty talented." Kinsey Gomez literally ran away from the field in the 1,500, crossing the line with a new PR of 4:30.45, the seventh-fastest time in school history. The Beavers went 1-2-3 in the event. Freshman Emily Weber, who ran a four-second PR in the 1,500 at the Oregon Preview last weekend, shaved three more ticks off that on Saturday to finish second in 4:36.24.

OSU Ladies go 2-3-4-5-6 in the 800m. Photo by Stoddard Reynolds

The 3,000 capped off the action around 7 p.m. and the Beavers' Sandra Martinez kept with the theme of the day by running 10:00.49, a new personal record, to come in third place. Fifth-year senior Mary Claire Brenner PR'd in each of the javelin, shot put and discus putting up distances of 125' 5", 41' ", and 122' 7 ". Her fellow throws companion, Kayla Fleskes, won the discus with a heave of 126' 9 " and came in second javelin with a personal-best toss of 128' 10". In the high jump, Kristin Oenning finished in an unusual three-way tie for first place. Willamette's Michaela Freeby won that event with a time of 11:10.38 to etch her name into the record books as the first race winner at the Whyte Track & Field Center. The Bearcats' Katie Kalugin became the first true competitor at an OSU facility in 25 years when she stepped up to lead off the javelin at 3 p.m.

Oregon State football wide receiver Obum Gwacham, competing unattached, took the title in the men's high jump with a mark of 6' 10" and former OSU All-American and current assistant, Laura Carlyle, won the women's 800 in 2:09.66, followed by a 2-3-4-5-6 finish by Kelsi Schaer, Kristin Coffman, Emily LaValley, Lacey London, and Carly Januzzi for OSU.

Links/Stories
1. Associated Press 2. Video Recap 3. Gazette-Times 4. Statesman Journal 5. Statesman Journal Photo Gallery 6. RunnerSpace Video Highlight 7. Photos by Stoddard Reynolds 8. Photos of Facility by Len Stolfo 9. KEZI Interview with Coach Sullivan 10. Register Guard Mary Claire Brenner and Michele Turney had big days in the field events.

First Oregon State Track & Field Meet at Whyte Track and Field Center