ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The opening day of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships was marred by a pair of lightning delays, altering the competition schedule for the Oregon Tech men's competitors.
 
Eli Stevens completed Day 1 of the decathlon, halted by 90 minutes at one point midway through the high jump competition, entering Thursday in 12th-place with 3,403 points.
 
Nolan Sieben finished 23rd in the javelin, while Braedan Doherty was minutes from taking the track for the 3,000-meter steeplechase, before the final delay halted competition for the remainder of the night.
 
Stevens grinded through the day – recording the fourth-fastest 100-meter (11.18) and 400-meter (49.80) times – but needed his third and final attempt in each of the three field events to continue in the competition. The senior posted a long jump of 5.97 meters (19 feet, 7 inches) in his final attempt, the same with his 11.21 meter (36-9 ½) mark in the shot put. He cleared three-consecutive heights in the high jump – the last at 1.79 meters (5-10 ½) – on his final attempt.
 
Sieben, making his national meet debut, launched the javelin 55.08 meters (180-8) in his second attempt – needing to surpass 60.07 meters to advance to the finals.
 
Doherty will have to wait until 10:15 a.m. (PDT) on Thursday for his preliminary heat of the steeplechase.
 
Competition for the Owls begins at 8 a.m. (PDT), as Stevens will race in the 110-meter hurdles to open Day 2 of the decathlon.