VIDEO: CAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Pre-Championship Webcast
At the 2016 CAC men's indoor track & field championship, Christopher Newport totaled 166 points to earn its first indoor title at the Freeman Center, snapping Salisbury's four-year reign atop the indoor meet.
The Captains will once again serve as the host of the championship meet, beginning Saturday morning at the Freeman Center on the CNU campus.
Salisbury, which finished in second place last year, had previously won each indoor title since the meet was added to the CAC championship lineup in 2012.
This year's meet will feature some of the most talented athletes in the history of the championship, as numerous CAC standouts have broken conference and school records this indoor season, and rank at or near the top of Division III in their respective events entering the weekend.
This year's meet will feature eight teams for the first time, as Southern Virginia joins the conference fray after adding track & field as a varsity sport this year.
Below is a brief preview of each team entering the 2017 championship:
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT is looking to repeat as CAC Indoor Champions after the program won its first league title last year. Guided by head coach Tyler Wingard, the Captains have pieced together a solid indoor season so far this year, highlighted by several school and conference records. Earlier this year, Jeff Dover broke the league's mile record, and Wesley Shrieves set a new CAC long jump mark. CNU also welcomes back nine other All-League performers from 2016 and returns senior Dominique Torres, who was sidelined last year with an injury but holds the CAC's indoor long jump record.
Tenth-year head coach Dale Luy guides FROSTBURG STATE into the CAC Championships this Saturday with five of the league's top-five performances. Junior Collin Schultz leads the way as he ranks first in the high jump with an ECAC height of 1.97 meters. The Bobcats also rank fourth in the distance medley relay (11:32.73), while senior Patrick Broussoul is fourth in the weight throw (14.71 meters) and sophomore Christian Healey ranks fourth in the triple jump with an ECAC distance of 13.64 meters. Freshman Kevon Adams sits in fifth in the long jump at 6.73 meters (ECAC).
MARY WASHINGTON will rely on a large talented freshman group in this year's CAC Championship. High jumper David Danek has produced consistent top results through the season, as has sprinter Camron Rauch, and runners Luke Robertson and Jeff Gibson. All-CAC returnees Zach Kerns, Kevin McCarthy, Daniel Forjan, and Ben Sorensen will also look to score big points for the Eagles.
PENN STATE HARRISBURG will be competing in its third CAC Championship this weekend. The Lions return a number of key performers from last year's squad that took sixth place at the indoor meet. Sophomore Jalil Clayton is back, who won the high jump at last year's championship to become the first athlete to win a CAC individual title for Penn State Harrisburg. Other key performers for the Lions include Josiah Owhe, Vladhimir Theophile, Cameron Yon, Derrick Young, and Alex White.
SALISBURY will look to make big strides at the 2017 CAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. The team will be led in the field events by junior Matthew Adedeji. Adedeji has turned in a solid indoor season earning CAC Athlete of the Week recognition and breaking the Salisbury record in the triple jump at the Vince Brown Invitational on Feb. 4. His jump of 46' 7.25" not only broke the school record but also ranks him second overall in the CAC and 13th overall in NCAA Division III. Andrew Volz will also look to make an impact in the field events as he will compete in the shot put. Volz earned a top-five finish at the Patriot Games placing third after recording a throw of 46' 8.75". In the track events the Sea Gulls will be anchored by Zach Schmelz who has been impressive thus far. Schmelz captured CAC weekly honors and is one of the top CAC athletes in the 200-meter and 400-meter. Junior Eric Halton has also made an impact in the track events. He has earned top finishes in 400-meter this year and is currently ranked first in the 400-meters in the conference with a time of 49.92 seconds.
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA is looking forward to competing in its first-ever CAC Championship event in indoor track & field. The Knights will see if shot-putter Derek Blasko can continue to improve his throw and place in the top five. Also to keep an eye on is Colter May in the mid-distance events.
WESLEY will look to capture its first CAC Indoor Track & Field Championship. The Wolverines cracked the top-five in the USTFCCCA Computer Rankings last week for the first time in school history and will hope the praises translate to the conference meet. Greg Taylor and Roland Attoh-Okine will spearhead the Wolverines on the track. Taylor was named CAC Track Athlete of the Week for Jan. 24 and ranks 14th in Division III in the 60-meter dash (6.93). Attoh-Okine has put together great times in the 60-meter hurdles, registering the eighth-best time in the event clocking in at 8.19 seconds.
YORK enters the championships coming off a solid regular season in which times and performances have continued to improve heading into championship Saturday. The Spartans have been led during the year by their pole vault crew headlined by Darris Rodrigues and Kevin Landis. The Spartans' distance group will be expected to score points for the Green and White led by Grant Dell. Seniors Darien Gray and Rick Jones will be expected to be the big scorers for York in the sprint and jump events.