Three All-Americans Highlight SOU's First Day at NAIA Championships
MARION, Ind. – The Southern Oregon track and field team opened the 2012 NAIA Outdoor National Championships Thursday with three All-Americans and a pair of new school records.
Following the first day of competition, SOU is sixth in the men's team rankings with nine points, trailing co-leaders Wayland Baptist and Concordia (16 points), Hastings (11), and Valley City State and Azusa Pacific (10). In the women's rankings, the Raiders picked up three points to sit 21st heading into Friday's action.
“It was a great start for us, with a lot of good performances and several athletes advancing in the preliminary races,” SOU head coach Grier Gatlin said. “Everyone seems to be primed going into Day Two, and we're all excited.”
Max Perry (Florence, Ore./Siuslaw) began the day with a second-place showing in the men's hammer, earning All-American honors and eight points for the men's team with a school-record throw of 194-8. Perry's throw broke his own school record of 190-7, set at last year's NAIA Championships, when he finished fourth to earn All-American recognition.
“It's great for a senior to go out like that, and he looked great,” Gatlin said of Perry's performance. “He has a lot of confidence going into the shot put on Saturday.
The Raiders finished the day with two more All-Americans in the men's and women's 10,000 meter runs. Seena Frantz (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) finished sixth in the women's race with a time of 37:23.01 and Ryan Sorenson (Sheridan, Wyo./Sheridan) finished eighth in the men's race with a time of 31:38.69.
In preliminary event competition, Sullivan Stevens (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs) set a new school record in the 110 hurdles. The sophomore finished sixth with a program-best time of 14.42 to advance to Friday's semifinals. Jonz Olander (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass) hit a new personal-best time in the 400 meter dash, finishing 15th with a time of 47.88, and the men's 4x100 meter relay team posted its best time of the year with a 13th-place finish in 41.73.
Matt Battaglia (Salinas, Calif./Salinas) finished fourth in the men's 800 meter prelims with a time of 1:53.54, while Eric Avila (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista) advanced in the 1500 meter prelims with a seventh-place showing in 3:52.38. Three of the Raiders' four runners in the men's steeplechase advanced to Saturday's final, as James Johnstone (Lake Arrowhead, Calif./Rim of the World) placed second (9:27.84), Scott McIntyre (Redding, Calif./Ponderosa) took seventh (9:29.26) and Dennis McCaffrey (Ashland, Ore./Ashland) placed eighth (9:32.98).
Complete SOU Results:
Men 10,000 Meter Run
8. Ryan Sorenson (Sheridan, Wyo./Sheridan), 31:38.69*
Men Hammer
2. Max Perry (Florence, Ore./Siuslaw), 59.34m (194-8)*
17. Tyler Tompkins (Adams, Ore./Weston Mcewen), 52.07m (170-10)
Women 10,000 Meter Run
6. Seena Frantz (Ashland, Ore./Ashland), 37:23.01*
22. Alexandra Rudd (North Bend, Wash./Mount Si), 41:51.6
Men 400 Meter Dash Prelims
15. Jonz Olander (Grants Pass, Ore./Grants Pass), 47.88
Men 800 Meter Run Prelims
4. Matt Battaglia (Salinas, Calif./Salinas), 1:53.54
Men 1500 Meter Run Prelims
7. Eric Avila (Chula Vista, Calif./Bonita Vista), 3:52.38
26. Jared Hixon (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale), 4:05.18
Men 110 Meter Hurdles Prelims
6. Sullivan Stevens (Sparks, Nev./Spanish Springs), 14.42
Men 3000 Meter Steeplechase Prelims
2. James Johnstone (Lake Arrowhead, Calif./Rim of the World), 9:27.84
7. Scott McIntyre (Redding, Calif./Ponderosa), 9:29.26
8. Dennis McCaffrey (Ashland, Ore./Ashland), 9:32.98
15. David Sherman (Finn Rock, Ore./McKenzie), 9:43.65
Men 4x100 Relay Prelims
13. Southern Oregon (Stevens, Bridge, Ritchie, Olander), 41.73
Women 400 Meter Hurdles Prelims
21. Amelia Maguin (Fernley, Nev./Fernley), 1:04.69
*All-American Performance