April 21, 2007

Lutes Get a Champion: Wochnick Wins Women's Hammer

Second Day Results

TACOMA – It took longer than she would have liked, but Megan Wochnick earned a repeat title in the women's hammer throw at the Northwest Conference Track & Field Championships held Saturday at the University of Puget Sound's Baker Stadium.

Megan Wochnick won her second NWC hammer throw title. (Aaron Barna photo)

Wochnick earned her first hammer title as a freshman in 2004 before finishing second each of the last two years. She led this year throughout the competition and saved her winning mark - 154-5 - for her last of six throws. Wochnick's victory was the only event championship managed by Pacific Lutheran athletes at the two-day meet. The Lutes women finished sixth and the men were seventh in the eight-team meet.

As expected, Willamette won the women's championship, scoring 257.33 points to more-than-double the 124 points put up by second-place George Fox. Rounding out the women's scores were Linfield with 114, Whitworth with 87, Puget Sound with 76.33, PLU with 71.33, Pacific with 45 and Lewis & Clark with 36.

On the men's side, Linfield used its strength in the sprints to upset favored Willamette, scoring 211 points to the defending champion's 195. Whitworth placed third with 157, followed by Puget Sound with 124.5, George Fox with 69.66, Lewis & Clark wtih 23, Pacific Lutheran with 19 and Pacific with 15.

In addition to Wochnick winning the hammer, PLU's Taylor Hacker placed third in that event with a throw of 127-7. Hacker finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 36-11, and Wochnick was eighth in the event with a 33-11 1/2 performance.

Katie Choate was one of two PLU athletes to place second on Saturday, clocking 2:19.24 to finish as the runner-up in the 800. Faven Araya had a strong run in both hurdles races, placing second in the 400 hurdles in 1:04.99 and finishing third in the 100 hurdles in a time of 16.07. Araya also ran the third leg on the second-place 400-meter relay team, which clocked 51.01. She was joined on the unit by Lynette Millard, Jeva Morton and Heather O'Farrell, who ran the final leg for injured Amy LeBrun.

LeBrun had qualified with the fourth-best time in the 100, but she scratched after pulling her hamstring at the end of the preliminary race. Millard, who qualified in sixth, finished in that spot in a time of 13.47.

The Lutes also scored points in the 1600-meter relay, placing sixth in a time of 4:15.43.

Other PLU women competing but not placing on Saturday were Michele Hegg, 11th in the 1500, Rebecca Lewis, 13th in the triple jump, and O'Farrell, 14th in the triple jump.

On the men's side, Luke Weinbrecht had PLU's top individual performance during the meet, placing third in the 400 hurdles in a time of 56.62. Daniel Hibbard finished seventh in that race, clocking 59.34.

James Burnett finished seventh in the 100 final, running 11.45, and he anchored PLU's fourth-place team in the 400-meter relay. Hibbard, Weinbrecht and Doug Rickabaugh also ran on the squad that clocked 43.76. In the 1600-meter relay, PLU was seventh in 3:34.54.

PLU male athletes competing but not scoring on Saturday were Colton Oliphant in the shot put and hammer throw, Jeff Neilsen in the shot put and Eric Porter in the hammer throw.

- PLU -