A smaller Linfield squad did not dampen the competitive spirit of the 2019 men's and women's track and field programs as evidenced by the number of accolades acheived over course of the season.
 
"We weren't the biggest team," said Wildcats coach Travis Olson. "But we sure competed well and supported one another."
 
The season concluded with one NCAA national champion, four selections to the NCAA Division III West Region all-star team, 10 all-Northwest Conference appointees, three NWC individual champions and five athletes who either improved or placed themselves among Linfield's all-time top-10 list.
 
Departing Seniors
Olivia McDaniel became a two-time national champion when she added and outdoor title in May to the indoor title she claimed in March. McDaniel finished her career as a three-time NWC champion and stands No. 2 on the all-time top-10 women's pole vault list. McDaniel also notched the ninth-best mark in school history in the long jump.
 
Distance runner Courtney Beard leaves Linfield with the third-fastest time in school history for both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs. The 2018 NCAA cross country All-American won both the 1,500m and 5,000m at this year's NWC Championships and while moving up to the sixth-fastest time at Linfield in the 1,500m.
 
Mehana Sabado-Halpern departs owning the school record in the triple jump and the second-best mark in the long jump. Sabado-Halpern was a 2017 NCAA-meet participant and NWC champion in the long jump. She also holds the school's seventh-highest score in the heptathlon. Sabado-Halpern finished third in both the long and triple jump at the NWC Championships in late April.
 
Multi-purpose athlete Madeline Shirley completed her career with the sixth-best long jump in school history and the eighth-highest score in the heptathlon. Shirley managed a seventh-place finish in the long jump and a sixth-place result in the javelin at the NWC Championships
 
Sabado-Halpern and Shirley are graduate as members of the eighth-fastest 4x100m relay team.
 
Cody Mitchell improved every year in the shot and discus, culminating with a third-place showing in the shot at this year's NWC Championships. Mitchell ranks seventh in Wildcat history in that event.
 
Tiffany Wall finished her career by placing seventh at NWC Championships in the high jump.
 
Also completing their careers at Linfield were sprinters Brian Douglas and Marquis Perrilliat along with distance runners Efrain Martinez-Santos and Anne Ferguson.  
 
"I am going to miss this senior class tremendously, for not only what they have done out at the track but also for how they have helped shaped and lead our program," said Olson. "I wish them all the best."
 
Top Returning
Olson was quick to recognize the quality athletes expected to return for the 2020 outdoor season.
 
Decathlete Keaton Wood will return as a two-time NCAA championship-meet participant. Wood holds the eighth-best score in school history for the decathlon and sits tied for eighth on the all-time list in the 110m hurdles. At the NWC Championships, Wood finished second in the 110m hurdles, sixth in the 100m and the decathlon, and eighth in the javelin. He also competed as part of both relay teams.
 
Meg Angier finished as the NWC runner-up to McDaniel in the pole vault and was honored with an all-West Region team selection. The sophomore now holds the fourth-best mark in school history in that event.
 
Other individuals who earned all-Northwest Conference honors were Max Lommen, third in the high jump, Ronan Krutzikowsky also finishing third in the pole vault, and the 4x100m relay quartet of Wood, Krutzikowsky, Dallin Buck and Tyler Sitton that placed second at the conference meet.
 
Olson noted that Krutzikowsky, a freshman, also finished fourth in the 400m hurdles and seventh in the decathlon while Buck, in his first season competing in track, was a wonderful "bright spot" who captured fifth in the long jump and eighth in the triple jump. 
 
Many other Wildcats also performed well during the season. Newcomer Emma Barker added points in the conference championship with her fifth-place finish in the pole vault. Sara Miles placed seventh in the shot and Ani Keliiheleua secured seventh place in the 100m hurdles. Tyler Post and Matt Metcalf scored points in the throwing events for the men with Post finishing sixth in the shot and Metcalf earning fourth in the javelin.
 
Other notable efforts were turned in by Nick Oja-Zdroy, Kelly Roth, Nicole Bissey and Ashley Ambrose in the distance events, Jonathan Sedy in the jumps, Baylie Cameron and Juliet Arnswald in the hurdles, and Josie Knight in the throws.
 
With this group returning along with some "good recruits," Olson is already looking forward to the 2020 season.
 
Final Thoughts
"I couldn't be prouder of our team this year," said Olson. "It was a fun year."