ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The University of the Cumberlands men's track & field team is set to compete at the 74th Annual NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championships next week at Karl Straus Track in Asheville, North Carolina. The Pats enter the national meet with qualifiers across the sprints, distance events, racewalk, relays, and multis, including multiple athletes ranked among the top performers in the NAIA this season as they look to make a run at the red banner.
 
UC enters nationals with the top-ranked 4x400-meter relay in the NAIA after posting a school-record time of 3:07.69. The lineup of Willy Mabena, Zion Pruitt, Roy Miller, and Tavon Davis produced the mark earlier this season, as the Patriots look to defend their outdoor national title in the event from a season ago.
 
Individually, Davis headlines the Patriots after earning the top seed in the 400 meters with another program record time of 45.67. Davis enters nationals after winning the NAIA Indoor national title in the 600 meters earlier this season. Roy Miller also qualified in the event and enters as the 16th seed with a mark of 47.19.
 
The 5000-meter racewalk will be a vital event for UC's team success with four entries that all have the capability to score points. Lucien Beardsley enters nationals as the top seed with a season-best 20:17.91 after earning All-America honors during the indoor season. Cole Bennett follows as the second seed at 20:18.01 and enters nationals as a two-time All-American in the racewalk. Dillan Melchiore enters sixth overall with a time of 21:24.86 and is a three-time All-American and former national champion in the racewalk while Tomas Mencel also qualified and enters seventh with a mark of 21:25.12 after placing top-three indoor this year.
 
Luca Madeo will lead the way in the 10,000 meters, where he enters the national meet as the second seed with a time of 29:46.32. Madeo claimed the 10K crown outdoors last season and has won back-to-back indoor 5K titles the last two years as well.
 
The 5000 meters will feature a pair of Patriots ranked among the top competitors in the NAIA. Madeo enters as the fifth seed after posting a season-best 14:06.83, while Ishak Mekideche also qualified and enters seventh overall with a mark of 14:21.08.
 
The decathlon features a pair of potential All-Americans. Mark Lawin enters nationals ranked third overall with 7,051 points after earning All-America honors during the indoor season in the heptathlon. Seth Massie also qualified and enters ninth with 6,464 points looking for the first AA of his career.
 
The Patriots also qualified the 4x100-meter relay, entering the national meet ranked fifth overall with a season-best time of 40.09. Jordan Afolayan, Willy Mabena, Edwin Van Wyk, and Aarontae Wesley combined for the qualifying mark. Mabena will also represent UC in the 200 meters, entering the national meet ranked sixth overall with a season-best time of 20.94.
 
UC are heavily represented in the 1500 meters with three national qualifiers. Ishak Mekideche enters as the fifth seed after running 3:47.88 this season, while Ryan Ehrler follows as the sixth seed at 3:48.60. Niklas Scherb also qualified and enters as the 17th seed with a mark of 3:52.55.
 
Cumberlands' 4x800-meter relay also qualified for nationals and enters as the 15th seed with a season-best time of 7:38.43. The open 800 will see Hugo Massa as the long Patriot representative, where he enters as the 19th seed with a time of 1:51.66.
 
Distance events continue with Cuauhtemoc Fitiao qualifying in the 3000-meter steeplechase, entering as the 28th seed with a time of 9:22.24.
 
Competition at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships begins Wednesday, May 20 and runs through Friday, May 22 with live results available here, and live video here.
 
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