ASHLAND, Ore. – Mountaineers Track & Field rewrote their record books on day one of the CCC Championships, presented by U.S. Bank as the team sits in the top-five for both men and women. Eastern Oregon had four champions on day one and broke a total of three records.

Securing a first place finish on day one was a trio of individuals and one relay squad. Winning as individuals were field event athletes in Allexander Kosel (long jump), Darrian Walker (pole vault), and Maggie Ledbetter (shot put). The winning relay squad was the men's 4x100-meter relay.

Along with the four wins, the 4x100 relay team set records for both the program and for the CCC. Also improving her mark in the record books was Ledbetter who took over the No. 1 spot in the shot put. 

The 4x100 relay team of DJ Wilson, TJ Davis, Bryce Peters, and Cody Milmine ran a collective time of 41.23 to repeat as the conference champions. The quartet's time is not only the fastest time in program history but now sits atop the CCC record books. Their time is also the 14th fastest time in the NAIA and is an automatic qualifying time for Outdoor Nationals.

In the shot put, there was arguably no doubt that Ledbetter was the favorite to win the CCC title. She made sure that happened as she repeated as the champion and along the way, Ledbetter also decided to etch her name in EOU history with the greatest mark ever. The senior chucked the rock a distance of 45-9 ¼ to break a 20-year old EOU record en route to the win. Her mark was over a foot further than second place and currently ranks eighth in the NAIA.

Kosel began his defense as CCC Champion in the three jump events with a solid win in the long jump. He leaped 23-6 on his third attempt of the day, which got him to finals and it ultimately was too much for the field to overcome as he secured his first title repeat. 

Joining the fun as a conference champion was Walker who hit a personal best mark in the pole vault. He edged second place by four inches to take home the league title as he cleared the bar at a height of 16-4 ¾. His mark not only gave him a CCC crown, but now moves him up to a tie for fourth place in the NAIA.

Having a solid day on the field side as well was thrower Kenna Woodward. She was ranked 19th in the NAIA in hammer throw entering the weekend, but changed that narrative as she auto-qualified for Nationals. She hit a mark of 165-2, which not only was a personal best but punched her ticket to the national meet. Her mark earned her a fourth place finish, ranks 18th in the NAIA, and is now the third best mark in program history.

As a whole, Eastern scored points across 14 events total. On the track, Davis was a key component as an individual along with his efforts in the 4x100. He posted top-three finishes in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter dash. He was second in the 110 hurdles, running a 14.57 and was third in the 400 in a time of 49.44.

Also doing well on the track was Morgan Bayes in the 100-meter hurdles. She placed fifth in a time of 14.92. In the 1,500-meter run, three Mounties scored points in Jonathan Wind and Hunter Nichols for the men and Michelle Herbes for the women.

Wind led the way, placing fourth in a time of 3:53.64, while Nichols was seventh with a time of 3:54.15. On the women's side, Herbes was also seventh as she ran a time of 4:44.85. The only other placewinner on the track was Justin Ash in the 10,000-meter run. He clocked a time of 31:34.92 and placed seventh overall.

In the throws, Ledbetter also helped score points in the hammer throw. She hit a personal best mark of 163-10 to place fifth and her mark is now fourth best in program history. In the shot put, EOU also got points from Danielle Church who placed sixth. She heaved the rock a distance of 39-1 ¾ to secure a top-eight finish.

On the men's side in the throws, true freshman Tanner Nett impressed in the shot put with a top-five finish. He placed fourth with a throw of 50-4 to add to the point total for the Mountaineer men. Also helping in the scoring was both men's and women's pole vault and the men's long jump.

In the pole vault, EOU had four women and two men score points. Walker led the charge for the Mountaineer men with the win, but the women had four placewinners in sequential order. Faith Wagner led the way with a height of 10-4 to place fifth. Next up was Abby Winstead at 10-0 even. Placing sixth was JoAnna Campbell at 9-8. Briana Church also cleared 9-8 and finished eighth based on attempts. On the men's side, Judson Mansfield was eighth with a mark of 13-3 ½. 

In the long jump, two other Mountaineer men scored points besides Kosel. Davis was fifth, leaping 22-8 ½. Placing eighth to add to the point total was Peters with a mark of 21-1 ½. Rounding out the points for the day was the women's 4x100 relay. The group of Emmy Williams, Morgan Bayes, Madison MacMillan, and Katie Brown ran a 48.48 to place fifth overall. 

Entering day two, the Mountaineers sit third with 86 points on the men's side. The Mountaineer women are fourth with 42 points. Meet action gets underway at 11 a.m. PT on Saturday, May 14 in Ashland.

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