MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Corban University men's and women's track & field teams continued their ascent on Friday afternoon, seeing multiple improved marks and personal-bests at the John Knight Invitational, hosted by Western Oregon University.

RESULTS

"We had a great team effort with a fourth-place finish on both the men's and women's sides," head coach Norm Berney said after the meet. "We had some key team members missing, but overall it was a fantastic group effort against NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA opponents."

The Warriors battled in a crowded field of talented track & field programs from across the northwest. Both the Corban men and women landed at No. 4 in the rankings after each of the team scores were added up, with the Warrior men competing in a field of 17 squads and the Corban women going head-to-head with 14 opposing programs. 

For the women, rookie Valerie Schmidt once again stole the spotlight, showing no signs of slowing down after her record-setting performance in the heptathlon last week. Schmidt reset her own program record in the 100-meter hurdles on Friday, finishing with a time of 14.93 seconds. She was just moments behind the event's first-place finisher—NCAA Division I hurdler Alexis Buckhaults (14.90 seconds) of Portland State—and places her at No. 12 on the NAIA performance list.

CLICK HERE to watch Schmidt's interview after the race.

As she continues her shift from the basketball court to the track, Lindsay Asplund provided a reminder of just how speedy she can be, besting a field of 17 in the 400-meter hurdles with her time of 1:05.05.

Hannah Clarizio and Sydney Nichol produced the type of impressive performances that Warrior fans have become accustomed to seeing from the long-distance duo. Clarizio claimed yet another individual victory in the steeplechase, once again surpassing the NAIA 'A' standard with her time of 11:07.53. Nichol participated in one of the day's most thrilling races, using a furious kick to snatch a victory away from Portland State's Linnaea Kavulich in the final moments of the 800 meters. She finished with a time of 2:20.98 in the event.

On the men's side, Michael Schmidt (56.00 seconds) and Christian Bohuslavizki (56.99 seconds) took first and second place in the 400-meter hurdles at the meet, claiming valuable points for the Warrior team tally.

The tandem also took part in the Navy and Gold's new-look 4x400-meter relay team, joining Seth Tripp and Shane Davis as the quartet debuted with a first place finish and a time of 3:23.46. Davis also ran in the 800 meters, establishing a new personal-best for himself (1:59.99) in the event.

Corban will return to action tomorrow at the Jenn Boyman Invitational, hosting by Linfield College. Tomorrow's events are scheduled to kick-off at 10 a.m.