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Megan Bolton & Corey Sledge

Track and Field Iain Dexter, EOU Sports Information Director

Mountaineer Women Place 7th, Men 17th with 18 All-Americans at Indoor Nationals

BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Eastern Oregon track and field teams impressed on the final day of the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships as the women's team placed seventh and the men 17th with an additional nine more All-Americans crowned. The Mountaineers finished with a combined 18 All-Americans in nine different events at the national meet.
 
Of the 11 women competing over the weekend, 10 earned All-American honors in at least one event while five of seven men also finished in the top-8 to receive All-American.
 
"What a weekend, what group," said head coach Ben Welch. "To bring this many individuals and relays to nationals and them exceed their pre-meet rankings is an outstanding effort on their part. From the pentathlon on Thursday to the 4x400 in today's final, the athletes on both sides competed hard and never gave up."
 
Sophomore Megan Bolton had the best finish of the third day, taking second place in the women's 600-meter run. The sophomore broke her own record in the event for the fourth time this year and second time on the weekend, finishing in a time of 1:31.90 to earn eight team points.
 
Fellow sophomore Maggie Ledbetter greatly improved upon her ninth place ranking entering the women's shot put, finishing in third place to garner All-American honors and six team points. Ledbetter crushed the program record in the event, first breaking it in the prelims on her third throw that went for 13.93 meters. Then in the finals, Ledbetter completely shattered the record with a monster shot of 14.43 meters, taking third place. The mark was improved her high school PR by over 10 feet.
 
Junior Corey Sledge earned All-American for the second year in a row in the men's pole vault, placing third. Sledge matched his season-best height of 5.10 meters on his second attempt. Teammate Noah Chaney also competed in the event, but did not hit a mark on the day.
 
The Mountaineers had a pair of All-Americans in the men's and women's 1,000 meter runs. Senior Alex Navarro finished in the top-8 for the second year in a row, placing sixth in 2:31.18. On the women's side, sophomore Michelle Herbes continued to add All-American honors to her young career, taking eighth place in the race in 3:04.54.
 
To end the day, the women's 4x400 relay team of sisters Elizabeth Herbes and Michelle, freshman Jasmine Devers and Bolton claimed seventh place to wrap up the team's All-American awards. The quartet finished the race in 3:54.28 after coming in ranked 11th in the NAIA prior to the meet.
 
Also competing for EOU on Saturday was Payton Jolley and Allexander Kosel in the triple jump. On the women's side, Jolley placed 15th with a best mark of 11.29 meters. She entered the meet ranked 21st overall as she improved six spots. For the men, Kosel placed 18th in his first national meet for EOU, reaching 13.93 meters on his second jump.
 
The women's team finished with 29 points overall to claim seventh. Huntington won the team title with 77 points. The EOU men tied for 17th with 13 points. William Carey finished first with 82.
 
The Mountaineers will next move into outdoor season, which begins with the EOU Team Challenge on March 14 in La Grande.
 
Women's All-Americans (12)
Paige Dodd - Pentathlon, 2nd Place
Olivia Lane – Pentathlon, 8th Place
Katie Jo Gebhardt, Calista Van Delden, Michelle Herbes, Megan Boals – 4x800 Relay, 6th Place
Maggie Ledbetter – Shot Put, 3rd Place
Megan Bolton – 600 Meters, 2nd Place
Michelle Herbes – 1,000 Meters, 8th Place
Elizabeth Herbes, Jasmine Devers, Michelle Herbes, Megan Bolton – 4x400 Relay, 7th Place
 
Men's All-Americans (6)
Travis Running, Hunter Schiess, Dustin Zimmerly, Alex Navarro – 4x800 Relay, 5th Place
Alex Navarro – 1,000 Meters, 6th Place
Corey Sledge – Pole Vault, 3rd Place
 
For more information on Eastern Oregon track and field, follow @EOUAthletics or visit eousports.com.
 
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Contact: Iain Dexter; 541-962-3946; idexter@eou.edu
 
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Players Mentioned

Megan Boals

Megan Boals

Mid-Distance
Sophomore
Paige Dodd

Paige Dodd

Jumps/Throws
Senior
Elizabeth Herbes

Elizabeth Herbes

Sprints
5' 6"
Junior
Payton Jolley

Payton Jolley

Jumps/Sprints
5' 4"
Junior
Alex Navarro

Alex Navarro

Mid-Distance
Senior
Hunter Schiess

Hunter Schiess

Distance
Sophomore
Dustin Zimmerly

Dustin Zimmerly

Mid-Distance
6' 2"
Junior
Megan Bolton

Megan Bolton

Sprints
Freshman
Katie Jo Gebhardt

Katie Jo Gebhardt

Mid-Distance
Freshman
Michelle Herbes

Michelle Herbes

Mid-Distance
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Megan Boals

Megan Boals

Sophomore
Mid-Distance
Paige Dodd

Paige Dodd

Senior
Jumps/Throws
Elizabeth Herbes

Elizabeth Herbes

5' 6"
Junior
Sprints
Payton Jolley

Payton Jolley

5' 4"
Junior
Jumps/Sprints
Alex Navarro

Alex Navarro

Senior
Mid-Distance
Hunter Schiess

Hunter Schiess

Sophomore
Distance
Dustin Zimmerly

Dustin Zimmerly

6' 2"
Junior
Mid-Distance
Megan Bolton

Megan Bolton

Freshman
Sprints
Katie Jo Gebhardt

Katie Jo Gebhardt

Freshman
Mid-Distance
Michelle Herbes

Michelle Herbes

Freshman
Mid-Distance