McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Placing 11 competitors in the top-eight, both Linfield squads sit in fourth place after the first day of the Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships at Maxwell Field.

Chelsea Machida was runner-up in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5 feet, 3½ inches. The two-time defending champion was defeated by Whitworth’s Jheri Gates, who won the event with a height of 5-5¼.

Kate Shear (Jr., Knappa, Ore.) placed second in the javelin with a heave of 137-5.

Also placing in the top eight for the Linfield women were Mimi Seeley in the 10,000-meter run (fourth, collegiate-best 38:45.33), Jill Boroughs (Sr., Kent, Wash.) in the 3,000 steeplechase (eighth, collegiate-best 12:07.16), Courtney Alley (Jr., Eagle, Idaho) in the discus (fourth, collegiate-best 115-6) and Kristen Allison in the javelin (sixth, collegiate-best 129-4).

After the first day of events, George Fox leads the women’s team standings with 84 points. Other team scores include: Whitworth (61), Willamette (46), Linfield (30), Pacific Lutheran (22), Lewis & Clark (12), Puget Sound (9) and Pacific (9).

Alex Van Slyke was the top finisher on the men’s side for the Wildcats, taking third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a season-best time of 9:34.76.

Other finalists for Linfield included Scott Gage and Joe Gladow in the 10,000 and Sean Boedeker and Josh Melander in the javelin.

Gage was fourth with a time of 33:19.99 and teammate Gladow finished seventh with a time of 33:32.58. Boedeker placed fifth, throwing a collegiate-best 175-7, while Melander was seventh with a heave of 167-10.

Whitworth sits in first place in team standings after seven events, totaling 108 points. Other team scores include: Willamette (73.5), George Fox (45), Linfield (19), Pacific Lutheran (15), Pacific (8.5) and Puget Sound (4).

NEXT: The second day of competition starts with field events at 10:30 a.m. and running events at 2 p.m. at Maxwell Field.