Hardrath wins 5000, Warriors compete at Mt. Hood

March 8, 2008

Freshman Jason Hardrath brought home the first medal of the 2008 season via his victory in the 5,000 meter race Saturday at the Mt. Hood Invite. (Photo courtesy of Corey Wells, Corban Communications)

GRESHAM, Ore. – Freshman Jason Hardrath (Baker City, Ore.) captured the 5,000 meter race in a time of 16:55.00 to go along with senior Jill Nielsen's (Baker City, Ore.) second place showing in the women's 5,000 meter race, as Corban's men's and women's track teams competed at the Mt. Hood Invite Saturday.

For Hardrath, his victory in the 5,000 meter race was the first of his young collegiate career, while his time was a personal best. Fellow freshman Kevin Cook (Ashland, Ore.) finished a mere three seconds behind Hardrath en route to capturing third place in the 5,000 meter race.

Along with the freshman duo's performance in the 5,000 meter race, fellow freshman Nathan Moller (Vancouver, Wash.) ran in the 200 meter race and finished in a time of 26.00 seconds.

On the women's side, Nielsen turned in the Warriors' best performance of the afternoon with her personal best time of 19:20.55 en route to finishing as the runner-up in the 5,000 meter race.

Freshman Ali Ghavami (Keizer, Ore.) ran the Warriors' first race of the day -- the steeple chase -- and finished fourth in a time of 13:24.30. Fellow freshman Erin Laughlin (Ephrata, Wash.) ran the 400 meter race and finished ninth in a time of 1:05.32 before the freshman duo took part in the 4x400 meter race.

The Warriors' 4x400 team consisted of Ghavami, Laughlin, freshman Karissa Griggs (Athena, Ore.), and senior Sara Aikin (Lebanon, Ore.). The quartet finished third in a time of 4:36.00 to round out Corban's competition on Saturday.

Corban's track teams will run again on Friday, March 14th, and Saturday, March 15th, when the Warriors compete at the Mt. Hood Invite in Gresham. Friday's competition will be a 5,000 meter race under the lights beginning at 5:00 p.m., while Saturday's events will begin at 10:00 a.m.