CEDARVILLE, Ohio — Columbia International University closed out the NCCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships with two national champions, numerous personal records and multiple school records, highlighting a strong final day performance across the men's and women's teams.
On the women's side, Coral Curry led the way with a national title in the weight throw, recording a winning mark of 14.26 meters. She also placed fourth in the shot put with a personal-record mark of 11.62 meters to cap a standout meet.
Arion Jefferson finished eighth in the women's 200 meters with a personal-record time of 26.44 seconds, while Elizabeth Gustafson also posted a personal record in the 400 meters, finishing 10th in 1:02.67. Morgan Hartman competed in the 800 meters and crossed in 2:32.41. The Rams' 4x400-meter relay team of Jefferson, Elizabeth Gustafson, Lydia Gustafson and Hartman placed fifth with a time of 4:15.35.
For the men, Cameron Montgomery delivered one of the top performances of the meet, winning the national championship in the shot put with an NAIA qualifying throw of 16.01 meters. He was later named NCCAA Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Meet, adding the title to his runner-up finish in the weight throw earlier in the championships.
Hunter McCaskill (pictured) was named an All-American in the Heptathlon
James Mayo finished eighth in the finals of the 60 meters, clocking 7.02 seconds. The men's 4x400 relay team of Mayo, Donavan Latimer, Dallas Turner and Denim Jones placed seventh in 3:30.16, while the 4x800 relay squad of Julian Carranza, Mark Zagata, Spencer Evans and Jacobo Garcia-Rivera set a school record with an eighth-place finish in 8:37.53.
Hunter McCaskill placed fourth in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.80 meters and earned All-American honors in the heptathlon after finishing third overall with a school-record score. He also recorded personal records in the heptathlon 60 meters, 60-meter hurdles, shot put, long jump, high jump and 1,000-meter run. Donavan Latimer recorded a mark of 5.93 meters in the long jump and later placed sixth in the triple jump at 13.53 meters. Dante Shuler added a mark of 12.43 meters in the shot put.
CIU next competes at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 20-21 at JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
