BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— The Montreat men's track & field team defended its back-to-back conference championships as the Cavaliers hosted the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Pulliam Stadium on Friday and Saturday. Thanks to five individual conference titles and 15 all-conference performances, Montreat claimed its third-straight outdoor team championship, besting 12 other schools to end first.
 
Dustin Blevins claimed the first all-conference honor of the meet due to his second-place finish in the long jump. Blevins notched an NAIA "B" standard with a leap of 7.16m, while Jonathan Pehot (5^th; 6.87m) and Gregory Curry II (6^th; 6.77m) also scored for the team in the event.
 
Two more athletes collected all-conference awards in the field as Edward McClellan and Curry II both finished their respective events in third place. McClellan earned his conference honor in the pole vault (4.00m) and Curry II captured his in the high jump (1.90m). Davis Nicol (4^th; 4.00m) and Caleb Wells (5^th; 3.90m) joined McClellan in the scoring for the pole vault.
 
The initial conference championship of the meet was tallied by the 4x100m relay team as the foursome of Aaron Hall, RJ Terry, Shariq Dodd and Blevins scored 10 points and won the sprint with a time of 41.06, good enough for an NAIA "A" standard. Dylan Branch added another individual championship to the list by registering a victory in the 1500m. Branch led four Cavaliers in the event as the Avon Park, Fla. native ran to an NAIA "B" standard time of 3:54.72 in the field of 20. Ruchen Blaauw (2^nd; 3:55.67) followed his teammate to record an all-conference effort, and Chris Upton (6^th; 3:59.89) sealed team points for the Cavs in the event.
 
A trio of other Montreat athletes ended in the top three of their competitions on the first day of action, earning conference recognition. Caleb Wright (2^nd; 31:46.19) concluded with the highest Cavalier result in the 10,000m run, while Ethan Stamey (3^rd; 32:12.68) finished closely behind Wright. Meanwhile, in the 100m dash, Blevins received his third all-conference performance by crossing third (10.57) with an NAIA "B" standard.
 
On the first day of action, seven additional showings garnered points for the Cavaliers, who amassed 107 total team points. Twenty-one scorers over several events resulted in a 20-point lead over second-place Milligan (87 points) through Friday's action.
 
The Cavs started Saturday strong with a pair of conference championships. First, Matthew Smith collected the individual title in the decathlon, edging out teammate Ricardo Madan by 17 points (3,886 points to 3,869 points). Both Montreat athletes were named all-conference due to their top-3 finishes. Wyatt Wilson defended his championship in the men's 5,000m race walk by crossing in 27:59.28, while Aden Greene (7^th; 39:21.23) also scored in the event.
 
Later in the day, Blaauw notched an important individual title, finishing the 800m with the fastest time (1:53.20). Branch followed his fellow Cavalier with a second-place performance (1:53.26) to earn another conference accolade as Montreat closed in on its 3-peat.
 
Blevins tallied his second runner-up showing of the meet by jumping 14.71m in the triple jump competition, hitting an NAIA "A" standard in the process. Curry II ended in fourth to add five team points with a leap of 13.16m.
 
A trio of Cavs scored in the 5,000m with Wright (4^th; 15:11.37) leading the charge. Meanwhile, three other performances earned points for the Cavaliers as the hosts secured yet another championship down the stretch.
 
"It was a very special weekend for the whole program. So often success comes in parts and pieces, but when there's success in the whole, it's a really special day," said head coach Jacob Simms. "This certainly speaks to a year-long effort by our staff putting in good work and training. The future is bright for this program and these individuals. We're especially grateful for our folks graduating here soon and all that they've done to support and build up the program to where we're able to do this."
 
In the end, Montreat totaled 190 team points, 21 ahead of Milligan (169), with 35 scoring contributions. The Cavs collected 70 points in distance events, their most in any category, while claiming 49 points in jumps as well. For the results during the conference meet, the Montreat coaching staff headed by Director of Cross Country/Track & Field, Jason Lewkowicz, and Coach Simms, won the AAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year award.
 
For full results from the AAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, click here.
 
Men's track & field now travels to two last chance meets on May 12 and 13: the Lee Last Chance Meet in Cleveland, Tenn. and the UMO Last Chance Meet in Mount Olive, N.C.