SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University senior thrower Tyler Higley (Aloha, OR/Aloha HS) earned wins in the shot put and the hammer throw for the Bearcat men's track and field team during the 2015 Willamette Opener on Saturday, March 7 at Charles Bowles Track. It was the first meet of the season for Willamette.

Overall, the Bearcats won six events in men's and women's competition against Western Oregon University, University of Portland, club teams and unattached runners.

Higley took first place in the shot put with a top throw of 48' 11". He won the event by more than three feet over Kenny Klippel of Western Oregon, who placed second at 45' 2.50". Higley won the hammer with a toss of 157' 11.25". Lucas Clark of Western Oregon was second at 131' 7.50"

Matching Higley with two wins was freshman RoShaan Rogers (Roseville CA/Woodcreek HS) who ran unopposed in the men's 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles. He recorded a time of 15.85 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and was clocked at 59.51 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

Winning events for the WU women's team were Molly Bond (Sr., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) in the long jump and Meka Townsend (Jr., Okanogan, WA/Okanogan HS) in the discus throw.

Bond prevailed in the long jump with a career-best leap of 17' 1.50", with Elisa Ahern (Sr., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) of Willamette in second at 16' 4.25". Bond broke her previous top jump of 16' 4.25" set at the 2014 Northwest Conference Championships last spring.

Townsend won the discus with a personal record and top distance of 119' 7.25". Leah Nicklason of WOU was second at 116' 5" and Krissi Clark of WOU finished third at 116' 4". Townsend surpassed her previous best result of 117' 10" at the 2013 NWC Championships. On Saturday, Townsend also took fourth in the javelin at 120' 7.50".

Other top results for the Bearcat women's team:

Maura Forbush (So., Hollister, CA/San Benito HS) had a strong meet for the Bearcats, as she earned two solid second place finishes.

Forbush was second in the 100-meter dash at 12.77 seconds, fniishing close behind Laura Patrick from Western Oregon, who won the event in 12.63 seconds. Kylea Johnson (Jr., Onalaska WA/Onalaska HS) of WU was third in the 100 at 12.87 seconds. Forbush also placed second in the 200-meter dash at 25.80. seconds. Hannah Souders of Portland won the 200 in 25.73 seconds.

A 2-3-4 finish in the women's hammer throw went to Kaeleigh Thorp (Sr., Sam Leandro, CA/Encinal HS), Jossalyn Wright (Sr., Aumsville, OR/Cascade HS) and Kelsey Engstrom (Sr., Clinton, WA/South Whidbey HS). Thorp threw 147' 11.25" to finish second behind Emmi Collier of WOU, who earned a winning distance of 148' 10".

Wright registered a top distance of 143" 2.50" to take third and Engstrom had a throw of 141'6 " for fourth place. Thorp and Wright each claimed a personal record, with Thorp adding more than two feet to her previous best and Wright tacking on just over five feet. Engstrom nealry set a personal record, missing by just two inches.

Michaela Freeby (Sr., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS), Hannah Swanson (Fr., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Hannah Bressler (Jr., Oak Harbor, WA/Oak Harbor HS) achieved a 3-4-5 finish in the women's 800-meter run.

Freeby was timed at 2:19.59 and Swanson completed the race in 2:20.87. Bressler set a personal record at 2:21.39, breaking her time of 2:22.16 at the lane preview on March 14, 2014.

Olivia Mancl (So., Seattle, WA/Roosevelt HS) and Taylor Ostrander (Jr., Kenai, AK/Kenai Central HS) were the top two collegiate finishers in the women's 5,000-meter run. Mancl recorded a time of 17:58.71 and placed third. Ostrander's time of 18:10.20 was good for fourth. Brett Ely of Team Run Eugene won the 5,000 in 16:58.27.

Other top finishes for the Willamette men's team:

Yonny Castillo (Jr., Parkdale, OR/Hood River Valley HS) placed third and was the top collegiate finisher in the men's 5,000-meter run in 15:15.12. Jacob Shafi (Jr., Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley HS) was seventh in the 5,000 with a personal-best time of 15:29.34, as he lowered his previous time of 15:29.67, set at last year's Willamette Opener.

Hans Lehndorff (Jr., Boulder, CO/Boulder HS) finished third in the discus at 132' 11.50". Kenny Klippel of Western Oregon took first place at 135' 4.75", while Jeremy Moore of WOU was second at 134' 7.25". Lehndorff placed fourth in the shot put with a distance of 44' 3.50".

Grant Lindley (Fr., Monmouth HS/Central HS) was fourth in the men's 100-meter dash with a time of 11.22 seconds. Lindley also took fourth in the 200-meter dash in 22.56 seconds. Cody Warner of WOU won both events, earning times of 10.68 seconds in the 100 and 21.51 seconds in the 200.

Paul Schot (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) was fourth in the men's long jump at 19' 8.25"  Warner of WOU won the long jump with a leap of 21' 0.75".

Daniel Swanson was seventh in the men's 800-meter run in a personal record time of 1:57.95. He finished just 0.18 out of fifth place. His previous best was 1:58.61 against Concordia University (Ore.) on April 5, 2014.

Willamette is slated to compete at the Saints Open, hosted by Mount Hood Community College on Saturday, March 14 in Gresham, Ore. The meet is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. (PDT).