ABILENE, Texas - McMurry University picked up a crucial 20 points in the pole vault and overtook Texas Lutheran University to defend its SCAC Men's Track and Field Championship title Sunday afternoon on the campus of McMurry. Official Website | Sunday Results | Full Meet Results | Event Photos | Awards Photos
After winning the 4x400 relay, Texas Lutheran held a slim lead with the pole vault yet to be decided. But the War Hawks earned first, third and fifth places in the meet's last event to finish and walked away with the conference hardware with a narrow, 152 to 145, victory over the Bulldogs. Colorado College was third with 134 points.
McMurry sophomore Kamryn Cleveland earned SCAC Male Athlete of the Meet honors for the second consecutive year, taking first place in the 200 meters and the long jump, second place in the 100 meters and 110 meter hurdles and eighth place in the triple jump for 37.25 points. He was also a part of the 4x100 relay that finished eighth.
After the dust had settled on the weekend, five conference records were established over the course of the weekend on the men's side, including both relays. Colorado College held a slight lead in total medals with 15, followed by McMurry with 14 and TLU with 10. McMurry led in gold medals with seven.
FINAL STANDINGS
1. McMurry - 152
2. Texas Lutheran - 145
3. Colorado College - 134
4. LeTourneau - 110.50
5. St. Thomas - 71
6. Schreiner - 63.50
7. Hendrix - 56
8. Concordia (Texas) - 23
9. Centenary - 15
10. Ozarks - 8
11. Dallas - 0
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Opening Sunday's final day of competition, St. Thomas freshman Elijah Emerson (watch post race interview) snapped Colorado College's three-year stranglehold on the 5,000 meters top podium spot, crossing the finish line first with a winning time of 15:24.42. CC runners earned silver and bronze as senior Axel Klomparens and sophomore Vincent Mangat finished in times of 15:32.31 and 15:39.38, respectively.
- In the field, the men's discus was won by sophomore Kelvin Goston of McMurry (watch post event interview), who earned top honors with a heave of 161' 2" (49.13 meters). Junior Calvin Mason of LeTourneau, who finished third in the event a year ago, had a best toss of 153' 8" (46.84 meters) to take second, and junior Tristian Johnson of Hendrix was third with a throw of 140' 4" (42.79 meters).
- In the last field event, senior Leroy Burke of McMurry (watch post event interview) earned gold with a clearance of 14' 10 3/4" (4.54 meters) after settling for silver a year ago. First-year Andrew Cockrill of LeTourneau finished second with a height of 14' 6 3/4" (4.44 meters) and junior Jordan Raschke of McMurry as third with a clearance of 14' 2 3/4" (4.34 meters).
- Back to the track, the 4x100 relay kicked off the late morning action and the Texas Lutheran foursome of senior Rickey Franks, sophomore Eden Perez, first-year Tavion Parish and sophomore Hezekiah McDow (watch post race interview) blazed to a finish of 40.80, tying the conference meet record set by McMurry a year ago. Schreiner was second in a time of 41.03 and Colorado College finished third in 41.19. All three times are currently ranked in the top 25 in the nation within Division III.
- Colorado College senior Rabbit Barnes (watch post race interview) earned his fourth straight conference meet win in the 1,500 meters, taking top honors this year with a finish of 4:00.87. The win makes him just the second man in SCAC history to win four 1,500 meter titles in a career (following Chass Armstrong of Trinity, who won four straight from 2007 to 2010). Finishing 2-3 were his CC teammates - sophomore Matt Wells (4:00.98) and junior Mack Levy (4:01.33).
- First-year Tremion Bryant of McMurry (watch post race interview) took top honors in the 110-meter hurdles and posted the third-fastest time in SCAC meet history with his 14.73 finish. Bryant's teammate, sophomore Kamryn Cleveland, who finished third last year, took second with a 14.76 finish. First-year Cam Grimaldo of St. Thomas took third with a 14.84 clocking.
- The Texas Lutheran men finished 1-2-3 in the 400 meters, the first program to sweep the awards podium in the event since the TLU program did so at the 2018 championships. Sophomore Braylen Brown (watch post race interview) defended his title and earned gold in a finishing time of 47.35 - the third-fastest time in SCAC championships history. Teammates and fellow sophomores Caden Keller and Gavino Ramirez crossed the line in times of 48.16 and 48.35, respectively.
- Junior Westin Bruce of Hendrix (watch post race interview) took over the "fastest man in the SCAC" title, earning top honors in the 100 meters with a finish of 10.45 - the second fastest time in league history. Sophomore Kamryn Cleveland of McMurry finished second for the second consecutive year - breaking the tape this year in 10.48. Senior Justin Britton of Schreiner was third in a time of 10.62 - becoming the first Mountaineer to medal in the race in program history.
- A year after finishing in third in the event, junior Sean Dansby (watch post race interview) made history for Schreiner, earning gold in the 800 meters with a finishing time of 1:52.47 (the fourth fastest time in SCAC championship meet history). Dansby is the first Schreiner student-athlete - male or female - to win gold at the SCAC meet. Colorado College senior Rabbit Barnes, the two-time defending champion in the event, had to settle for silver on Sunday, breaking the tape at 1:53.67. Senior Owen Lien of Hendrix finished third in 1:54.86.
- In the 400 hurdles, first-year Cam Grimaldo of St. Thomas (watch post race interview) took top honors with a finish of 54.66 and his teammate, sophomore Joshua Martinez, was second in 55.56. Defending champion Rickey Franks of Texas Lutheran finished third in 56.07.
- Sophomore Kamryn Cleveland of McMurry (watch post race interview) put the finishing touches on his dominating SCAC meet, taking top honors in the 200 meter dash with a winning time of 20.91. He set the SCAC championship meet record on Saturday when he ran a 20.87 in prelims. Senior Xavier Tellez of Schreiner was second with a time of 21.23, and junior Westin Bruce of Hendrix placed third with a time of 21.25.
- In the final event of the men's program, the 4x400 relay, Texas Lutheran's quartet of sophomore runners - Braylen Brown, Eden Perez, Gavino Ramirez and Caden Keller (watch post race interview) - paced a smoking fast field to the line, hitting the tape first in a SCAC record time of 3:13.77. The previous mark had been set by the exact same foursome (3:14.68) at last year's championship. McMurry finished second in 3:15.61 and Schreiner rounded out the all-SCAC teams with a third place finish in 3:20.31.
