MOSCOW, Idaho – Eastern Oregon University Track & Field had two athletes hit NAIA A standards and one hit a B standard on Saturday at the Lauren McCluskey Memorial Open hosted by the University of Idaho. Along with two automatic qualifiers and one provisional qualifier, the Mountaineers had eight athletes post all-time top-10 marks in program history for the indoor season.
Earning automatic qualifying marks for Eastern was
Cody Milmine in the 60-meter dash and
Maggie Ledbetter in the shot put as the duo punched their ticket to the 2022 NAIA Indoor National Championships. Hitting a provisional mark was
Tyler Jones in the high jump.
For Milmine, he ran a 6.87 in the finals of the 60 after posting a 6.99 in prelims. His finals time earned him a second place finish and he automatically qualified for Nationals by .01 seconds. His time now ranks 13th in the NAIA.
Ledbetter's automatic qualifying mark came on her fifth and what was her final throw. She heaved the rock a distance of 44-1 ½, which gave her a third place finish. Her throw ranks her seventh in the NAIA.
Jones finished second in the high jump as he cleared a height of 6-7 ½. His height clearance came on his third and final leap to place in the top-two. Jones' B standard mark now has him ranked 13th in the NAIA and it is the sixth highest mark in program history for indoor season.
Of the eight top-10 marks for the Mountaineers on Saturday, five came from the distance harriers squad.
Katie Jo Gebhardt hit a pair of top-10 times in the 600-meter run and 1,000-meter run, respectively. In the 1,000, she won the event running the sixth fastest time in program history with a 3:06.74. In the 600, Gebhardt was third, running a 1:40.16, which is now 10th in program history.
Also running a top-10 time in the women's 1,000 was
Madelyn Nichols who ran a 3:14.03 to place herself ninth in the EOU record books. On the men's side, the Mountaineers had two runners hit top-10 times in the 600.
Hunter Nichols ran the eighth fastest time ever with a 1:22.87, while
Jonathan Wind ran the ninth fastest time at 1:22.96. Nichols finished second, while Wind was third.
The remaining three all-time top-10 marks came in the jumps for Eastern. Jones' had the best mark at sixth in the high jump. Also etching their names in the record books were
Karli Bedard in high jump and
DJ Wilson in triple jump.
Wilson hit the eighth best program mark ever, leaping 43-10 ¾. His mark came on his fourth attempt to help him grab a runner-up finish on the day. For Bedard, she hit the 10th best mark in program history clearing 5-2 ¼. She cleared the bar on her third and final attempt to enter the record book and finished sixth.
The Mountaineers will have some time off before returning to action. Their next meet will be on Feb. 12 at the Whitworth Invitational, which will be hosted at The Podium in Spokane, Wash.
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