3 Individual Champions, 10 All-Americans Highlight AAC Performance at NAIA Men's Track Championship

May 27, 2024

MARION, Ind. - The Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) brought home three individual champions and 10 NAIA All-Americans from the 2024 NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Meet.

The meet was hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind., on May 22-24.

In the team competition, Montreat led the AAC with a 15th-place finish with 18 points, while Milligan and Columbia International tied for 22nd with 15 points. Reinhardt collected 10 points to land 26th.

David Friedberg of Reinhardt collected the first individual title of the week for the AAC as he won the javelin for the third year in a row. His throw of 71.88 meters was 4.80 meters farther than the second-place finisher.

Dustin Blevins of Montreat then earned the individual championship in the long jump. He edged the field by 0.01 of a meter and won with a leap of 7.66 meters. This is Montreat's first individual championship.

Deandre Leith of Columbia International scored the final individual championship, winning the shot put with a throw of 18.09 meters. He beat the second-place finisher by 0.06 of a meter. This is Columbia International's first individual championship.

All three earned NAIA All-American honors in these events as well as the top eight finishers in each event received the honor. Leith also earned NAIA All-American status in the discus as he placed fourth (51.09 meters), while Blevins earned NAIA All-American honors in the triple jump with a seventh-place finish (15.24 meters).

Here are the other NAIA All-American honorees:

3000 Steeplechase - Dylan Branch (Montreat), third - 9:04.28; Will Stockley (Milligan), seventh - 9:08.09
110 Hurdles - Keith Fletcher (Milligan), sixth - 14.23 seconds
1500 - Bryn Woodall (Milligan), fourth - 3:49.95
10,000 - Aaron Jones (Milligan), fourth - 30:27.21

For full meet results, click here.