MEET CENTRAL

ASHLAND – Sophomore Carson Le Bel hit the NAIA 'A' standard on the nose by clearing 15 feet 9 inches in the pole vault for the Southern Oregon track and field team Saturday at the Raider Invitational.

Le Bel's was SOU's fourth new national-qualifying mark of the meet. He met the provisional-qualifying standard last week, but with his third new personal best in as many outings became the seventh pole vaulter in the country this season to carve out an automatic spot at the NAIA Outdoor Championships.

He placed second in both that and the high jump (6-2), accounting for two of the Raiders' six runner-up finishes on the day. Andrew Mitchell – who on Friday registered his first 'A' in the discus – put up the third-best javelin throw of his career with a mark of 216-4, 5-1 short of his top mark that ranks second in the NAIA. Luke King had a season-best of 50-9 ¼ in the shot put, taking second in a 35-person field.

On the women's side, Katherine Martinez was second of 27 in the javelin (114-1) and India Ortiz was the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles, a spot ahead of teammate Gracie Freudenthal's PR (1:07.31).

The Raiders were also strong in the 800, getting third- and fourth-place men's finishes from Frankie Maciel (1:57.45) and Rafe Blandini (1:58.50) in a 44-person field. In the 32-person women's race, Sarah Mauk (2:22.84), Cammeo Ramirez (2:22.91) and Alyssa Johnson (2:23.78) occupied the third-through-fifth spots. Dylan Heath added a season-best Cascade Conference-qualifying time in the men's 400 (50.40), and Derrick Bennett did the same in the hammer (134-10).

SOU has two more outings on its schedule ahead of the CCC Championships, the first being next week at Oregon State's Beaver Invitational.

SOU WOMEN'S RESULTS
800m (32 total entries)
3. Sarah Mauk, 2:22.84
4. Cammeo Ramirez, 2:22.91
5. Alyssa Johnson, 2:23.78

100m Hurdles (11)
6. Sienna Bauer, 15.77*

400m Hurdles (9)
2. India Ortiz, 1:06.03*
3. Gracie Freudenthal, 1:07.31*

Hammer (29)
8. Ilyhia Greely, 45.55m (149-5)*

Javelin (27)
2. Katherine Martinez, 34.79m (114-1)*

SOU MEN'S RESULTS
400m (27 total entries)
8. Dylan Heath, 50.40*
16. Tommy Gardner, 52.84

800m (44)
3. Frankie Maciel, 1:57.45
4. Rafe Blandini, 1:58.50
6. Mason Weisgerber, 1:59.14
20. Ethan Kuntz, 2:04.59
21. Luke Lucchesi, 2:04.80
26. Ben Jordan, 2:08.54

High Jump (13)
2. Carson Le Bel, 1.88m (6-2)*

Pole Vault (11)
2. Carson Le Bel, 4.80m (15-9)%
5. Keith Sorenson, 4.50m (14-9)*

Hammer (27)
8. Derrick Bennett, 41.10m (134-10)*
15. John Rose, 31.69m (103-11)

Shot Put (35)
2. Luke King, 15.47m (50-9 ¼)*
14. Derrick Bennett, 11.89m (39-0 ¼)

Javelin (31)
2. Andrew Mitchell, 65.95m (216-4)%