VANCOUVER, Wash. - Day 1 Preview - The Penguin men and women conclude their season on Monday and Tuesday, May 19-20, at the NWAC Championships hosted by Mt. Hood Community College.  Both teams come into the Championships riding big momentum from their success at Southern Regionals last Saturday.  At Regionals, the Penguin men finished second overall and saw six individual event champions.  The women won their second Regional Championship in school history and first since 1999, sparked by eleven individual event champions.

The Penguin women currently rank second in the NWAC and the men are ranked third.  If the two squads each finish at their current ranking, it would be the first time in over twenty years that both teams earned a top three trophy at NWACs. The team goals are very clear, but there are lots of individual athletes who have their own goals, including several potential NWAC Champions and All-Americans. Technically, the championships have already started, as the points earned from the NWAC Multi Championships in April are added to the team score. Although the men didn't have any decathletes, freshman Mia Hicks-Oliver won the women's heptathlon championship and earned ten team points for Clark. 

The two day event will consist of mostly prelims on day one, but should still have a few exciting finals and lots to root for. All field events day one are finals, along with two running events- the 10K and the steeplechase. The day kicks off with the men's hammer throw at 9:30am, but the Penguins will enter zero competitors. So, the meet starts for real with the women's 10K race at 10:00am. The 10K is an event the Penguins have had huge success in the past two seasons. Averaging almost twenty points in the event the last two years, including having three All-Americans and nine All-Conference athletes, it has been Clark's best event. Returning All-American Soleil Bianchi will be the Penguins best hope for big points this season. She finished third last year and heads into this race seeded third again. Emma Cortez and Mollie Miller will be on the outside looking in and hoping to snag one of the last couple spots on the podium. Right after the women, the men will take to the track for the 10K. Sophomore Dylan Stevenson will be Clark's best chance for points. In spite of being ranked eighth in the event, Stevenson has made big improvements this season and the 10K traditionally has a lot of surprises in such a grueling event. Kyle Williams will also be entered for Clark and is looking to end his career with a personal best.

During the 10K, field events will also be starting. Women's pole vault has two Penguins right in the mix. Nico Field is ranked fourth in the event and Mallory Davenport is ranked sixth. Field joined the Clark Top Ten All Time list on Saturday at Southern Regionals with a personal best jump of 9'3.25."  With only eight competitors in the pole vault, clearing any height will earn points for the Penguins. The Penguins do not have any men's vaulters.  Also during this time freshman Sophia Martin will be the only Penguin competing in the women's javelin. Martin is ranked well down the list and will need a massive PR to score. Topping her personal best and breaking 100 feet for the first time is going to be a great goal.

One of the most important events for the Penguin men begins at 11:00am with the long jump. Clark is counting on big performances and points from three of its team members. Freshman Taeven Hill is the second ranked jumper coming into the event with a personal best mark of 22'7.75." Sophomore J'Quan Collins begins his busy weekend of five events as the fourth seeded long jumper, and one of only four men to have broken 22' this season. Right behind him in the rankings is teammate Beau Swett in fifth. Again, this is a huge event for the Clark men. Double digits points are a must!

Two of the biggest favorites to win an individual championship begin their quests in the hurdles at 12:30pm. Sarah Money was the only athlete to break 15 seconds in the event this year and cruised to a Southern Region Championship last weekend against the same athletes she'll be competing against at NWACs. Freshman Mandy Richeson is also a scoring threat for Clark coming in seeded fifth overall and riding the momentum of her best race at Regionals as well. For the men, Sophomore Jackson McQuain is ranked first in a loaded field of hurdlers. His sidekick all season long, freshman Max Ensinger, will be pushing for the title and an All-American spot of his own as he comes in seeded fourth.

The 400 meters is up next at 12:50pm and the Penguin women will have several entries. Sophomore Sydney Allen will be fighting with a host of other athletes for a spot on the All-American list. Two athletes to watch for in this prelim are freshman Kennedy Taylor and sophomore Jaden Leonard. If they can sneak into the final that would be unexpected points added to the team total. Both are more than capable of running a race fast enough to move on. For the men, Koynn Williamdyke is one of the favorites. Willamdyke enters the championships ranked second overall, but hasn't lost a 400m race to a college athlete this season. Brandon Marin-Hardy had a breakout race at the Southern Region Championships last weekend hitting the NWAC Auto-Qualifying Standard and will be pushing to qualify for the final alongside fellow freshman Jaime Ramirez-Ortega, Clivine Abuya, and sophomore Sean Denison.

