GAINESVILLE, FL – The Patriots Men's Track and Field team earned their second straight NAIA Indoor National Runner-Up after scoring 52 points at the 2026 Indoor Championships. The final day of competition was highlighted by individual championships from Tavon Davis and Luca Madeo in the 600m and 5K events. 
 
Davis gave UC their first national champion of the meet, as he ran a 1:16.20 to score 10 points for the team. This breaks the school record that he set yesterday and was less than a tenth of a second off the NAIA National meet record.
 
Madeo defended his indoor 5k title from a season ago with a strong 14:13.24 finish to be crowned an individual champion. His performance gave him back-to-back championships in the indoor 5000m and scored 10 points for UC. 
 
 Noah Loser and Niklas Schreb also raced in the 5k finals, running times of 15:06.34 and 15:15.85 for 15th and 19th. 
 
The mile saw Ishak Mekideche finish fifth overall for NAIA All-American honors. The sophomore crossed the finish line in 4:09.83 for a top-five finish, and four more team points. He came back and ran the 3K later in the day, placing 20^th overall.
 
 UC's 1K duo of Hauke Trost and Ryan Ehrler added five points to the team score with a sexth and seventh place performance. Trost and Ehrler came neck and neck down the home stretch to finish in 2:26.32 and 2:26.54.
 
 UC's DMR earned All-American honors after a seventh place finish. Ehrler, Eddie van Wyk, Max Young, and Trost combined for a 10:04.07 to score two points for Cumberlands. 
 
The men's 4x400 completed the meet with the final All-American finish for UC, placing sixth in 3:13.42. Noah Kincade opened the race before passing the baton to Roy Miller. Jermaine Thompson took over the third leg before Davis finished the race with the fastest split to earn sixth overall. 

Marian University won the team title with 66 points. UC's 52 points earned second with Indiana Tech following in third with 42.5 points. William Carey and Voorhees rounded out the top five finishers with 42 and 31 points, respectively. 
 
The Pats will be back in competition next week as they host their Cumberlands Early Spring Meet to kick off outdoor competition.
 
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