WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.— The Montreat men's indoor track & field team competed at high levels on Thursday and Friday at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships in Winston-Salem, N.C. As a team, the Cavaliers placed second in the conference, racking up four individual titles, 15 All-AAC honors and a Field Athlete of the Year award.
 
While the Cavaliers saw their four-year AAC team title streak come to an end, they ultimately finished with 181 points, just six points off conference-champion Milligan.
 
The festivities kicked off on Thursday evening with some big-time Montreat results. Dustin Blevins, whose name was in the headlines on several occasions during the meet, helped get things started with fireworks. The King, N.C. native delivered a near career-best performance in the triple jump, leaping to a mark of 14.76m and an individual conference title. While Blevins' first-place distance fell .01m shy of his Cavalier record, Blevins still had plenty of other things to smile about. Not only did Blevins' mark easily hit the NAIA "A" standard, but also it set an AAC meet record.
 
Of course, the triple jump wasn't the only individual conference championship Blevins won. On Friday, Blevins earned first place with his 7.39m mark in the long jump. And, as was the case in the triple jump, his mark cleared the NAIA "A" standard and set a new AAC meet record. Those two outstanding performances over two days earned Blevins the well-deserved honor of AAC Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year.
 
Montreat had three other athletes earn All-AAC distinctions for their efforts on Thursday night. In the 1000m, Dylan Branch crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 2:29.81. Branch cleared the NAIA "A" standard after narrowly missing the "B" standard a week prior. He also set the Montreat converted time record at 2:27.77. Branch's teammate, Caleb Silver, wasn't far behind in the 1000m. Silver wrapped up his outing in 2:34.44, good for third.
 
Ethan Stamey, who recorded the other All-AAC effort on Thursday, ran in the 5000m, meeting or surpassing three markers as he concluded his race. Stamey placed third in the event, finishing in 15:02.88 to break the previous AAC meet record, break his own Montreat school record and hit the NAIA "A" standard.
 
While not earning All-AAC honors in a loaded 3000m field, Stamey also hit the NAIA "A" standard by finishing in 8:41.95. When converted from a flat track to a banked oversized track, Stamey's time also achieved a new Montreat converted time record of 8:35.95.
 
The Cavaliers ended Thursday night after seven scored events in second place, totaling 54 team points. Milligan led all teams with 68 points after day one.
 
Montreat continued to tally individual AAC titles as Friday's events commenced. Wyatt Wilson helped get things started in the 3000m race walk, taking first and setting a Montreat record by finishing in 16:48.93. Later, Hank Yelton gave the Cavs their fourth and final individual champion performance in the 60m hurdles. Yelton needed just 8.65 to cross the finish line and beat out the competition.
 
The All-AAC performances were plentiful on Friday, too. Like they did in the 1000m, Branch (1:57.74) and Silver (1:58.48) finished second and third, respectively, in the 800m. Branch also ran the one mile to the tune of a 4:20.52 time, good for third place. Meanwhile, Micah Matheson (4.55m) and Davis Nicol (4.05m) finished second and third on the pole vault leaderboard. Jordan Carlie closed out the individual All-AAC showings from Montreat, crossing the end line in the 200m in just 23.01 seconds.
 
Two Montreat relay teams hit All-AAC marks by finishing in the top three of their respective races. In the 4x400m relay, the quartet of Darrian Bonilla, Blevins, Carlie and Travion Smith ran to a second-place finish (3:30.05). In the 4x800 meter relay, the Cavaliers utilized efforts from Kane McMahon, Timothy Barham, Jacob Inman and Nathan Stamey to cross the finish line in 8:20.33 and finish third.
 
For the complete results from the conference championships, click here.
 
Individuals from the Montreat men's indoor track & field team who hit NAIA "A" or "B" standards throughout the season now turn their attention to the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Brookings, S.D. The three-day championship meet is scheduled for March 3-5.