The Montreat College Cavaliers men's indoor track & field team captured the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship on Friday in Winston-Salem. The Cavs outpointed second place Tennessee Wesleyan, 144-134, to earn the conference crown.

 To help seal the win, the Cavs earned 10 points with a first-place finish in the 4 X 400m late in the afternoon. The relay team was made up of Jared Henderson (FR/Seneca, SC / Sprints), Tom Hanke (SO/Grossraeschen, Germany / Hurdles), Elijah Mitchell (JR/Milledgeville, GA / Sprints), and Ahmad Perryman (FR/Roswell, GA / Sprints). The four came into the event with a best time of 3:18.24 and put up a 3:20.24 to capture the race, beating TWU by just under four full seconds (3:24.21).

Earlier, Hanke captured first place in the 600 meters with a 1:22.3, holding off TWU's John Gould in second to add 10 points to the Cavs' total. In that race, Dalton Crosby II (FR/Newnan, GA / Sprints) finished fourth to pick up five points for Montreat.

In other sprint events, Joshua Lester-Harris (FR/Oxford, NC / Sprints) turned in a 7.03 in the 60 meters, good for fourth place. Lester-Harris and Henderson combined in the 200 meters for an eighth and fifth place finish for Montreat, good for a total of five points. 

Caleb Silver had an excellent afternoon for the Cavaliers, finishing first in the 1,000 meters, just ahead of teammate Daniel Lancaster. Eli Hall grabbed third place to make it a 1-3 sweep for Montreat in the event.

Joshua Auvil (FR/Stallings, NC / Throws) finished fourth in the weight throw and fifth in the weight throw to add a critical nine points to the Montreat total. In other field events, Jacob Prater (FR/Westminster, SC / Jumps) and Ernest King Jr. (FR/Asheville, NC / Jumps) finished third and fifth, respectively, in the triple jump to help keep pace with the Bulldogs in that event. 

In honor of their significant accomplishments this winter, the Cavaliers coaching staff was named as the AAC Indoor Track & Field staff of the year.

Final Results

Pictured: (L to R) Eli Hall (JR/Columbus, NC / Mid-Distance), Daniel Lancaster (SR/Wilmington, NC / Mid-Distance), and Caleb Silver (FR/Smithfield, NC / Mid-Distance) earlier this season at Roanoke College. 

Photo Credit: Montreat Athletics