Amy Nelson earned an NAIA "A" Mark in the 400 hurdles.
SOU Hurdlers, Sprinters Shine At Chico Twilight
CHICO, Calif. -- Going against some of the top competition on the West Coast in NCAA Division II, the Southern Oregon track and field squad came away with some impressive marks in the sprints and hurdles at Saturday's Chico State Twilight Meet.
Amy Nelson secured an NAIA "A" qualifying mark in the 400 hurdles, while the men's 4x100 relay squad, Sullivan Stevens (100 hurdles) and Dennis Olstedt (400 hurdles) all earned "B" standard marks.
Nelson improved her already Cascade Conference best time in the 400 hurdles by finishing second in a time of 1:03.99. The time ranks as the fifth best time in school history and the 10th fastest in the NAIA this year. Nelson also finished sixth in the 100 hurdles in 16.24.
The men's 4x100 relay team of Stevens, Jonz Olander, Wendell Sells and Kwame Agyemang finished second the event with a conference-best time of 41.75. The time is also the third fastest in school history.
Stevens finished second in the 110 hurdles in a time of 15-02. The time was a "B" standard time, but didn't improve his mark of 14.95 that he claimed at last week's Willamette Invitational. Stevens did improve his personal best time in the 400 hurdles with a third place finish in 55.89.
Olstedt claimed victory in the 400 hurdles with a time of 54.65. The time is just off his conference best time of 54.62 in the event. Olstedt also finished 9th in the 100 hurdles in 16.07.
Max Perry had a impressive day in the throwing events. In both the shot put and discus, Perry improved his marks and moved up to second in the conference standings. Perry finished fourth in the shot put with a throw of 50-00.50 and seventh in the discus with a throw of 147-01. Perry also finished third in the hammer with a 168-06.
To go along with the impressive time while anchoring the 4x100 relay team, Agyemang also improved his already conference best time in the 100. The senior finished second in the event Saturday night with a time of 10.88. Agyemang also finished fifth in the 200 in 22.24.
Sells finished 6th in the 100 on Saturday with a personal best time of 11.04. Olander turned in the conference's top time in the 400 this year while finishing sixth in the event with a time of 51.02.
In the women's 200, Mikayla Garrard finished second with a personal-best time of 25.66. The time ranks as the fifth fastest in school history. Garrard also finished seventh in the long jump with a mark of 16-08.75.
In the women's throwing events, Courtenay Williams improved her mark with hammer with a seventh place finish and a throw of 135-09. Holly Haga finished fourth in the discus with a throw of 130-01.
Also for the Raiders, Seth Lindquist finished second in the high jump (6-04), Kael Steiner-Bailey finished third in the 800 (2:00.93), Lindsey Harris finished fourth in the 800 (2:31.67) and 10th in the 400 (1:05.50) and Conner Donley finished 8th in the 800 (2:02.89).