Around this time at 1:00pm freshman Nico Valdez- fresh off a Southern Region Championship in the discus- heads to the ring on the infield as the fifth ranked thrower. Valdez did finish ahead of three of the athletes at Regionals that are ranked in front of him, so don't be surprised to see him as a potential All-American.  Fellow throwing Southern Regional Champion Jaelyn Sayler is set to begin at the same time in the shot put. The recent Division I commit to Portland State University sits in fifth in the current rankings.

The other field event during this time is the women's long jump. Sally Gould is one of several women who could win the event after jumping a personal best 17'9 earlier this season. So far this year eight women have jumped further than 17,' which is a mark that zero women reached over the past two years. Breyelle Box and April Cruz will be hoping to take advantage of an opportunity and make the long jump final, but having personal best jumps around 16' in an absolutely loaded year will make things difficult to say the least.

The speed heads to the track next at 1:10pm as several Penguins race for the title of NWAC's fastest man/woman. Freshman Emily Peabody, fresh off of her personal best time of 12.47 that ranked seventh best in Clark College history, will look to break the school record in the event and vie for the overall title as the third seed. After running their first open 100m race of the season at Southern Regionals, hurdler Sarah Money and jumper Sally Gould both could make the final. For the men, Penguin J'Quan Collins is the favorite and number one ranked athlete at a seed time of 10.68. Another of the Penguin Southern Region Champions, Collins' time at Regionals was sixth fastest in Clark history. Fighting for a spot in the finals will be freshman Chris Garnett, who enters as one of fifteen NWAC athletes with a personal best time under 11 seconds. Hurdle specialist Jackson McQuain will also have a shot to make the final. Freshman Julian Johnson rounds out the Penguin field in the 100 meters after putting in his best performance of the season last weekend.

Next up in the women's 800 meters the Penguins will have several athletes running in the prelims. Mia Beightol's 2:17 in the event at Southern Regionals led her to the title and earned her the number two seed. Depending on how the field shakes out, Soleil Bianchi, Sadie Schierscher, and Dani Buttrell all have a shot at making the final. Bianchi will be coming off of a tough 10K race and Buttrell and Schierscher are both factors in the steeplechase final later in the day, but adding even just a couple points could be big for Clark. On the men's side Timothy Bradshaw is the lone Penguin competitor. Ranked seventh in the event, Bradshaw is going to need to overcome an incredibly tough group to qualify, but if he does, he's got a shot to win it all.

The 400 hurdles will be a lot like the 110s/100s from earlier with a few Penguins as favorites and a couple others vying for All-Conference and All-American. Lacie Westervelt finished just outside the top three last season and enters this race ranked second. Nico Field and Mandy Richeson will be in a tight group of eight athletes with similar seed times that are trying to make the final. Men's event favorite Koynn Williamdyke is almost a full second ahead of the next athlete in the 400 hurdles but will face challenges from a group of three that includes teammate Max Ensinger. The freshman duo have been incredible this season and seeing them both in the top three as All-Americans would be a perfect cap to their seasons.

The final sprint prelim of the day unsurprisingly has a few Penguins pushing for the top spots. After running the second fastest 200 meter time in school history on the way to winning the Southern Regional Championship, Emily Peabody will be in a great position to claim the title. Like the 400 meters, Sydney Allen will be right in the mix of top athletes in this event as well and ranks fourth.  After a breakout sophomore season, and a freshman campaign where she was a part of two All-American relays, an individual All-American honor would be a great way to conclude her Penguin career. Jaden Leonard is not among the favorites, but it wouldn't be smart to count out the hard working sophomore. J'Quan Collins joins a tightly contested group at the top of the men's 200 meter rankings. After finishing fourth as a freshman, a move to the top three will be the goal for Collins. Chris Garnett is once again just outside the top ten and freshman Ian Ebinger will attempt to make the final from outside the top twenty. Ebinger was one of 21 athletes who made the auto qualifying mark in the conference as a part of one of the deepest 200 meter fields in NWAC history.

