ALLIANCE, Ohio — Sophomore Ashley Bault (Atwater, Waterloo) once again spearheaded a strong Marietta College track and field effort at the non-scoring Mount Union College Raider Open Saturday (Feb. 20) afternoon. [Results]

Bault became the second Marietta student-athlete of the season to provisionally qualify for the 2010 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship, which will take place March 12-13 on the campus of DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind. The jumps specialist made the most of her sixth and final jump of the competition to leap a school record 5.44m (17-10.25), which was good enough for a second place finish on Saturday. Bault also placed runner-up in the High Jump after clearing a personal record 1.55m (5-01.00).

Another highlight of the meet, which featured more than a dozen Pioneer personal records, was that eight more Marietta student-athletes qualified for the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship, which will take place Friday (Feb. 26) and Saturday (Feb. 27) inside Marietta College's Dyson Baudo Recreation Center.

Senior Sidra Dhiraprasiddhi (Hilliard, Darby) made her debut in the Triple Jump and leaped 10.26m (33-08.00) to place fifth and meet the OAC's A Qualifying Standard. She then met the OAC's B Standard in the Long Jump by placing eighth with a mark of 4.87m (15-11.75).

Also meeting the championship's top standard were senior Josh Mickle (Madison, Madison) in the Mile Run as well as both sophomore Josh Bibb (Marietta, Marietta) and freshman Kristeva Rowe (Toledo, Sylvania Southview) in the 500m Run. Mickle ran a personal record 4:26.80 en route to a third place finish in the Mile Run. Bibb won the men's 500m Run after crossing the line in a personal record 1:07.93. Bibb also set a personal record in the 200m Dash by placing 11th with a time of 23.79 seconds. Rowe captured the women's 500m Run with a personal record time of 1:22.80.

Sophomore Brittany Sims (Columbus, Eastmoor Academy) finished runner-up to Rowe in the 500m Run by covering the race in 1:23.77, which allowed her to be an OAC B Qualifier in the event. Sophomores Kim Keesler (Chagrin Falls, Chagrin Falls) and Terrance Wallace (Westerville, Westerville Central) also met the championship's secondary standard in an event on Saturday. Keesler placed third in the 55m Dash after crossing the line in 7.67 seconds, while Wallace captured second place in the 1,000m Run with a time of 2:40.41.

Marietta student-athletes also broke both school records in the 200m Dash at the Raider Open. Senior Christi Tims (Olmsted Township, Olmsted Falls) set a school record in the women's event by crossing the line in a winning time of 27.17 seconds. Junior Matt Hickman (St. Mary's, W.Va., St. Mary's) then broke the men's mark with a runner-up finish after covering the distance in 22.79 seconds. Both also set a personal record in the 55m Dash. Tims, who took fifth in the finals, ran a time of 7.65 seconds in the prelims. Hickman captured third place with a time of 6.51 seconds in the finals.

Sophomore Lauren Asbury (White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., Greenbrier East) also set a personal record in the 55m Dash, crossing the line in 7.54 seconds, which placed her second overall. She also took runner-up in the 200m Dash after crossing the line in a personal record time of 27.64 seconds. The mark would have been a school record if not for the performance of Tims. Classmate Jessica Gebhart (Eaton, Eaton) gave Marietta another athlete that set a personal record in the 55m Dash as she ran a time of 8.13 seconds. Gebhart then took fifth in the 55m Hurdle finals after running a time of personal record time of 9.24 in the prelims.

Senior Cody Thomas (North Olmsted, North Olmsted) ran a season's best in the 800m Run by finishing fourth with a time of 1:59.36. Sophomore Danielle Staub (Boxford, Mass., Masconomet Regional), meanwhile, ran a personal record, 2:29.32, in the women's 800m Run and placed fifth.

A trio of distance runners set new personal records in the 3,000m Run. Freshman Sean Hoover (Kent, Kent Roosevelt), who placed 13th, ran a time of 9:37.98. Senior Stephanie Williams (Vincent, Warren Local) captured fourth place in her event after running a time of 11:31.02, while junior Mehgan Cline (Dublin, Coffman) took eighth with a time of 11:47.16.

Freshman Caleb Muller (Columbus, Bexley) also set a personal record during his seventh place finish in the Mile Run. Muller crossed the line in 4:31.56. In addition, freshman Caleb Ellis (St. Albans, W.Va., St. Albans) set a personal best in the 1,000m Run, taking third with a time of 2:41.98. Classmate Cody Strahler (Waterford, Waterford) also set a season's best time in the event and placed fifth after running a time of 2:45.95.

Sophomore James Vogt (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) set a personal best in all three of his events on the day. Vogt placed sixth in the 55m Hurdles after running a time of 8.52 seconds. He then took eighth in the Long Jump with a mark of 6.44m (21-01.50) and seventh in the Triple Jump with a leap of 12.84m (42-01.50).

Four of Marietta's male throwers set personal records on Saturday. Freshman Gaston Hayes (Cleveland, Rhodes) beat his previous best mark in the Weight Throw by more than two meters with a third place toss of 14.57m (47-10.00). Classmate Brandon Ferguson (Canton, St. Thomas Aquinas) also set a personal record in the Weight Throw with a toss of 12.76m (41-10.50), which placed him seventh overall. Seniors Derek Carpenter (Belpre, Belpre) and Chad Byers (New Matamoras, River) then set new personal bests in the Shot Put. Carpenter finished fifth with a mark of 14.52m (47-07.75), while Byers took sixth with a mark of 13.87m (45-06.25).

An official list of OAC Championship participants will be posted online Thursday (Feb. 25) morning. Action begins Friday with the Men's Pole Vault, Women's Long Jump and Men's High Jump at 1:30 p.m. [Complete Schedule of Events]. The Championship will wrap up following the Men's 4x400m Relay, which is slated for Saturday at 5:05 p.m.