WINSTON-SALEM - It was a historic day for CIU men's track and field in Western North Carolina as the Rams finished fifth overall, the highest finish in school history, on Saturday at the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Indoor Championships. Hosted at JDL Fast Track, the championships concluded on Saturday, with the Rams racking up five different All-AAC award winners and one conference champion. 

After setting the meet record in yesterday's 60-meter hurdle prelims, Dario Laing would finish second in the event (8.21) in the finals, giving him the All-AAC nod. 

Elsewhere on the track, both Laing and Clayton Hammond took part in the men's 200-meter dash, with Hammond posting a time of 23.50 and Laing notching a time of 23.23.

In the field, the Rams have shown dominance in the men's pole vault over the last five years. Branson Rimmer continued that trend, collecting All-Conference honors with a second place (4.05m) finish in the event. 

Dominance has also been attributed to Deandre Leith in his time at CIU, as the junior repeated as the men's AAC shot put champion with a heave of 15.53m. Cameron Montgomery chalked up his second podium finish of the meet with a mark of 14.87 for a third-place finish in the same event. Bryce Scarborough also competed in the shot put, adding to his season resume with a distance of 11.46m.

What Coach Tim Thompson is saying: "Thank you, Lord! Today, God showed up and showed out for us. We finished fourth on the women's side and fifth on the men's side, the second highest team finish for the women in school history and the highest for the men in school history! What a blessing!"

Up Next: The Rams will make the long trek to South Dakota, where they will showcase their talents on the national level at the NAIA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Feb. 29 - Mar. 2.