SATURDAY RECAP

DANVILLE, Ky. - Centre men's track & field continued the momentum they enjoyed at the end of the Friday session into Championship Saturday at the 2026 SAA Indoor Finals, excelling in all areas to cruise to a third straight conference title.

The Colonels picked up the team win with a score of 208 points to top second place Trinity by 65 points. Berry finished in third place with 78 points.

In the Friday field events, the Colonels began the day with the shot put and racked up 18 quick points as Luke Cole earned the win with a mark of 52-6 (16.00m), followed by teammate David Harless in second place.

All-American Cree Ross dominated the men's triple jump as he posted a mark of 47-8 (14.53m) to claim first place, winning by over two full feet and continuing an excellent weekend of events.

The scene shifted to the track, where Reeve VanDemark kicked off the races with a second place finish in the mile, clocking in at 4:24.87.

In the 60m hurdles, Justin Lewis broke All-American Dirk Gambrel's school record from last year with a time of 8.33, finishing in second place, just 0.02 seconds shy of another win for the Colonels. Julian Veliquette came in fourth place with a time of 8.54.

Another record fell in the 400m as Jackson Heim posted a time of 48.87 to get the win and establish a new program high mark in the race, with Stephen Jones adding to Centre's point total with a seventh place finish.

Centre picked up 25 of a possible 39 points in the 60m. Ross earned the win with a time of 6.88, followed 0.01 seconds later by Jayden Channer in second place, with Mario Brewer Jr. in fourth and Brayden Carman in seventh.

In the 800m, Carter Russell led the way for Centre with a time of 1:59.01 to finish in sixth place, with VanDemark coming in eighth place.

The Colonels picked up another win in the 200m, this time from Channer, who got the win in 22.20, with Carman in third place and Heim in fifth to give Centre 20 more points to add to the lead.

A huge race for the Colonels was the 3000m as Liam Black got the win with a time of 8:49.97, followed by Luke Napier in second, James Schroeder in sixth and Houston Brooks in seventh to help the team rack up another 23 points.

To wrap up the day, the team of Jones, Veliquette, Heim and Teague Roth finished third overall in the 4x400m relay with a combined time of 3:27.85.

FRIDAY RECAP

DANVILLE, Ky. - Day 1 of competition is in the books at the 2026 SAA Indoor Track & Field Championships from Champions Hall and with one day left to go, the Centre men sit in first place after scoring 69 points. The Colonels lead Trinity by 31 points.

The first scored field event of the day was the high jump and Centre took two of the three podium spots. Michael Smith set a new program record by clearing 6-8 (2.03m) to finish second overall, while Isaac Johnson finished third after clearing 6-4.75 (1.94m) and Tykeem Taul-Williams cleared 6-2.75 (1.90m) to finish sixth, giving Centre 17 of the 39 available points in the event.

In the weight throw, Centre again scored the most points in the event with 18, including two podium finishes. David Harless finished a fraction of an inch shy of equaling his program record as he posted a mark of 54-5 (16.59m) to finish second. Luke Cole earned All-SAA Honorable Mention with a third place finish of 51-7 (15.72m), with Tyler Garner finishing fifth.

Next up was the long jump and All-American Cree Ross got the win with a mark of 23-4 (7.11m), with Johnson and Mario Brewer Jr. also cracking the top eight to give Centre a total of 15 points.

In the 5k, Centre had three of the top eight finishers, led by Houston Brooks, who posted a third place time of 15:19.35, with Luke Napier and James Schroeder each getting into the scoring column as well.

Eight more points came in the distance medley relay as the team of Carter Russell, Teague Roth, Noah George and Liam Black posted a combined time of 10:30.18 to finish second.

ALL-SAA
 
All-SAA honors are given to those student-athletes who finish in the top three in their respective events. A running tally of Centre's All-SAA performers and their events based on their highest finishes will kept here during the conference championships.

FIRST TEAM

Liam Black (3000m)
Jayden Channer (200m)
Luke Cole (Shot Put)
Jackson Heim (400m)
Cree Ross (Long Jump, Triple Jump, 60m)
 
SECOND TEAM

Noah George (Distance Medley Relay)
David Harless (Weight Throw, Shot Put)
Justin Lewis (60m Hurdles)
Luke Napier (3000m)
Teague Roth (Distance Medley Relay)
Carter Russell (Distance Medley Relay)
Michael Smith (High Jump)
Reeve VanDemark (Mile)
 
HONORABLE MENTION

Houston Brooks (5k)
Brayden Carman (200m)
Isaac Johnson (Long Jump)
Stephen Jones (4x400m)
Julian Veliquette (4x400m)