Southern Oregon's Abi Stevens placed fourth in the heptathlon at the NAIA Outdoor Championships.

MARION, Ind. — Abi Stevens and Jenna Hodges spent Thursday climbing up the standings to make Southern Oregon the only school with a pair of top-10 placers in the women’s heptathlon, and Isaac Fernandez qualified for the men’s 5,000-meter final on Day 2 of the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Stevens, the sophomore from West Allis, Wisc., reeled in another All-America honor by placing fourth with 4,705 points, jumping three individuals over the final three disciplines of the 18-person competition.

Hodges, the senior from Wildomar, Calif., had the strongest meet of her career to finish ninth place with 4,391, marking a 126-point personal best. She placed 13th last year, had the No. 15 seed this year, and was in 17th place when the day started.

Stevens is now a seven-time All-American — one plaque away from matching Arianna Daniel for the second-most in SOU women’s history, which she can attain Friday as the No. 8 seed in the high jump. She’d taken seventh in the heptathlon last spring but improved on that standing thanks in large part to a 10-inch PR in one of her weakest disciplines, the javelin, with a mark of 109 feet, 10 inches. She was just 1.3 seconds off another PR in the 800-meter finale, placing second in the field with a time of 2 minutes, 24.05 seconds.

Hodges made up even more ground in the javelin with a 14-foot PR of 126-9, the third-best throw in the field. She completed the competition with two additional PRs, in the shot put and the 200. Her final score put her at No. 6 on SOU’s all-time performance list, where Stevens stands at No. 3.

Fernandez will be among 16 racers in Friday’s 5K final after recording the sixth-fastest qualifying time among a field of 34. The senior made a quick recovery after placing 13th in Wednesday night’s 10K, hitting the finish line in 14:49.22, less than three seconds off the fastest time of his career.

Andrew Mitchell, a day after finishing as the national runner-up in the javelin, placed 19th in the discus with a throw of 150-11. He entered the competition as the No. 23 seed.