Pueblo, Colo. – The University of Findlay track and field teams got this started on the first of three days at the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championship which is being held at the ThunderBowl on the campus of Colorado State University-Pueblo. The first day took place on Thursday, May 22.

Day One Results

• Kage Hefner (Fr.) – In his first outdoor national championship, the first year pole vaulter finished tied for 13^th. Hefner passed on the opening height before clearing 4.97m (16'3 ½") on his second attempt.
• Nate Buschur (So.) – Competing at his first outdoor national championship of his career, Buschur also tied for 13^th in the men's pole vault. He first cleared 4.82m before later soaring over 4.97m (16'3 ½") on his second attempt.
• Collin Warner (Jr.) – The runner-up at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Outdoor Championship, Warner took 15^th. His best throw of the day was his third, a toss that sailed 57.55m (188'9").
• Leyton Nossa (So.) – Also participating in the hammer throw, Nosse took 19^th as his second throw measured 56.84m (186'6")

Day One Preliminary Events

• Kylie Ray (Sr.) – Competing in the 400m hurdles, Kylie Ray dominated her heat, the second of three heats, winning with a time of 59.03 to earn a trip into Saturday's finals. That time is the second-fastest of the prelims putting Ray in prime position to earn a spot on the podium in two days.
• Leah Smith (So.) – Running in the final heat of the 100m dash, sophomore Leah Smith set a new personal best in the event with a time of 11.16 which qualified her into Saturday's finals. With six finals spots being taken up by the top two finishers in each heat, the final three spots were open for the top remaining times. Each of those came from Smith's heat, the third heat, which after a slight delay in competition due to a pair of false starts, benefited from a slightly stronger tailwind of 4.5 m/s (10.1 mph). The time would be a program record but for the wind over 4.0 m/s which nullifies the mark.
• Jordan Taylor (Sr.) – In the 100m dash, Taylor competed in the first heat where she took third. With the top two in each heat automatically making it to the finals, Taylor's time would need to qualify in the top nine, however that mark of 11.47 was not quite enough as she would place 13^th.
• Women's 4x100m Relay – Taylor Ivory, Leah Smith, Kylie Ray, and Jordan Taylor teamed up in the 4x100 where they were ranked third in the country. The squad finished with a time of 45.07 which was good for tenth which does not send them into Saturday's final but does earn second team all-American honors in the event.

The Oilers will be back in action tomorrow with the first event coming at 7:30 pm with Leah Smith and Jordan Taylor running in the 200m dash.