College notebook: Arn again All-America in NCAA-III heptathlon
Woodland grad third at nationals for second year
The Columbian
Published: May 29, 2015, 12:00am
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George Fox University senior Charity Arn placed third in the women’s heptathlon at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships for the second consecutive year.
The Woodland High School graduate totaled 4,928 points to again garner All-America status in the two-day competition held in Canton, N.Y.
Arn’s point total at nationals increased in each of her four appearances.
Denison junior Aedin Brennan claimed the national championship with 5,091 points, and Illinois Wesleyan senior Allie Boudreau was runner-up with an even 5,000 points. Arn was just four points ahead of Carleton junior Amelia Campbell, last year’s national champion, for third.
Arn was in seventh place after the first day of competition in the seven events — the 100-meter hurdles, 200 and 800 meters, high jump, long jump, javelin and shot put — before moving up on the second day.
Track and field: SPU’s Decker garners NCAA-II All-America
Seattle Pacific University junior Lynelle Decker placed seventh in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Mich., becoming an All-American for the first time in her eighth career appearance at nationals for cross country and indoor and outdoor track.
The Mountain View High School graduate’s time of 2 minutes, 8.42 seconds was just 0.29 seconds shy of her personal best, even though she was bumped and nearly fell during the first lap, then managed to get around a runner who fell in front of her on the second lap.
“It feels really good,” Decker told the school website spufalcons.com. “It’s also making me hungry to get it again.”
She was the No. 7 seed going into nationals, running a 2:09.36 in Friday’s preliminaries for the No. 8 seed in Saturday’s final.
SOFTBALL: Seasons end at NAIA for Concordia, OIT
Both the Concordia and Oregon Tech softball teams and their Clark County connections fell short in their bids for an NAIA national title.
CONCORDIA — The Cavaliers (46-19) won their first three games, beating William Carey 5-0 on Friday, No. 1 seed LSU-Alexandria 10-9 in nine innings Saturday and Central Methodist 7-1 on Monday. Auburn-Montgomery stopped Concordia’s winning streak Tuesday with a 9-0 win in five innings to claim a spot in the national championship game. The season ended Wednesday with a 5-3 loss to Lindsey Wilson College of Kentucky.
Concordia’s lineup includes senior first baseman Mariah “Mo” Jimenez (Camas High School) and sophomore shortstop Taylor Bussey (Prairie High School). Also on the roster are freshmen Traci Crollard (Hudson’s Bay High School), Megan Settje (Skyview High School) and Lauren Warner (Mountain View High School).
OREGON TECH — The Owls (47-16) opened with a 7-5 victory Friday over Dickinson State before a 7-0 loss Saturday to Auburn-Montgomery. They eliminated William Carey, winning 3-0 on Monday, and Central Methodist, winning a 4-3 16-inning marathon — the longest national tournament game in NAIA history. The season ended with an 8-1 loss to Lindsey Wilson College, which advanced LWC to the matchup against Concordia.
Oregon Tech’s roster includes senior pitcher Jessi Duncan (Prairie High School), junior catcher Ariel Fulkerson (Battle Ground High School) and junior utility player Ashley Sfetku (Hudson’s Bay High School).
Softball: Linfield reaches NCAA-III semifinals
The Linfield College softball team’s postseason surge came to an end at the NCAA Division III national tournament.
The Wildcats won 22 of their final 28 games, including 11 of 14 in the postseason. They won two games at the national tournament in Salem, Va., and their two losses were by one-run margins to the teams that played in the championship game.
Linfield won its tournament opener Thursday, beating Alfred 8-0, before a 2-1 loss to Texas-Tyler on Friday. The Wildcats eliminated DePauw, 8-0 on Saturday, before a 1-0 loss to Tufts ended their season at 39-15. Tufts claimed the national championship with a 7-4 win Monday over Texas-Tyler.
Concluding their Linfield careers were catcher McKenna Spieth (Union High School) and outfielders Erin Carson (Camas High School) and Grace Middelstadt (Prairie High School). The Wildcats were 154-37 during their careers, including a 29-11 mark in postseason play.
The roster also includes sophomore designated hitter Erin Tauscher (Camas).
Track and field: Saint Martin’s Porter runs distance double
Saint Martin’s University junior Shannon Porter placed ninth in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships in Allendale, Mich., and 22nd in the 5,000 meters.
The first female runner to compete at track and field nationals in school history and the first to compete in two events, the Hockinson High School graduate just missed All-America status in the 10,000 on Thursday, finishing in 35 minutes, 1.04 seconds. The personal record broke her own school record and led Great Northwest Athletic Conference runners.
Her time in the 5,000 on Saturday was 17:41.75.
Track and field: Concordia pair 16th at NAIA championships
Concordia University freshman James Phillips and sophomore Amber Corbett each placed 16th in their events at the NAIA Track and Field Championships held May 21-23 in Gulf Shores, Ala.
Corbett, a Camas High School graduate, placed 16th in the women’s javelin Thursday with a mark of 123 feet, 3½ inches. Phillips, a Prairie High School graduate, placed 16th in the men’s long jump Friday with a mark of 22-3½.
Golf: Maahs helps Cavs at NAIA golf nationals
Concordia University senior Tanner Maahs shot 80-78-83—241 at the NAIA Men’s Golf National Championships last week at the LPGA International Hills Course in Daytona Beach, Fla.
The Prairie High School graduate was the fourth scorer for the Cavaliers, who finished in 27th place in the team scoring and missed the cut to the top 17 teams for Friday’s final round.
Concordia, which entered nationals with a 294 team stroke average, posted 315-314-308—937.
