COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU men's track & field wrapped the final day of the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday as the Rams competed in front of their home crowd, helping them to several podium finishes and two national awards. 

Deandre Leith led CIU men's team to a fourth-place team finish as he once again flexed his strength in the shot put. Leith took home the top spot in the event, becoming a two-time NCCAA national champion at this week's meet after he finished first in the discus on Thursday. Leith's winning distance in the shot was 16.73m as his teammate Dizayuh Hinton represented the Rams with a mark of 12.25m.

CIU throws squad took part in the hammer as well, as Bryce Scarborough (40.29m), Leith (39.81), Hinton (38.80m), and Colton Buchanan (38.62m) all competed in the event. 

Leith's fellow Jamaican national Dario Laing was just as dominant on the track as he seized the top spots in both the men's 110m hurdles (14.54) and the men's 400m hurdles (53.47). Freshman Jacob Osmanski competed in both hurdle events, with Laing just missing a podium finish in both the 110's (15.93) and the 400's (57.75).

Elsewhere on the track, Clayton Hammond (50.27) and Kenneth Simmons (50.84) displayed their endurance in the 400m dash, while Nathaniel Long (10:44.72) and Joel Baumgarten (11:26.92) battled through the 3000m steeplechase. 

The men's 4x100 team of Ethan Robinson, Irvin Sumter, Simmons, and Laing secured a podium third-place finish for the Rams with a time of 42.29.

CIU's men's team would make history as they swept the meet's national awards, securing both the Men's Field Athlete of the Meet (Leith) and the Men's Track Athlete of the Meet (Laing). 

Hear from CIU Director of Track & Field Tim Thompson: 

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