SPU's Chad Meis gets NCAA D II provisional qualifier at Oregon Relays...

EUGENE--Senior Chad Meis (left/photo courtesy Seattle Pacific University) won his section of the men’s steeplechase Friday with an NCAA provisional qualifying time while Kate Harline and Natty Plunkett improved their provisional marks on the first day of the Oregon Relays at historic Hayward Field.

Meis completed the 3,000-meter steeple course in 9-minutes, 15.13-seconds to shave over five seconds off the personal-best time he established last season. Friday’s mark is 11 seconds better than his previous season-best effort of 9:26.99 posted March 26 at Stanford.

He handily won the first section race, crossing the finish line over four seconds ahead of runner-up Alex Brekke of Idaho, whose time was 9:19.37.

Plunkett, a sophomore from Newport High School in Bellevue (Wash.), raced to a third-place time of 17:24.43 in the women’s 5,000 meters. That clipped nearly three seconds off her PR of 17:27.11 recorded at Stanford on March 26.

Senior Jane Larson (Fall City, Wash./Cedar Park Christian HS) raced in the higher profile evening session of the women’s 1,500, but barely edged Harline’s time. Larson finished 11th among the elite field with a time of 4:35.75, that was way off her personal-best pace of 4:23.05 that ranks No. 2 among Division II runners.

Results from Friday's action at the Oregon Relays can be accessed here.

Harline and Larson run again Saturday during the final day of the Oregon Relays. They join teammates Pixler and Lisa Anderberg in the women’s 800-meter race.

NOTE: Seattle Pacific University's sports information office contributed to this report.