COLUMBIA -  CIU's men's track and field team finished seventh out of 26 teams at the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday as several athletes landed on the podium on the final day of the meet

Deandre Leith led the Rams, earning NCCAA All-American honors with a first-place finish in the shot put with a distance of 17.05  meters. The 2024 NCCAA Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year, Leith continues to dominate the NCCAA meet. 

Elijah Seawright also secured NCCAA All-American status, taking first in the triple jump with a mark of 14.70 meters. Donavan Latimer placed fourth in the same event with a jump of 13.95 meters.

Hunter McCaskill cleared 3.85 meters in the pole vault, earning NCCAA All-American honors with a third-place finish. Nicholas Ortiz finished fifth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.70 meters.

Dante Shuler recorded a personal best and school record in the hammer throw, finishing fourth with a distance of 47.35 meters. Bryce Scarborough finished 14th in the same event with a throw of 40.51 meters.

In track events, the men's 4x400 meter relay team of Denim Jones, Latimer, Julian Carranza, and Malik Beaver finished sixth with a school record time of 3:23.48. The men's 4x800 meter relay team, consisting of Carranza, Spencer Evans, Jacobo Garcia-Rivera, and Beaver, finished with a time of 8:28.57.

Other individual results for CIU:

• Garcia-Rivera, a freshman,  competed in the 3000m steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:38.82.

• Jones  battled in the 400m with a time of 51.19.

• Beaver crossed the finish line in the 800m with a personal-best time of 2:00.84. Evans competed in the event as well with a personal-best time of 2:01.96.

Up Next: NAIA national championship qualifiers will head to Marion, Ind. for the NAIA Outdoor Championships, May. 21 - May. 23. Leith holds an NAIA "A" Standard in the shot put (2nd in the NAIA) and Seawright holds an NAIA "B" standard mark in the triple jump.