CENTRAL, S.C.— The Montreat men's track and field team performed admirably on Friday and Saturday at the Gotta Run Invite, hosted by Southern Wesleyan University, in Central, S.C. Showing off a mix of their program's talent and depth, the Cavaliers seized two first-place results, a national standard and eight top-five finishes.
Micah Matheson started the weekend with a stellar showing in Friday's pole vault. The Germantown, Ohio native soared over the bar at 4.50m, beating out NCAA and NAIA competitors alike to claim the top mark on Friday. Matheson's teammate,
Edward McClellan, also bagged a top-five finish by clearing 3.80m to place fourth.
On Saturday,
JaJa Davis proved once again why he's one of Montreat's top field athletes. Davis not only took home first place in the shot put, but his heave of 16.47m easily hit the NAIA "A" standard. The Virginia Beach, Va. native also registered a runner-up finish in the discus with a 42.70m throw.
Hank Yelton earned a pair of top-five finishes Saturday afternoon, both in hurdles events. In the 110m hurdles, the Morganton, N.C. native crossed the finish line with the day's fourth-fastest time (15.50 seconds). Then, in the 400m hurdles, Yelton ran to a second-place finish with a time of 56.41.
Gabriel Ray and
Caleb Potter secured Montreat's final two top-five results from the weekend. Ray competed in Saturday afternoon's triple jump, bounding 13.37m to place fourth. Meanwhile, Potter finished fifth in the 3,000m with his 9:12.43 showing.
"The coaching staff was really pleased with the overall effort this weekend," said
Jason Lewkowicz, the Director of Cross Country/Track & Field at Montreat College. "We were able to see some forward progress and get in some work that will prepare us for the primary part of the season. This team is putting in the work and doing the little things required to see consistent growth. We're grateful to God for another opportunity to represent Montreat."
For a list of full results from the Gotta Run Invite, click
here.
"We also competed with heavy hearts as we mourn the loss of Milligan's Eli Cramer," Lewkowicz added. "Our thoughts were with them this weekend, and we did our best to honor the memory of Eli, who was a talented and fierce competitor."
The Montreat men's track and field team splits up next weekend to compete at two different meets: the Flames Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn. and the LR Bears Invitational in Hickory, N.C. Both meets are scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday.
