ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Eastern Oregon University showcased strong performances over the first two days of the NAIA National Championship Outdoor Track & Field meet, highlighted by a Day 1 All-American finish from Mark Church and a Day 2 national championship performance from Elizabeth Grandle.

Grandle closed out Day 2 of the NAIA National Championships by being crowned the 2026 Women's Outdoor Heptathlon National Champion.

On Day 1, Grandle put together an impressive opening in the heptathlon, recording a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles at 15.02 and a season best in the high jump at 1.63m, while also delivering solid performances in the shot put and 200 meters. She ended the first day with 3,146 points, sitting second overall heading into the final day of competition.

Grandle opened Day 2 with a fourth-place finish in the long jump at 5.39m before moving into first place following a third-place javelin throw of 40.38m. In the final event of the heptathlon, she placed eighth in the 800 meters with a time of 2:28.04, securing the national title with 5,207 total points. Her winning score not only remained the top mark in the nation this season, but also improved her own Eastern Oregon program record by 47 points.

The championship carried added significance after Grandle suffered a torn ACL at last season's indoor national championships, an injury that required surgery and extensive rehabilitation before her return to the top of the podium just one year later.

The Mountaineers also opened the meet with several strong performances across track and field events.

Highlighting Day 1 was Mark Church, who earned All-American honors with a fifth-place finish in the men's hammer throw. Church recorded a personal-best mark of 59.03 meters — improving his previous best by 5.5 feet — after entering the meet ranked 14th nationally. His throw also moved him to No. 3 in Eastern Oregon program history.

Riley Morris advanced comfortably to the women's 1500-meter final after placing third in her preliminary heat in 4:33.84. Bryson Spears also posted a strong showing in the men's 400-meter hurdles preliminaries, finishing 17th overall in 53.40.

The women's 4x100-meter relay team of Taylor Joyce, Melanie Boatman, Sara McKen, and Nora Roscoe finished tied for 19th overall with a time of 40.93. On the men's side, the quartet of Jayce Bartley, Peter Daniels, Bryson Spears, and Nick Robinson clocked a sub-41 second performance for just the third time in program history despite battling through difficult handoffs.

In the field events, Dylan Buss narrowly missed qualifying for the javelin final, placing 11th with a throw of 59.43 meters after entering the meet ranked 16th nationally.

Day 2 also featured several strong performances that narrowly missed qualifying marks for the finals. Peter Daniels placed 17th in the men's 400-meter preliminaries with a time of 47.77, while Spears also finished 17th in the 400-meter hurdles preliminaries. Kaleah Hines narrowly missed All-American honors, placing 10th in the women's 10,000 meters with a time of 37:25.72.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team of Taylor Joyce, Hallee Hisler, Sydney Peck, and Nora Roscoe broke the program record with a time of 3:47.45, finishing just one place shy of both the finals and All-American honors. The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Daniels, Bartley, Reuben Manzer, and Keaton Moore finished 19th overall in 3:14.50.

With one final day of competition remaining, Eastern Oregon will be represented by Grandle in the women's javelin at 2 p.m. ET, Morris in the women's 1500-meter final at 3:10 p.m. ET, and Church in the men's discus beginning at 9 a.m. ET.