ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The University of the Cumberlands men's track & field team captured the NAIA Outdoor National Championship on Friday at Karl Straus Track, securing the second outdoor national title in program history and third ever red banner. The Patriots finished the meet with 25 All-America honors, three individual national champions, and a relay national title, scoring 79 points.

Head Coach Bradley Sowder was named NAIA Outdoor T&F Coach of the Year for his fourth NAIA National Coaching honors of his career. He talked about his team's performance today saying "The guys were hungry and focused and really took care of the little things that help you win... We want to become the standard of excellence and success and we are moving forward with that and will conintue to press each and every season." 
 
The day started with UC making history in the 4x100-meter relay, as Jordan Afolayan, Willy Mabena, Edwin Van Wyk, and Aarontae Wesley captured the national title in a school-record 39.57. The victory marked the first 4x100-meter relay national championship in program history.
  Tavon Davis then became the first 400-meter national champion in program history after winning the event in 45.88 to score 10 points for the Patriots.
 
Mabena added another All-America performance in the 200 meters, finishing runner-up nationally in a personal-best 20.63 to score eight points.
 
In the 1500 meters, Niklas Scherb earned All-America honors with a fourth-place finish in 3:59.82 after coming in ranked 17th, while Ishak Mekideche followed in seventh with a time of 4:00.25 to also earn All-America recognition.
 
The Patriots added two more All-Americans in the 5000 meters as Mekideche placed seventh for his second All-American performance of the day in 14:39.68 and Luca Madeo followed with a strong finish to secure All-American honors in 14:42.78.
 
Cumberlands also earned All-America honors in the 4x400-meter relay, where Roy Miller, Jermaine Thompson, Tavon Davis, and Zion Pruitt combined to place sixth in 3:12.34.
 
The national title capped off an impressive championship meet for the Patriots, who were led throughout the week by national champions Madeo (10,000m), Lucien Beardsley (5,000m Race Walk), Davis (400m), and the 4x100-meter relay squad.
 
UC's 79 points is a program outdoor record. Indiana Tech followed with 49.2 points for second place while St. Thomas (FL) finished with 49 points for top three.
 
 
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.