KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA has announced its full list of 2022 Outdoor Track & Field Championships qualifiers. Eastern Oregon will have a total of 11 individuals and a pair of relay teams headed to Gulf Shores, Ala. for shot at garnering All-American status.
 
For EOU, the men's team will send their 4x100-meter relay squad and eight individuals. The Mountaineer women will send three individuals and the 4x800-meter relay team.
 
Making up the 4x100 team for EOU is DJ Wilson, Bryce Peters, TJ Davis, and Cody Milmine. Listed as alternates are Mason Nichols and Allexander Kosel. Qualifying as individuals are as follows: Justin Ash (5,000), Davis (Decathlon), Kosel (long jump, triple jump), Judson Mansfield (decathlon), Moses McAninch (javelin), Hunter Nichols (1,500), Darrian Walker (pole vault), and Jonathan Wind (1,500).
 
The highest ranked athlete for the men is Davis who enters Outdoor Nationals ranks No. 2 in the decathlon with 7,101 points. He is the reigning Indoor National Champion and is coming off a repeat championship performance in the event at the CCC Multi-Event Championships back in mid-April. Also ranked in the top-16 of the decathlon is Mansfield who enters at No. 14 in the NAIA at 6,154 points.
 
The second highest ranked male for EOU is Walker. He checks in at fourth in the event with a height clearance of 16-4 ¾, which he hit back at CCC Championships in mid-May. The only other athlete ranked in the top-10 is Kosel in the triple jump. He is ninth with a mark of 48-6 ¾. Like Walker, he hit his mark at the conference meet.
 
Kosel also checks in just outside the top-10 in the other horizontal jump in the long jump. He is ranked 11th with a mark 23-10 ¼, which he nailed back at the Eastern Oregon Open in April. The final field athlete in McAninch enters Outdoor Nationals ranked No. 22 in the NAIA with a mark of 182-9 that he posted back in early April at the Whitworth Peace Meet.
 
On the track, the 4x100 will enter the national meet ranked No. 15 overall. The original quartet of Wilson, Peters, Davis, and Milmine ran a 41.23 back at the CCC Championships, which is not only a school record but also a CCC meet record now as well.
 
In the 1,500-meter run, both Nichols and Wind are ranked inside the top-20. Nichols leads the duo at No. 16 with a time of 3:53.04 that he clocked at the Portland Twilight a few weeks ago. Wind is right behind him at No. 17 with a time of 3:53.11, which he ran at the OSU High Performance Meet back in late April. In the 5,000-meter run, Ash is also in the top-20. The true freshman is currently ranked No. 17 in the NAIA with a time of 14:45.58. He clocked his time at the OSU high Performance Meet back in late April.

Making up the 4x800 relay team for the Mountaineer women is Lauryn Mitchell, Jaimee Baxter, Katie Jo Gebhardt, and Michelle Herbes. Morgan Bayes is the lone alternate for the team as well. Bayes is also headed to Outdoor Nationals in the 400-meter hurdles. Also making it as individuals is throwers Maggie Ledbetter and Kenna Woodward.
 
Bayes is ranked just outside the top-10 at 11th in the 400 hurdles. She clocked a time of 62.47 back at the CCC Championships to punch her ticket to the National Championships. The 4x800 squad is ranked sixth in the NAIA with a time of 9:16.50, which the women rank back at the Portland Twilight in early May.
 
In the field, Ledbetter is set to compete in three throwing events in the shot put, hammer throw, and discus. She is ranked eighth in the shot put with a mark of 45-9 ¼, which she hit back at the conference meet to be crowned champion. In the discus, she is ranked No. 29 with a mark of 141-3. In the hammer throw, Ledbetter is 24th with a throw of 163-10. Woodward is also competing in the hammer throw and checks in at No. 21 with a mark of 165-3, which she nailed at the CCC Championships.
 
The NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship hosted by Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Sports Commission will take place at the Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium at Gulf Shores Sportsplex May 25-27.

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