Oregon Tech's Joelle Swanson (Photo by Kelly Caleb)  |
MARION, Ind. – Oregon Tech’s Joelle Swanson opened up the 2013 NAIA National Track & Field Championships with a 5th place overall finish in the javelin to give Oregon Tech their first points at the national meet.
Complete Results
On Thursday, Swanson hit a throw of 43.78 m 143-08, which gave her All-American status for the second year in a row.
Seeded in the first flight with the top javelin throwers in the country, Swanson unleashed a throw of 42.83 meters in her first try. Swanson’s best effort of the day however came in the finals, with her first throw as she reached 43.78m.
Swanson finished fifteen feet ahead of the 6th place finisher, Brianna Norby, of Siena Heights, in the event won by Mount Mercy Senior Jenna Higgins with a toss of 165-05 beating last year’s champion Stephanie Nelson of Baker by more than 11 feet. Eastern Oregon’s Brooke Randall rounded out the top 3 with a throw of 44.43m 145-09 edging Swanson by two feet -2 inches.
In day 1 of the Heptathlon after four events Oregon Tech Katey Choukalos sits in 15th place. Choukalos had a 4th place finish in the shot put with a throw of 35-03 and she had a 9th place finish in high jump with a leap of 4-11.75. Friday’s Heptathlon competition will start at 7:30 am (PST) with the long jump followed by the Javelin, and wrapping up with the 800m.
Oregon Tech’s Scott Minor finished 15th in the men’s 10,000 meter with a Cascade Confernce best of 32:10.40.
Oregon Tech freshman Paul Adams finished 19th in the men's 1500 meter run missing the finals by just 8 seconds.
Besides Choukalos, other Hustlin' Owls in action on Friday include Kassi Conditt in the shot put at 10:00 am (PST) and Katie Waugh in the women's 800 meter at 11:00 am (PST).
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Kassi Conditt will look to become an All-American in the shot put.  |
MARION, Ind. – The Owls will take eight track & field athletes representing Oregon Tech, including five school-record holders, when the 2013 NAIA Outdoor National Track and Field Championships begin today. The NAIA championships, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University, runs through Saturday, May 25th. Tech doubled the participants it sent from last year’s national championships, from four to eight, while the Cascade Collegiate Conference will send 99 total student-athletes to the three-day event. The championships are being hosted by IWU in Marion, Ind., which will once again provide live video streaming of the national meet, along with live results.
Click here for live video streaming information Click here for NAIA meet schedule and results
Returnees to this year’s national competition include Scott Minor, Kirby Garlitz, Kassi Conditt and Joelle Swanson. Minor will compete in the 10K, where the sophomore is seeded 19th in the event (31:24.51), with Garlitz seeded 16th in the marathon. Both currently hold the school-mark in those events. Conditt, who earlier this year set a school-record in the shot put, is seeded 13th with a distance of 13.87 meters (44.51feet). Swanson, a NAIA All-American in the javelin in 2012, looks to improve on her 8th place finish, as the sophomore is seeded 6th with a toss of 44.06 meters (144.55 feet) heading into competion this week.
Newcomers include Shanelle Cayetano, Katey Choukalos, Katie Waugh and Paul Adams.
Katey Choukalos is ranked 9th heading into the heptathlon.  |
Cayetano, a freshman pole vaulter, holds the school-record with a height of 3.5 meters (11.48 feet), while seeded 22nd in this year’s competition. Choukalos, a senior in the heptathlon, heads into the championship with 4291 points and ranks ninth of the 16 event participants. Waugh, also a school-record holder, will compete in the 800 meter run where the junior is seeded 17th with a time of 2:14.73. Adams finished seventh in the conference championships, a B qualifying mark with a time of 3:54.65, his best clocking of the season, and is seeded 17th at the NAIA meet.
All 10 Cascade Conference schools will be sending at least one athlete to the national championships this year. In total, the CCC will be represented by 51 student-athletes in the men’s championship and 48 student-athletes in the women’s championship. The total of 99 qualifiers is down 16 from the CCC record of 115 set last year.
Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon lead the way with 21 total athletes representing each of the schools. Concordia and College of Idaho will each send 15 to the national championship while Corban will also have double-digit participants with 11.
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Oregon Tech volleyball coach Jason Corwin announced recently the signing of two players to the 2013 recruiting class. Victoria Porter and Kylie Kitzmiller will compete for the Owls beginning this fall.
Victoria Porter  |
Porter (Amboy, Wash.), a 5-5 setter, led Prairie High School to a 5th place showing at the 3A Washington State Championship in 2011 and capped off the 2012 year winning the 3A state crown. Porter was a two-time all-league setter, earning two All-State Setter awards and was named to the First-Team All-Region squad in 2012.
“Tori has great hands and delivers a hittable ball in tempo consistently,” mentioned Corwin. “She has great instinct on defense, will come with a college-ready serve and I expect her to compete for playing time immediately.”
Kylie Kitzmiller.  |
Kitzmiller, a 6-1 middle hitter, played at Baker High School earning first-team all-conference and 4A honorable mention accolades for the Bulldogs in 2010. Most recently Kitzmiller spent the past two seasons competing at Mt. Hood Community College in Clackamas, Ore. where the sophomore was a second-team NWAACC selection in 2012.
“Kylie has multiple scoring shots, an excellent block move to go with a great float serve,” Corwin said. “She is a proven winner that will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to our program and we are excited to what she will be a part of our team this coming season.”
Oregon Tech is looking to improve on an 11-20 overall mark in 2012 when the Hustlin’ Owls open the 2013 campaign at New Hope Christian in Eugene on August 21st prior to the Red Lion Cascade/Frontier Challenge in Spokane, Wash. August, 22nd through August, 24th.