BIRMINGHAM, AL – The Patriots competed across three meets on Saturday and delivered one of their strongest days of the indoor season, highlighted by multiple NAIA A standards and five Top-10 times in the NAIA this season.

The top performance of the day came in the race walk at the Camel City Invite. Tomas Mencel led the way by winning the event in 12:25.04, which currently stands as the fastest time in the NAIA. Lucien Beardsley followed closely with a time of 12:34.56, the fifth-fastest mark nationally, while Dillan Melchiore completed the sweep of A standards by running 13:20.57, ranking seventh in the NAIA. The trio combined for one of the most dominant single-event performances by the Patriots this season.
 
UC also showed their dominance at the UAB Green and Gold Invite, where Tavon Davis won the 400 meters with a time of 47.26 to earn the NAIA A standard. His mark ranks as the second-fastest time in the NAIA this season and stood as one of the premier performances across all three sites. Davis' effort headlined a strong sprint showing for UC, as Jermaine Thompson added a 51.29 performance and Aarontae Wesley crossed the line in 54.68.
 
The Patriots added another national qualifying mark in the relays at the Camel City Invite as the 4x800-meter relay of Hugo Massa, Caden Cull, Jarod Mahe, and Victor Carpeggiani ran a flat time of 7:43.38, which converts to a 7:36.85 to hit the A standard by over seven seconds. This mark ranks fifth in the NAIA this season.
 
Back at UAB, the sprint group was active early in the 60 meters. Aarontae Wesley led UC in the prelims with a time of 6.96, followed by Jermaine Thompson at 7.03 and Lebron Williams at 7.04. In the 200 meters, Noah Kincade ran 22.17 to represent the Patriots.
 
UC also added depth in the hurdles and field events. Mark Lawin competed in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.14 before delivering a standout performance in the pole vault, where he cleared 4.50 meters to place third overall. Zach Lawson followed with a clearance of 4.25 meters. Lawin also contributed in the throws by recording a shot put mark of 13.62 meters.
 
The Pats will be back tomorrow for their second day in Birmingham.
 
For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on X - @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, YouTube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.