Williamsburg, KY – After finding success throughout the outdoor season, the men's track & field team will send 12 athletes to the NAIA Outdoor National Championship meet this week. The Patriots will compete in multiple individual and relay events at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, AL.
 
Two Patriots will compete in the 5k racewalk this week. Carson Johnson and Nicolas Cecioni are no stranger to the national meet as they both qualified during outdoor last season, and indoor this year. Johnson, a multi-time All-American, hit a national "A" standard in every race this season. He posted his fastest time of the year at the MSC Championship's where he finished in 22:23.62. Cecioni had his career best performance in this race as well, with a "B" standard of 25:25.38.
 
UC has two relay teams that qualified for nationals this year. The 4x100 team hit an "A" standard and earned the Mid-South Conference title after a 41.25 time. Tyrell Floyd, Ryan Long, Ken Cobb, and Leonardo Daley combined for this title-worthy effort. Matthew Chavers has also competed in this relay multiple times this year, and will make the trip to Alabama with the team. The squad has a mixture of experience as Cobb, Chavers, and Daley have attended nationals before. Floyd and Long are set to compete at the national level for the first time of their careers. Leo Daley also qualified in the 110m hurdles this season. The sophomore ran a PR time of 14.43 at this year's Mid-South Conference meet.
 
The 4x400 relay team also had a great MSC Championship meet as they paced a 3:17.12 finish to earn a spot at the national championships. DeMarquez Brown, Deshawn Crowe, Justin Fabela, and Miguel Reis make up the four legs of this relay and look to put together an even better performance at nationals. Reis will also race in the 400m dash in Gulf Shores. The senior ran a 48.27 career best at the MSC Championships to solidify his trip to NAIA nationals.
 
Tristan Petrey will be the lone field athlete competing for the Pats this week. Petrey cleared the bar at a height of 4.71m at the Electric City Invite earlier this year, a national "B" standard performance. The sophomore attended the national championship meet in 2021 in the pole vault event as well.
 
The NAIA Outdoor track & Field National Championships are slated to begin Wednesday May 25^th and go until Friday the 27^th.
 
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