SOU REMAINING SCHEDULE (All times Pacific)
THURSDAY'S EVENTS
7 a.m. – W Heptathlon Day 2 (Hodges, Stevens)
2 p.m. – M Discus (Mitchell)
4:35 p.m. – M 5,000m prelims (Fernandez)

FRIDAY'S EVENTS
10 a.m. – M Pole Vault (Le Bel)
11 a.m. – W High Jump (Stevens)
12 p.m. – M Shot Put (King)
1:55 p.m. – M 5,000m final (Fernandez)

MEET CENTRAL

MARION, Ind. – A momentous season with the javelin for Southern Oregon's Andrew Mitchell nearly ended with a national title during Day 1 of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Wednesday afternoon.

Mitchell, a junior from San Diego, ultimately settled on second place – the top showing for a Raider men's thrower in 11 years – following a controversial finish to the javelin at the Indiana Wesleyan Track and Field Complex.

He led the competition entering the finals by posting a mark of 213 feet on his third attempt. That stood as his best, and the best in the 30-person field, when he completed his sixth and final attempt, but defending champion David Friedberg of Reinhardt (Ga.) was awarded one last re-throw after a successful appeal of a previous mark that was originally ruled foul. Friedberg made the extra try count, ending the competition by going 216-4 to claim the title again.

The place for Mitchell, who earned All-America status by taking eight a season ago and broke the school record this spring, was still the best for a Raider in the men's javelin since runner-up Jim Hagemann in 1997. He'll compete again Thursday in the discus.

The Raiders narrowly missed adding another All-American in women's 10,000-meter runner Alejandra Lopez, who placed ninth in 37 minutes 17.16 seconds – less than three-tenths of a second behind eighth-place Hailey Nielson of Montana Tech. SOU had two more finishers in the race in 27th-place Sydnee Kizziar (38:52.55) and 29th-place Haylee Brodahl (39:06.79).

Like Mitchell and Lopez, two other Raiders outperformed their seeds in finals. Wayne Garcia, the No. 16 seed in the men's hammer, placed 12th with a throw of 176-4. Isaac Fernandez, seeded No. 15 of 34 in the men's 10K, placed 13th in 31:20.71. Malaika Quigley – who qualified for the meet with a last-ditch effort at the Cascade Conference Championships – was true to her seed with a 17th-place showing in the women's javelin at 129-9, her second-best mark of the season.

Through four of seven disciplines in the women's heptathlon, six-time All-American Abi Stevens stands in seventh place with 2,776 points and Jenna Hodges is in 17th with 2,465, her best-ever Day 1 score. The final three disciplines will take place Thursday starting at 7 a.m. Pacific Time.

Mitchell's showing in the discus starts at 2 p.m. Fernandez will be the other Raider in action, running the 5K prelims at 4:35 p.m.

Lauren Forster was originally scheduled to compete Wednesday in the women's steeplechase prelims, but an injury kept her out of the race.

SOU MEN'S RESULTS
10,000m (34 total entries)
13. Isaac Fernandez, 31:20.71

Javelin (30)
2. Andrew Mitchell, 64.93m (213-0)

Hammer (21)
12. Wayne Garcia, 53.74m (176-4)

SOU WOMEN'S RESULTS
10,000m (36 total entries)
9. Alejandra Lopez, 37:17.16
27. Sydnee Kizziar, 38:52.55
29. Haylee Brodahl, 39:06.79

3,000m Steeplechase (24)
--. Lauren Forster, DNS

Javelin (28)
17. Malaika Quigley, 39.56m (129-9)

Heptathlon Day 1 of 2 (18)
7. Abi Stevens, 2,776
100m Hurdles – 15.55 (770); High Jump – 1.64m (783); Shot Put – 9.10m (471); 200m – 26.52 (752)
17. Jenna Hodges, 2,465
100m Hurdles – 16.82 (617); High Jump – 1.46m (577); Shot Put – 9.94m (526); 200m – 26.61 (745)