END OF THE NWC SEASON
Facing winter conditions on what should have been a pair of nice spring days, the Puget Sound Loggers took fifth in both the men’s and women’s portions of the 2008 NWC Track and Field Championships.
Friday
With mostly qualifying heats on the track side and eight final events on the field side, the Puget Sound Loggers concluded day one of the 2008 Northwest Conference Championships in fourth place on the women's side and fifth place in the men's point standings.
In the field events, senior Pete Van Sant (Santa Cruz, Calif.) placed second in the men's long jump, posting a top jump of 21-8 (6.60m), just nine inches short of champion Carson Bartlett of Pacific.
Junior Karen Chase (Yakima, Wash./West Valley) took second in the women's shot put, unleashing a throw of 37-3 (11.35m). In the men's shot put, AJ Middleton (Lakewood, Wash./Clover Park) placed third, with just three and one-quarter inches separating the top three finishers.
In the few running events that crowned champions on Friday, senior Brittany Hodgson (Grants Pass, Ore.) improved her season-best by nearly six seconds in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:53.8 but finished second by seven seconds to Jena Winger of Willamette. In the men's 10,000m run, sophomore Francis Reynolds (Palo Alto, Calif.) took second, finishing the race in 31:26.8.
Saturday
Collecting a trio of individual titles, the Puget Sound Loggers finished the 2008 Northwest Conference Track and Field Championships in fifth place on both the men's and women's sides.
On the women's side, Janece Levien (Beaverton, Ore.) took home her first NWC track title by winning the 100m dash in a time of 12.69, matching her time from Friday's preliminary heats. The Loggers also earned a conference title in the 100m hurdles as Caitlin McGrane (Colville, Wash.) took the win with a time of 15.03. McGrane won the NWC championship in the Heptathlon earlier this month.
On the men's side, Greg Bailey (Beaverton, Ore./Westview) recorded a throw of 162-04 (49.49m) to take first in the hammer. Pete Van Sant (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Darrell Stewart (Long Beach, Calif./Loyola) took third and fourth respectively in the 100m dash, posting identical times of 11.27.
The Coach
Mike Orechia became the Director of Cross Country/Track & Field at the University of Puget Sound in 1997. Orechia had spent the previous ten years as Head Cross Country and Track & Field Coach at the University of Chicago where he led his Women's Cross Country team to the UAA Championships in 1992 & 1993, earning himself the Coaching Staff of the Year award and the Indoor Coaching Staff of the Year award. It was through his leadership that the women's team qualified for the first time in the schools history to compete in a NCAA championship where they placed fourteenth in 1993. During his time at the University of Chicago, Orechia coached ten All-Americans.
His other coaching experience includes coaching Stella Edwinson who participated in the 1984 Olympic trials in the 400m hurdles, Assistant Track & Field/ Cross Country coach at San Francisco State University (1983-1987), and Head Girls Track Coach at Danvers High School (1979-1981). While coaching at Danvers High School in 1979, his team won the Class B Championship, as well as the All-State Championship and the New England championship.
Since joining the Logger staff, Orechia has been selected Men's USTCA Indoor Track West Region Coach of the Year 2004, Men's XC Coach of the Year in 2002 and Women's XC Coach of the Year in 2001, coached three Men's NWC XC Championship teams and three Women's NWC XC Championship teams, and led the Women's Track & Field team to a 9th place NAIA finish in 1998 and a 5th place finish in 1999. As a Logger, he has also helped produce four National Champions (2 XC, 2 track), 17 track All-Americans, 10 XC All-Americans, 16 Individual XC Academic All-Americans, 10 XC Team Academic All-Americans, 13 Individual track Academic All-Americans, and 8 track team Academic All-Americans.
Orechia earned his B.S. degree in Education from Springfield College in 1978 and his M.A. degree in Education from San Francisco State University in 1985.
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