HICKORY, N.C.— The Montreat men's track and field team kept itself busy over the weekend by competing at three different meets across the region from Thursday through Saturday. The Cavaliers had athletes breaking school records, hitting national standards and winning events at the Duke Invitational in Durham, N.C., the Flames Invitational in Cleveland, Tenn. and the LR Bears Invitational in Hickory, N.C.
 
Hank Yelton and Micah Matheson were the two Cavaliers who made the trip to Duke University on Thursday and Friday. Yelton impressed across the two days in the decathlon, finishing fifth while competing against NCAA Division I athletes. The Morganton, N.C. native racked up 6,204 points in the decathlon, hitting the NAIA standard while also breaking the previous school record by 454 points.
 
Meanwhile, Matheson delivered in Group B of the men's pole vault. Against eight NCAA Division I competitors, the Germantown, Ohio native skied to a third-place performance of 4.60m.
 
On Friday, Ethan Stamey and William Hamilton ran the 5,000m faster than any other Cavalier in program history. The Montreat duo placed 45^th and 53^rd, respectively, at the Flames Invitational hosted by Lee University. Hamilton beat Montreat's previous-best men's 5,000m time with his 15:07.92 performance, while Stamey crushed the record by 6.77 seconds, running the 5k in 15:01.42.
 
The majority of Montreat men's track and field athletes made their way to Hickory, N.C. for the LR Bears Invitational. On Friday, that meant an NAIA "A" standard showing, two first-place results and a trio of additional podium finishes.
 
Dustin Blevins, who is no stranger to recording top-level marks, added to his impressive resume with another NAIA "A" standard in the long jump. The King, N.C. native jumped 7.49m to register the national mark, taking home first place in the process. Daniel O'Dell seized the other first-place finish on Friday, running the 5,000m in 15:35.91.
 
Edward McClellan and Davian Willis-Howard racked up third-place performances across three events Friday afternoon. McClellan recorded two of those results, soaring 3.75m in the pole vault before throwing his implement 43.34m in the javelin. Meanwhile, Willis-Howard bounded through the 400m hurdles in just 59.15 seconds.
 
On Saturday, the Cavaliers added two more national standards and a first-place mark at the LR Bears Invitational. JaJa Davis led the way with his triumph in the shot put, utilizing an NAIA "B" standard throw of 15.51m to take home first in the event. Blevins also hit a standard on Saturday, this time registering an NAIA "B" standard mark of 14.54m in the triple jump. The 14.54m effort fell just 0.01m shy of the NAIA "A" standard, but it was good enough for second place on Saturday.
 
Willis-Howard followed up his 400m hurdles third-place outing with a second-place finish on Saturday. Competing in the 110m hurdles, the Whiteville, N.C. native sprinted to a 16.12-second runner-up showing.
 
Like Friday, two other Cavaliers combined for a trio of third-place results on Saturday. Travion Smith bagged a pair of podium finishes, sprinting 11.36 seconds in the 100m and 22.40 seconds in the 200m. Brady Roth joined his teammate with a third-place effort of 40.06m in the hammer throw.
 
For a list of results from the Duke Invitational, click here. For a list of results from the Flames Invitational, click here. For a list of results from the LR Bears Invitational, click here.
 
The Montreat men's track and field team continues its preparation for the conference meet by competing next Saturday at the University of South Carolina's Gamecock Invitational.