Olivia Johnson, who will enter her sophomore track season at Corban this spring, has already qualified for the NAIA nationals in the marathon.
Johnson, a 2011 Sweet Home High School graduate, finished fifth in the women’s race in a qualifying half-marathon at Cascade Sunday, Jan. 20, running 1:28.05 in her first competition at that distance. Her time was well under automatic qualifying time of 1:31.
The NAIA is an athletic association similar to the NCAA, made up of smaller colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. It permits athletes to run the half-marathon distance to qualify for the 26.2-mile marathon.
The national championships will be held May 23-26 at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.
The marathon will start at 6 a.m. Saturday, May 26.
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At Wyoming, junior swimmer Jayce Calhoon helped the Cowboys sweep Air Force, North Dakota and Seattle last weekend, winning the 100 backstroke in 51.86.
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The University of Seattle “C” team, with junior Kieran Schaefer anchoring, placed eighth in 3:44.48.
On Jan. 12 Schaefer anchored his 400 yard medley relay “B” team (3:36.36) to third place in a meet with Whitworth, swimming a 49.75 freestyle leg. He also swam the 200 yard freestyle in 1:50.53 and the 500 yard freestyle in 5:08.89.
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Drew Emmert, a junior guard at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa, was one of three Yellowjackets who scored in double figures at Peru State on Jan. 17. NAIA Division II Graceland is 5-15 on the season after a three-game losing streak.
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Gavin Kauffman, a sophomore at Chemeketa Community College, is averaging 14.2 points a game for the 12-4 Storm, who are leading Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges South Division with a 5-0 record.
Kauffman, a 6-4 wing, scored a season-high 23 against Olympic on Dec. 21. The second-leading scorer and rebounder (6.4/game) on the team, he is one of three players whose scoring average is in double figures for Chemketa.