MEET CENTRAL

LA GRANDE – Junior Abi Stevens turned in her third consecutive top-three finish and freshman Coleton Urquhart joined her in the All-Cascade Conference circle as Southern Oregon completed a successful stay at the CCC Multi-Event Championships on Friday at Banner Bank Track.

Both Raiders finished third place, Stevens in the heptathlon and Urquhart in the decathlon, to contribute six points apiece toward SOU's CCC Championships team scores. Stevens totaled 4,827 points – 107 more than the nine-time All-American's previous best – and Urquhart had 5,898 in his first collegiate crack at the 10-discipline challenge.

British Columbia's Rebecca Dutchak defended her heptathlon title with a meet record of 5,109 points, posting the 14-person field's top marks in four of seven disciplines. Eastern Oregon's Lizzy Grandle was second, beating Stevens by 107 points.

Stevens, who on Thursday outpaced her previous first-day best by 150 points, became a lock to return to the NAIA Outdoor Championships. She opened the second day with a stellar long jump of 17 feet 9 ½ inch, was set back by a 393-point javelin throw, then closed with her second PR of the meet: an 800-meter time of 2 minutes 19.46 seconds that yielded 831 points. She was six seconds in front of the rest of the field.

Urquhart, a Turner product, put himself in position for a potential bid to the national meet. The picture will become clearer after conference decathlons are completed across the NAIA this weekend, but he needs a top-16 score to advance. Last year, the cutoff was 6,002 points.

His performance was a pleasant surprise regardless, considering he'd never competed collegiately in four of the disciplines on the docket. After entering Day 2 in fourth place, he jumped into third for good by opening with top-three marks in the 110 hurdles (16.69) and the discus (114-4). In the 1,500 finale, his time of 4:48.82 made him the runner-up.

Eastern Oregon's TJ Davis won the decathlon for the third time in his career, amassing 6,996 points. EOU's Israel Miles was second with 6,082, but Urquhart cleared the fourth-place finisher by 228.

WOMEN'S HEPTATHLON (14 total entries)
3. Abi Stevens, 4,827
Day 1: 100m Hurdles – 15.06 (834); High Jump – 1.68m (830); Shot Put – 9.69m (509); 200m – 26.51 (753)
Day 2: Long Jump – 5.42m (677); Javelin – 25.55m (393); 800m – 2:19.46 (831)

MEN'S DECATHLON
3. Coleton Urquhart, 5,898
Day 1: 100m – 11.75 (701); Long Jump – 6.39m (673); Shot Put – 11.76m (592); High Jump – 1.63m (488); 400m – 52.61 (698)
Day 2: 110m Hurdles – 16.69 (657); Discus – 34.85m (561); Pole Vault – 3.30m (431); Javelin – 41.97m (471); 1,500m – 4:48.82 (626)