Anderson, Ind. – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers and Manchester University Spartans both captured a share of the men’s title on Saturday in the 2025 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship.
Rose-Hulman and Manchester both finished the championship with a team score of 153. Hanover College had 94 points to finish in third place, followed by Bluffton University (63 points) in fourth place. Franklin College (61 points), Mount St. Joseph University (37 points) and Anderson University (33 points) finished in fifth, sixth, and seventh places, respectively. Transylvania University (8th place with 32 points), Berea College (9th place with 27 points) and Earlham College (10th place with 10 points) rounded out the competing institutions.
COMPLETE RESULTS
AWARDS PHOTOS
Championship Superlatives:
Men’s Newcomer of the Year:
Kendrick Sherrer, Mount St. Joseph University
Men’s Most Outstanding Throws Athlete of the Year:
Michael Sweigart, Anderson University
Men’s Most Outstanding Jumps Athlete of the Year:
Markieus Hill, Transylvania University
Men’s Most Outstanding Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year:
Desmond Gist, Bluffton University
Men’s Most Outstanding Distance Athlete of the Year:
Connor Havens, Manchester University
Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year: Rose-Hulman led by head coach
Shane Mills. Assistant Coaches are:
Derrick Lawrence, and
Emily Lawrence.
All-Conference Honors:
Each athlete and relay team that finished their respective events in First Place are named to the First Team HCAC All-Conference; Second Place finishers are named to the Second Team HCAC All-Conference; and Third Place finishers are named to the Honorable Mention HCAC All-Conference Teams.
Track Events thumbnail:
The day got started on the track in the 5000 meter, with Manchester's
Connor Havens earning the win in the event with a time of 15:08.07.
In the Distance Medley Relay, it was Rose-Hulman who took first place, with the team of
Morgan Stratton, Ian Lemons, Sawyer Richter, and
Cole Breuer teaming up for a time of 10:44.98.
In the 4x200 relay it was the Hanover team of
Brandon Bensouda, Jayden Enderle, Blaine Ison, and
Layden Adair who finished first, with a time of 1:30.18 - a new HCAC Meet Record!
In the mile run,
Connor Havens won his second individual event of the day, finishing with a time of 4:26.09.
In a tightly contested 60 meter dash,
Brendon Bensouda of Hanover came out on top, besting the competition with a run of 6.93 seconds.
Desmond Gist from Bluffton was crowned as the back-to-back-to-back champion in the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.33.
In the 400 meter dash,
Russell Lough of Bluffton finished on top, with a winning run of 50.62.
In the 800m run, Manchester's
Gavin Byerly crossed the line in a time of 1:58.66, besting the competition.
In the 200 meter dash,
Kendrick Sherrer from Mount St. Joseph ran a time of 22.74 to pick up the win.
In the final individual event of the championship, Manchester's
Connor Havens won his third individual gold metal of the day in the 3000 meter race with a time of 8:43.88, capping off a fantastic day.
In the final event of the evening, Franklin's 4x400 relay team, consisting of
Steven Scott, Luke Paddock, Nathan Vujalija, and
Logan McIntosh brought home the gold with a time of 3:24.99.
Field events thumbnail:
In the field events, the weight throw kicked off the day and saw Anderson’s
Micahel Sweigart’s throw a personal best of 18.82 meters placed him on top of the podium. In the other throwing event, the shot put,
Tommy Wilmoth of Hanover bested the competition with a throw of 15.12 meters.
In the high jump,
Antwon Dorsett from Manchester cleared a height of 1.98 meters to take first in the event.
In the long jump,
Kenneth Redd from Manchester picked up the win, with a leap of 7.04 meters.
In the pole vault, Rose-Hulman’s
Kolton Nanko won the event by clearing a height of 4.65 meters
. Another Fightin’ Engineer,
James Kaunas, concluded the day's field events by winning the triple jump event with a distance of 13.74 meters.
For more information on HCAC Track and Field, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.