Annie Hess improved her personal record in the discus by more than 10 feet on Saturday.
Concordia's Annie Hess Shatters School, Meet Records at UO Preview
EUGENE, Ore.— In their first weekend of outdoor competition, the Concordia University women’s track teams recorded eight national qualifying performances at the Oregon Preview held at Hayward Field on Saturday.
Five performances dipped below the automatic standard while three hit provisional status to compete at the 2008 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships held in St. Louis May 22-24.
The Concordia women were led by event winners Annie Hess in the discus and Danielle Clauson in the javelin.
The reigning national champion, Hess shattered her own school record in the event with a 183-0 heave, nearly 50 feet further than the automatic qualifying standard of 138-5. The mark also established a meet record and is believed to be the all-time Oregon collegiate mark. In another comparison, the all-time NAIA Championship record in the event is 186-9, set by Azusa Pacific’s Vivian Chukwuemeka in 2003.
Clauson led four Cavaliers into qualifying status with a 159-77 toss in the javelin to capture the individual title. In fourth place, Lauren Seton threw 153-0 and in seventh, Aria Nojima was measured in 132-11 to reach the automatic distance of 131-6. Just shy of the barrier, Chrissi Grizzell settled for a provisional ranking with a 131-2 toss for eighth place.
On the track, Cortney Bannister reached the automatic standard with a 1:04.24 in the 400-meter hurdles in a fourth-place dash. Fresh off her All-America making trip at the indoor national championships, Lakeesha Cadogan registered provisional marks in both horizontal jumps after soaring 17-10 3/4 in the long jump and 37-1 1/4 in the triple.
“We had a great day for our first meet,” head coach Randy Dalzell said. “We definitely had some strong marks. A few could end up being national leaders this week.”
Concordia returns to action on March 28 when it travels to the University of Washington for the Husky Outdoor Preview.
Concordia Results
100: 3. Stephanie Persaud, 12.59; 7. Joyce Oniah, 12.90; T9. Kaley Jameson, 12.99. 200: 7. Stephanie Persaud, 26.01; 11. Joyce Oniah, 26.76. 100 Hurdles: 6. Cortney Bannister, 15.26. 400 Hurdles: 4. Cortney Bannister, 1:04.24. Long Jump: 5. Lakeesha Cadogan, 17-10 3/4 (5.45m). Triple Jump: 2. Lakeesha Cadogan, 37-1 1/4 (11.31m); 3. Danielle Fergason, 35-6 3/4 (10.84m). High Jump: T2. Erika Schmid, 5-1 3/4 (1.57m). Discus: 1. Annie Hess, 183-0 (55.78m). Javelin: 1. Danielle Clauson, 159-7 (48.64m); 4. Lauren Sexton, 153-0 (46.64m); 7. Aria Nojima, 132-11 (40.52m); 8. Chrissi Grizzel, 131-2 (39.98m). 400 Relay: 3. Concordia, 50.12 (Cortney Bannister, Stephanie Persaud, Lakeesha Cadogan, Kaley Jameson).
NAIA Qualifiers: Automatic: (5) Cortney Bannister, 400 Hurdles; Danielle Clauson, Javelin; Annie Hess, Discus; Aria Nojima, Javelin; Lauren Sexton, Javelin. Provisional: (3) Lakeesha Cadogan, Long Jump; Lakeesha Cadogan, Triple Jump; Chrissi Grizzel, Javelin.