WILMORE, Ky. - On Friday, the Malone University track & field teams dominated en route to a men's and women's sweep of the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Pioneer men cruised to their second straight outdoor title with 145 points, 44 more than second-place Bethel University. They have seven total NCCAA outdoor track & field titles. The women's standings were a much tighter battle as Malone was victorious by just one point over Bethel, 97-96. It is their first NCCAA outdoor championship since 2009 and 13th all-time.
 
The day started strong for the Pioneers with five scoring members in the men's 5000-meter run. Hayden Schmidt (15:18.60), Caden LaRue (15:19.13), Zavier Medina (15:48.18), Alex Hill (15:53.16) and Zach Bugner (15:53.94) were first, second, sixth, seventh and eighth overall. Caden McClure joined Schmidt as an individual NCCAA national champion in the pole vault. He had a height of 4.60 meters (15' 1.00") to claim first place.
 
The Pioneers had several high marks in other field events as well. Gavin Tribelo (16.48 meters / 54' 1.00") scored a second-place finish in the shot put and moved up to second in program history. Aidan Mastaso (14.46 meters / 47' 5.25") and Nicholas Leon (13.74 meters / 45' 1.00") were fifth and seventh for the team as well. Malone also had three scoring members in the hammer throw. Obed West (49.23 meters / 161' 6.00"), Tribelo (47.20 meters / 154' 10.00") and Aidan Geer (45.25 meters / 148' 5.00") were fifth, sixth and eighth. West improved his personal best and is now sixth in program history and Tribelo snuck into the final spot in the program's top ten list.
 
In the 3000-meter steeplechase, Yahya Jawadi was runner-up with a time of 9:43.50. Wyatt Royster was right behind him in the event at 9:51.21. Jawadi also led a trio of Pioneers in the 1500-meter run. He placed fourth at 4:04.82 while Kellen Reichert (4:08.96) and LaRue (4:09.48) followed in sixth and seventh. Tyler Twining was the lone scorer in the 800-meter run to wrap up middle distance results at 1:56.60 (third).
 
Phil Stupka was the top sprinter with a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (21.72 seconds) and fifth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (10.75 seconds). Bryant Thompson scored a third-place time of 48.61 seconds in the 400-meter dash, good for the ninth-fastest mark in program history. Thompson also scored points in the 200 with a seventh-place time of 23.24 seconds.
 
The 4x400-meter relay team of Twining, Brylan Holland, Eric Dehmer and Thompson just missed the top spot on the podium at 3:19.81. The 4x100-meter relay squad consisting of Stupka, Thompson, Johnathan White and Danny Milburn were fifth overall (42.07 seconds).
 
The Malone women were highlighted by an individual NCCAA national title by Allea Graves in the 400-meter dash. Her time of 55.25 seconds was atop the event, but did not break her personal best mark to potentially qualify her for the NCAA Championships. Relay events were also fruitful for the Pioneers. The 4x400-meter relay team of Amber Morris, Brooklyn McIntyre, Rebekah Stoneman and SaRae Johnson won a national championship as well at 3:58.16 and the 4x100-meter relay team of Morris, Abigail Blaz, Johnson and Graves was second overall at 48.47 seconds.
 
Jenna Cassidy reached the podium in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a second-place time of 11:47.47. Stoneman was third in the 400-meter hurdles with a mark of 2:06.36. Kristin Yeager crossed the finish line third as well with a time of 4:56.21 in the 1500-meter run. Marisa Brown was a point scorer for the team in eighth (5:07.49).
 
Isabelle Perry was fourth in the shot put with a best mark of 12.17 meters (39' 11.25"). A fourth-place finish was also credited to Morris in the 100-meter dash event finals (12.70 seconds). Morris was also sixth in the 200-meter dash finals (26.40 seconds). Rachel Whetstone secured the final top-five spot in the 5000-meter run at 18:40.73. McIntyre (2:19.58) and Yeager (2:23.55) were fifth and seventh as scoring members for the Pioneers in the 800-meter run. Jaclyn Jundzilo notched points for Malone in the hammer throw with a seventh-place finishing position (38.13 meters / 125' 1.00").
 
Malone will look to send Graves and Xander Heil to the NCAA Championships with one final opportunity to compete at the Lee University Last Chance on Saturday, May 9.