Wilmore, K.Y. – For the second year in a row, Malone University took home the NCCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championship, scoring 145 points to take home the blue banner on Friday, May 8. The Pioneers took first place in the 1500-meter run, pole vault, 4x800 meter relay, and 5000-meter run, second place in the 3000-meter steeplechase, 1500-meter run, 5000-meter run, shot put and 4x400 meter relay, and third place in the 400-meter dash, 3000-meter steeplechase, discus, 200-meter dash, and 800-meter run.
 
Malone becomes the fifth different school to win back-to-back NCCAA Men’s Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in the last eleven years. Campbellsville University (2023, 2024), Grace College (2021, 2022), Bethel University (2018, 2019), Oklahoma Baptist University (2016, 2017), and Shorter University (2014, 2015) all won back-to-back men's outdoor track & field national championships in that time frame.
 
Bethel University finished second with 101 points, while Campbellsville University finished third with 93 points.
 
Charles Jones of Sterling College was named men’s field athlete of the meet for the second year in a row, while Lamarr Williams of Bethel was named men’s track athlete of the meet. A full list of award winners and All-Americans can be found here.
 
TRACK HIGHLIGHTS

• After just missing out on an All-American spot in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday, Malone University’s Hayden Schmidt beat out his teammate Caden LaRue to claim top spot in the 5,0000 meter run to open Friday’s competition, beating out his Pioneer pal with a time of 15:18.60. LaRue just beat out Grace College’s John Young with a time of 15:19.13, holding on for second over Young who earned third place with a time of 15:19.33. Five of the top eight runners in the event were from Malone, earning the Pioneers 24 points.
• The top three in the 3000-meter steeplechase all finished the race in under 10 minutes, with Martin Batel of Campbellsville University winning the gold medal, avenging last year’s loss to Malone’s Yahya Jawadi in the event with a time of 9:36.81. Jawadi earned All-American honors in the race for the second year in a row with a time of 9:43.50, while his teammate Wyatt Royster finished third with a time of 9:51.21.
• The Bethel University 4x100 meter relay team of Mark Brissau, Joshua Harmon, James Gill and Lamarr Williams would not be denied the gold medal, as the Pilot quartet sailed to the event win with a time of 41.00 seconds, beating out the Greenville University quartet of Neko Gibson, Noel Andino, Gavin Baldwin and Tyjaire Kellum, who earned silver with a time of 41.59 seconds. The Wayland Baptist University team of Brandon Brown, Daeandre Harris, Anthony Willis and Case Drum also finished the race in under 42 seconds, finishing third with a time of 41.82 seconds.
• Brady Hunsberger blazed down the track in the 1500-meter run for Grace, as he was the lone competitor to finish in under four minutes, winning the gold medal with his time of 3:59.63. Hunsberger’s fellow Lancer Hunter Quadlin finished second with a time of 4:02.55, a new personal best, while Campbellsville’s Nathan Sury picked up a third-place finish.
• After taking first in the prelims yesterday, Mouhamed Pouye earned the gold medal for Campbellsville in the 110-meter hurdles, winning the event with a time of 15.03 seconds. His teammate Schavon Carr picked up his second straight All-American honor in the event with a second-place finish at 15.21 seconds, beating out Grace’s Michael Muiruri who finished third with a time of 15.34 seconds.
• In an instant classic, William Stark of Bob Jones University just beat out Manny Dut of Asbury University to earn gold in the 400-meter run, as Stark took the gold medal with a run of 48.48 seconds, beating the defending champion Dut by just 0.01 seconds. Malone’s Bryant Thompson finished third with a time of 48.61 seconds. 
• After taking the prelims yesterday, Bethel’s Lamarr Williams took home gold in the 100-meter run for the second year in a row, winning the race with a time of 10.48 seconds, the tenth fastest mark in NCCAA history. Ty Kellum from Greenville finished behind him at 10.54 seconds, while Williams’ Bethel teammate Gill took his second medal of the day, placing third in the race at 10.67 seconds.
• Hunsberger earned his second gold medal of the day and his second straight gold medal in the 800-meter run, winning the race for Grace with a time of 1:54.65. Hunsberger just beat out Crown College’s Caden Swoboda, who finished second with a time of 1:55.42. Twining took home his second All-American spot of the week, finishing third by just 0.17 seconds over Kyle Robinson of Grace to win third at 1:56.60.
• Misha Gray earned the second gold medal of the day for Bob Jones, winning the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.44 seconds, just beating out Luke Mansfield of Grace who finished second at 55.70 seconds. In a tight battle for third, Jamarion Cobbins of Greenville took third over Gavin Hunter of Lancaster Bible College by just 0.08 seconds with a time of 56.02 seconds.
• Williams took home his second gold medal of the day for Bethel, just missing out on a top-20 NCCAA time in the 200-meter run, winning the race with a time of 21.31 seconds. The sophomore beat out his freshman teammate Gill, who finished in second at 21.55 seconds, while Malone’s Phil Stupka.
• In the final event of the day, the Wayland Baptist crew of Austin Reeves, Drum, Harris, and Jesus Zubia picked up the win in the 4x400 meter relay, knocking off the team of Twining, Holland, Dehmer and Thompson from Malone with a time of 3:18.82, winning by just under one second.

FIELD HIGHLIGHTS

• Caden McClure rolled to gold in the pole vault for Malone University, clearing 4.60 meters, a mark 0.15 meters higher than the next closest competitor. Fadi Zayani of Campbellsville University and Joey Rutten of Bethel University both cleared 4.45 meters, but Zayani did so on his first attempt to clinch silver for the Tigers.
• For the fourth year in a row, Logan Trupiano of Hannibal-LaGrange University earned All-American honors in the hammer throw, winning the gold medal for the second year in a row with a toss of 55.13 meters. That mark is the 12^th best in NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship history. Trupiano won the event by over three meters, as Blake Robertson of Sterling College earned his second medal of the weekend, finishing in the silver medal slot with a toss of 52.04 meters. Cameron Montgomery of Columbia International University just edged out his teammate Dante Shuler for third with a toss of 51.97 meters.
• Charles Jones earned his second gold medal and third medal overall for the week, as the Sterling student-athlete won the triple jump with a jump of 14.00 meters. Jacob Burton just missed on setting a new personal best, as the College of the Ozarks competitor finished second with a distance of 13.59 meters. Columbia International’s Donavan Latimer finished third with a jump of 13.48 meters to round out the top three.
• For the fifth year in a row, Columbia International took home the title in shot put, as Montgomery won the event with a toss of 17.00 meters, beating out Gavin Tribelo from Malone who finished second with a throw of 16.48 meters as both men earned a pair of All-American honors. 

Full results from the 2026 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 one national invitational for 88 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.