CORVALLIS, Ore. – Eastern Oregon University track and field headed across the state this weekend to compete in the OSU High Performance Meet. The Mounties represented EOU well posting 13 top-five finishes against strong competition including NCAA Division I opponents. In total, Eastern had 12 "A" and "B" Standard marks on the day.
Eastern's next competition is scheduled for May 6 in McMinnville, Oregon. EOU will compete at the Linfield Open that Saturday.
WOMEN
On the women's side it was
Morgan Bayes who got things going in the 400-meter hurdles. The grad student finished sixth overall posting a season best time of 1:03.33 which is good for a "B" Standard.
Michelle Herbes continued to build on an excellent year posting an "A" Standard in the 800 and a "B" Standard in the 1500. Her time of 2:13.89 is a personal record in the 800 and was good for 17th overall in an extremely competitive field. She then added on with a seventh-place finish in the 1500-meter run finishing in 4:37.08.
EOU had a good weekend in the throws as well led by none other than
Maggie Ledbetter. The grad student set a PR in the hammer with an "A" Standard mark while also posting another "A" Standard in the shot put. She finished right behind teammate
Kenna Woodward in the hammer with a throw of 50.57 meters for eighth place. Woodward's best throw was also an "A" Standard mark of 50.63 meters. In the shot, Ledbetter took fourth overall with a 14.27-meter throw.
Rounding out qualifying marks for the Mounties was
Elizabeth Grandle who set a big PR in the javelin with a throw of 41.04 meters. The mark was good for an "A" Standard and an 11th-place finish.
MEN
The Men had just as good of a weekend with six different qualifying "A" or "B" Standard marks.
Hunter Nichols had an excellent weekend finishing with a "B" Standard in the 800 and a "A" Standard in the 1500. The senior finished 19th in the 800 with a time of 1:52.99 (season best). He then added a PR in the 1500-meter run, finishing third overall with a time of 3:51.85.
EOU added a couple more strong performances in the distance races with
Justin Ash and
Cristian Mendoza each setting PRs. Ash finished second in the 3000-meter steeple open with an "A" Standard time of 9:19.58. Mendoza also took a top-three finish at third in the 5000-meter run with a "B" Standard time of 14:45.50 seconds.
In the field events the Mounties highlights came in the shot and javelin.
Tanner Nett continues to build on his excellent year after setting a PR in the shot put with an "A" Standard mark of 16.70 meters.
Moses McAninch added on with his second "A" Standard mark of the year in the javelin. His throw of 58.81 meters is a season best.