Columbia, SC – For the first time since 2010, Malone University is crowned NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Champions, winning the 2025 national championship on Friday, May 9.
 
The Pioneers just beat out Campbellsville University with 113 points compared to 110 for the Tigers. Malone took first place in the 3000-meter steeplechase and 1500-meter run, second place in the 5000-meter run, 1500-meter run, and 800-meter run, and third place in the shot put, 
 
The men’s outstanding track athlete of the meet is Dominic Malel of Campbellsville, who took first place in the 5,000-meter run and the 10,000-meter run. The men’s outstanding field athlete of the meet is Charles Jones of Sterling College, who took home first place in the high jump and long jump and finished second in the triple jump.
 
Malone Director of Track & Field & Cross Country Zach Fresenko and his staff earned NCCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year honors. A full list of awards and All-Americans can be found here.
 
Track Highlights

• In an absolute battle in the 5,000-meter run, Dominic Malel of Campbellsville held off Hayden Schmidt of Malone University, winning the race with a time of 15:03.91, his second gold medal of the weekend. Schmidt finished with a time of 15:04.35, while Jaden Rodriguez of Mid-America Christian University finished third at 15:24.00, a new school record.
• Yahya Jawadi of Malone University set a new personal best and took home the gold medal in the 3000-meter steeplechase, winning the race with a time of 9:21.97. Martin Batel of Campbellsville finished second with a time of 9:25.00, while Carter Clear of Grace College set a new personal best with a time of 9:29.54.
• In a blazing fast 4x100 meter relay, the team of Zachary Phelps, Schavon Carr, Isaiah Johnson and Jason Baskerville of Campbellsville University just edged out Greenville University with a time of 41.20 seconds. Southwestern Christian University finished third with a time of 41.51 seconds.
• All three podium finishers in the 1500-meter run set personal bests in the event, as Xander Heil of Malone won the event at 3:54.63, while his teammate Jawadi took silver with a time of 3:58.42. Austin Carlson of Crown College finished third at 3:59.00.
• Carr was moving like his namesake in the 110-meter hurdles for Campbellsville, winning the race with a time of 14.31 seconds, the 11^th fastest time in NCCAA history. Ohio Christian University’s Evan Meisberger finished second with a personal best time of 15.22 seconds.
• A personal best from Manny Dut of Asbury University was enough for the freshman to clinch gold in the 400-meter run, winning the race with a time of 48.56 seconds. Andrew Heinrichs of York University also set a personal best with a third-place finish, running the race in 48.84 seconds.
• Lamarr Williams of Bethel almost reset the record books, winning the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.29 seconds. That mark was just 0.07 seconds from tying Blake Bartlett of Oklahoma Baptist’s NCCAA record set back in 2016, and is the second-fastest in NCCAA history.
• The top six in the 800-meter run recorded personal bests, with Brady Hunsberger from Grace winning the gold with a time of 1:52.51, the 14^th fastest time in NCCAA history. Tyler Twining from Malone finished second at 1:52.71, while Mohamed Zairi from Mid-America Christian finished third at 1:53.71.
• Evan Meisberger recorded a gold medal for Ohio Christian University, winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.28 seconds. Jeremiah Price of Jessup and Tony Lakotich set personal bests in their second and third place finishes, with Price finishing the race in 55.60 seconds, while Lakotich finished the race in 57.43 seconds.
• Williams once again picked up a gold medal for Bethel, this time in the 200-meter run with a time of 20.93 seconds. Miles from Jessup recorded another silver medal with a personal best time of 21.14 seconds, while Eric Burden from Paine College finished third with a personal best time of 21.26 seconds.
• The team of Harrington, Williams, Robinson, and Weatherly from Southwestern Christian University just beat out Greenville to take the top spot with a time of 3:15.64, beating out the 3:15.88 run by the Panthers. Both times were season bests. 

Field Highlights

• Deandre Leith from Columbia International University picked up another gold medal, this time in the shot put with a toss of 17.05 meters. That mark is the 11th best in NCCAA history and won the event by 1.56 meters.
• Columbia International’s Elijah Seawright just edged out Charles Jones of Sterling College to take home gold in the triple jump with a distance of 14.70 meters to 14.68. Greenville University’s Keenon Johnikin set a personal best with a third-place finish, jumping 13.96 meters to take the bronze medal.
• Logan Trupiano from Hannibal-LaGrange University rolled to an event win in the hammer throw, as his toss of 53.44 meters was a personal best, winning the event by almost five meters. The throw is also 19^th longest in NCCAA history.
• Joey Rutten captured the pole vault championship, as he was the only athlete to clear more than four meters, clearing 4.30 meters to win the gold medal.

Full results from the 2025 NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships can be found here. 
 
About the NCCAA
Established in 1968, the National Christian College Athletic Association uses intercollegiate athletics to further the Great Commission and is committed to equipping student-athletes and coaches to make a positive impact for Christ. The NCCAA currently holds 23 national championship events, along with two national invitationals for 92 member schools across 28 states and two Canadian provinces. For more information on the NCCAA, visit our website, thenccaa.org, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X, and Instagram at @thenccaa.