SALEM, Ore.—In the third meet of the outdoor season, three Concordia athletes posted winning marks while seven new NAIA championship qualifiers were added in the first day of action at the Willamette Invitational held at the Charles Bowles Track on Friday.

 

Kayla Xavier, the national indoor champion in the shot put, lead a 1-2-3-4 sweep in the hammer with an NAIA ‘A’ qualifying 167-9 to join teammates Sharayah Kenady, Gabriella Dixson and Amanda Federici with automatic qualifying performances this season.

 

Kenady placed second with a 164-11, Dixson third with a 161-2 and Federici fourth with a 152-4 to complete the sweep in the event.

 

“Having that many quality people in a single event continuously build momentum within the group,” CU head coach Randy Dalzell said. “All of them have the ability to score well at the conference level and at nationals and the dynamic that they share at an event at that stage is incredibly important.”

 

In the men’s hammer, Anthony Lantz added a provisional mark with a 173-1 which stood as a second-place finish.

 

On the track, Linsie Michels bettered the ‘A’ standard in the 1,500 and Alice Taylor equaled the effort in the 10,000. Michels placed fourth in the invitational section of the 1,500 with a 4:37.26 while Taylor took third place in the longest event on the track with a 37:09.49.

 

In her first career attempt at the 1,500, Junia Limage narrowly missed the auto barrier with a 4:40.33 to win the open section of the event, settling for a provisional mark after missing the ‘A’ standard of 4:40.10 by .23.

 

Andria Scheese, a two-time All-American during the indoor season, placed 12th in the invitational section of the 5,000 with a 17:47.58 to miss the automatic qualifying standard if 17:46.30 by a little over a second.

 

The Cavaliers final qualifier came in the men’s 1,500 where Marcus Nelson crossed the line in fifth place with a 3:56.53 to finish nearly midway between the two levels of qualification (3:55.25 / 3:57.00).

 

“We had great conditions today and our athletes took advantage of it,” Dalzell said.

 

 

Women’s Results

1,500: 1. Junia Limage, 4:40.33. 1,500 (Invite): 4. Linsie Michels, 4:37.06; 14. 4:52.38. 5,000 (Invite): 12. Andria Scheese, 17:47.58; 19. Samantha Robert, 18:43.16. 10,000: 3. Alice Taylor, 37:09.49. Pole Vault: T3. Kaycee Gillespie, 10-4 (3.115m). Hammer: 1. Kayla Xavier, 167-9 (51.14m); 2. Sharayah Kenady, 164 11 (50.28m); 3. Gabriella Dixson, 161-2 (49.12m); 4. Amanda Federici, 152-4 (46.43m).

 

Men’s Results

1,500: 30. Ben Foubert, 4:12.62; 32. Andrew Landstrom, 4:13.26. 1,500 (Invite): 5. Marcus Nelson, 3:56.53. Pole Vault: NH: Cole Dahle; NH: Cody Vaughn. Hammer: 2. Anthony Lantz, 173-1 (52.77m).