GENEVA, OH – A second-place finish in the long jump helped Roseburg native and Lewis & Clark sophomore Noah Avery finish in 14th place after the first day of decathlon events at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships Thursday.

Avery scored 3,258 points on day one, 97 behind the top 10 and 353 points behind the leader. Avery entered the championships with the nation’s 19th-best point total, but is beating his ranking so far.

“I came in ranked No. 19 and I’m chipping away at that,” said Avery. When asked for his mindset for day two Avery replied “just keep at it. Knock off a couple more (spots).”

Day two of the event is scheduled to begin with the 110-meter hurdles at 7:30 a.m. Friday.

In other NCAA track & field news, Roseburg native and Oklahoma University freshman Gabby Kearney fell short of qualifying for the Division I Track & Field championships on Thursday. Kearney faulted on her first two javelin throws at the NCAA Track & Field West Preliminary in Austin, TX. Her third throw was good, but only reached a distance of 139-feet, 7-inches, which put Kearney in 34th place.

The mark was her shortest of the season and left Kearney outside the top 12 competitors, who now advance to the championships in Eugene in June 7-10.