Williamsburg, KY – UC's men's track & field team began their 2024-25 campaign at three different meets on Friday, including the Indiana Tech Warrior Open, the GVSU Holiday Open, and the Liberty Kickoff. The reigning national champs hit five national standards, three of which were "A" cuts, and broke a program record as well.
 
The men dominated the 3K racewalk at the Warrior Open as Cole Bennett and Dillan Melchiore walked away with first and second place and a pair of national "A" standards. Bennett had a stellar race, breaking the program record in his first appearance on the track this season, clocking a 12:47.20 finish. Melchiore, the indoor 3K RW national champ last season, crossed the finish line in 13:47.07 for second place.
 
The GVSU Holiday Open saw three NAIA standards hit, led by Luca Madeo who began his indoor season with an "A" standard 5K time of 14:15.05 for third place, just a second away from the top finisher. Noah McClellan opened his season with an impressive time of 14:47.03 for fourth in the fourth heat, just three hundredths of a second away from the "B" standard. Noah Loeser also ran the 5K for UC on Friday, clocking a 15:02.44 finish.
 
Roderick Soto began his Patriots career with a "B" cut in the 400m dash. The transfer senior crossed the finish in 48.52 for fourth overall. Hauke Trost also notched a "B" cut on Friday running in the mile where he ran a 4:12.88 for fourth place. Victor Carpeggiani followed his teammate down the home stretch with a 4:15.22 finish while Ryan Ehrler rounded out UC's competitors at GVSU with a 4:22.11 mile time for 18^th.
 
The Liberty Kickoff featured four Patriots who entered the heptathlon. Nigel Steenwinkel led the way with an eighth-place finish after scoring 5065 points, ranking first in the NAIA this season. Jelle Golbach made his first appearance for Cumberlands this weekend and put together a solid 4554 points over his seven events. Group B also saw a pair of Patriots in the top-11, as Seth Massie scored 4539 points in his first collegiate track meet. He was followed by Alvaro Legaz who finished the meet with 4283 points, respectively.
 
Cumberlands will be back in action tomorrow as they compete at the Commonwealth Opener in Louisville, KY.
 
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