PORTLAND, Ore. – Helped by 11 top-three performances, the Linfield men and women placed sixth and fourth, respectively, at the Lewis & Clark Spring Break Open, which concluded Saturday at Eldon Fix Track.

Competing for the first time this spring, Lester Maxwell (Sr., Corvallis, Ore.) finished second and qualified for the Northwest Conference championships in the 800-meter run, crossing the tape in 1 minute, 56.66 seconds.

Joe Gladow took second in the 5,000 (15:46.49) while Barrett Zetterberg finished third in the 400 hurdles in a season-best time of 57.11 seconds.

Leading the Wildcat men in the field events was Garrett Soumokil. The freshman posted season-bests in both the triple jump (43-00.25/13.11m) and the long jump (20-9.25/6.33m), placing second and third, respectively. His mark in the long jump qualified him for the NWC Championships; he had previously met the standard in the triple.

Linfield finished sixth of 10 teams, second among Northwest Conference programs, in the men’s team standings with 60 points. The ‘Cats trailed Concordia (164.5), Warner Pacific (93), the University of Portland (89.5), Pacific (71) and Western Oregon (61.5).

The Wildcat women finished fourth of eight overall, third in the NWC, with 82 total points. Concordia won the meet with 128 points, followed by host Lewis & Clark (113), Pacific (104) and Linfield.

Melany Crocker (Sr., Milwaukie, Ore.) was runner-up in the 100 (12.72) and also placed third in the 200 (26.5). Fellow sprinter Halsie Peek (Soph., Corbett, Ore.) was third in the 100 with a season-best time of 12.84 seconds.

Shanna Peaden led the distance crew with a third-place finish in the 1,500. She posted an NWC-qualifying time of 4 minutes, 55.55 seconds.

Defending NWC champion Catherine Street won the pole vault with ease, clearing the bar at 12-11.50 (3.95m), nearly two feet higher than the runner-up.

Linfield’s 4x400 relay team, comprised of Crocker, Katie Skinner, Street and Peek, took second (4:10.80) to the University of Portland.

NEXT: The ‘Cats have a full week ahead, hosting the Linfield Decathlon/Heptathlon Monday and Tuesday at Maxwell Field, followed by the Willamette Invitational Friday afternoon in Salem.