Montreat Wins Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship

April 24, 2021

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Montreat outpaced the field in capturing the 2021 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Men's Outdoor Track & Field championship, the program's first title since 2013.

The meet was held Thursday and Friday on the campus of Columbia International in Columbia, S.C.

Montreat tallied 217.5 points to win the championship with Truett McConnell taking second with 124. Tennessee Wesleyan (115), Milligan (107), and Reinhardt (100.5) round out the top five. The 217.5 points are the most scored by any men's team in the championship meet. The previous high was 194 by Reinhardt in 2017.

Earning top individual honors were Kenny Benton of Tennessee Wesleyan as the Runner of the Year, Hank Yelton of Montreat at the Field Athlete of the Year, Anthony Symile of Union as the Freshman of the Year, and Reggie Jones Jr. of Allen as the Newcomer of the Year. The Coaching Staff of the Year went to Montreat.

Benton won three events - the 100, 200, and 400, setting a meet record in the 400 with a time of 47.40 seconds.

Yelton won the decathlon, setting a meet record for points in the event with 5750. The previous mark was 4371. In all, Yelton set meet records in four of the 10 decathlon events.

Symile earned all-conference honors in three events as he won the discus, placed second in the shot put, and was third in the hammer.

Jones Jr. finished second in the 400 hurdles and fourth in the 110 hurdles.

In all, 17 meet records were set with eight of them coming in the decathlon. The new meet records include:

Decathlon - Yelton, Montreat - 5750 points
Decathlon high jump - Yelton, Montreat - 1.73m
Decathlon 400 - Robert Jordan, Reinhardt - 52.63
Decathlon 110 hurdles - Yelton, Montreat - 15.87
Decathlon discus - Yelton, Montreat - 27.39m
Decathlon pole vault - Simeon Lipsey, Truett McConnell - 4.00m
Decathlon javelin - Lipsey, Truett McConnell - 46.91m
Decathlon 1500 - Yelton, Montreat - 4:33.82
Hammer - Jonathan Paolozzi, Reinhardt - 54.27m
400 - Benton, Tennessee Wesleyan - 47.40
10,000 - Alex Mortimer, Milligan - 31:34.20
Pole vault - John Hunter James, Columbia International - 5.00m
Long jump - Dustin Blevins, Montreat - 7.35m
3000 steeplechase - Moses Dirane, Montreat - 9:35.04
800 - Tim Thacker, Milligan - 1:51.20
5000 - Nathan Baker, Milligan - 14:50.28
5000 race walk - Brandon Bacon, Columbia International - 23:09.67

For a complete look at the results, click here.

For a complete listing of the updated records, click here.