The day will conclude with the women's and men's steeplechase final around 2:30pm. The women's race will have four Clark athletes in the race led by sophomore Dani Buttrell. Buttrell was second in the event in 2024 and unfortunately is behind two of the best athletes in the conference this season. All-American honors and a potential school record time (current record is 11:59.29) still give Dani a lot to run for. Freshman Sadie Schierscher, Kennedy Taylor, and Vaughn Shimko make the Clark steeple group the best in the NWAC as the trio hopes to fall right in behind or push Buttrell while piling up team points. Ryan Koenninger will be the final championship hopeful of the day for Clark as the sophomore races in the men's steeplechase as the second seeded runner. Koenninger finished seventh last season but improved a ton in the event and ran the tenth fastest time in Clark history earlier this season. Ben Carter and Hayden Davis join Ryan in the race and will look to build on their impressive first seasons at Clark.

Day 2 Preview

There are a couple field event finals and relays to highlight day two's action. Obviously, what happens on day one on the track will largely impact what athletes expectations are for finals. But we will still look at some other events that will be taking place.

Women's triple jump starts day two and once again Sally Gould will be among the favorites. She had a breakout regional, improving by almost four feet, to finish second. Lane's Aja Lapan won the meet with a mark of over 39' that was one of the longest jumps in the history of the NWAC. Once again Box and Cruz trail Gould but rank much higher in the triple jump and have a much better shot of scoring. Cruz's personal best mark of 34'2" is fifth in the conference and Box's jump of over 33' definitely gives her hope to score. Later at 12:30, two men will be right on the brink of making finals. Taeven Hill and J'Quan Collins sit at eighth and tenth respectively, but it only takes one big jump to make something special happen.

Speaking of needing a special performance, Kegan White has a chance to do something unheard of in the morning with the men's javelin. The last entry into the field, White is hoping to see a huge throw get him into the finals starting at 10:30am. Men's high jump is also starting at 10:30am. Beau Swett, pulled from the basketball team to the track team, is a real threat to win the high jump as one of the top seeds. Hayden Day has had a very good season and expects to join Swett on the podium.

The women's and men's 4x1 is next and both Penguin squads are among the favorites. The women are ranked first overall and the men third. After last season saw chaos in the 4x1, it could be anyone's race. Running clean and getting the baton around the track is key number one for both squads.

There are two races on day two that do not have prelims on day one; the 1500 meters and the 5,000 meters. The 1500 begins at 12:10 for the women and 12:20 for the men. Mia Beightol is seeded second overall and will be in the mix for the title. Sadie Schierscher and Kennedy Taylor are both in scoring position for Clark but are facing a ton of competition for the last two spots on the podium. The men's 1500 is one of the few events that do not include any Penguin men.

Alongside the previously mentioned men's triple jump at 12:30 is Wyatt Galipeau in the men's shot put. Galipeau earned an auto qualifying mark earlier this season but faces probably the most competitive group of any event in the NWAC.

After some running finals, we get back to field events at 1:00pm. Lucille Ware also faces stiff competition in the discus but is trending in the right direction after having two of her best meets the last two weeks. Jaelyn Sayler is coming off a personal best throw at Regionals and will hopefully be riding the momentum from a great day one in the shot put. Women's high jump will also begin at 1:00pm. Nico Field has been super consistent all season clearing 4'10 almost every meet. A new season best over 5'0 could get Nico an All-American spot. Breyelle Box will be ready to sneak up in this event if the top athletes falter. High jump has been one of the most unpredictable events at NWACs the past few seasons.

The last individual event of the day is the 5,000 meters at 2:30. Mia Beightol will of course be one of the favorites. The NWAC cross country champion is very familiar with winning the 5K at NWACs. Soleil Bianchi, Vaughn Shimko, and Dani Buttrell will look to add some final points for the Penguins as well. The men's best shot for big points is Jake Beck. Beck declined to participate in his two other events- the 800 and the 1500- to focus on the 5,000 meters. We'll see if he can make the risk pay off big with a title. Ryan Koenning and Dylan Stevenson may end up pushing for points as well.

The championships conclude with the fan favorite 4x400 meter relay. The past two years the 4x4 has decided who will earn team trophies and expect this season to be no different. The women are up first and are seeded first, but the competition is right behind them. If Emily Peabody gets the baton with the lead, it's over. An All-American spot will be a nice consolation prize, though Clark has accomplished that already the past two seasons. The men are two seconds back of number one seed Lane, but would be thrilled with their first All-American 4x4 honors. Much like the women, if anchor Koynn Williamdyke gets the baton with a chance, the Penguins have a chance as well.

---

For the latest news and results, follow Clark Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or sign up for our e-newsletter to stay up to date with the latest happenings!