LAKELAND, Fla. — Southeastern men's track & field put together a strong first day at the Sun Conference Championship on Saturday, stacking points in the field events, qualifying athletes across the sprints and hurdles, and posting multiple program marks to sit second in the team standings heading into Sunday's final day at Tenoroc High School.
The Fire closed day one with 60 points, trailing only St. Thomas University at 71 and holding a solid edge over Ave Maria University in third with 30.
Southeastern's day was fueled by a balanced effort, highlighted by breakthrough performances on the track and valuable scoring in the field.
Among the biggest moments of the day came in the 800 meters, where
Jeremy Durbin delivered a historic run. The sophomore clocked 1:53.86 in the prelims, finishing third overall while breaking the school record as the first athlete in program history to run sub-1:54. Durbin's mark now stands as the new SEU No. 1 and sends him into Sunday's final with major momentum.
Levi Gustafson also advanced in the event, placing seventh in 1:56.42.
Dario Laing turned in one of the most impressive performances of the meet in the 400-meter hurdles. Laing won the prelim in 52.15, hitting the NAIA A standard while moving to No. 3 in school history, No. 1 in the Sun Conference, and No. 6 in the NAIA this season. It marked the first time a Fire athlete has entered the program's all-time top three in the event since 2023. Laing also cruised to the fastest qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles at 14.50.
The Fire loaded up the 400 hurdles final behind Laing, as
Kevin Davis Jr. placed third in 52.94 to hit the NAIA B standard and move into SEU's top-10 list, while
Cedric Johnson Jr. added a fifth-place qualifying mark at 53.69.
Southeastern advanced athletes across nearly every sprint event.
Trebreh Brown qualified for both the 400-meter final (48.77) and the 200-meter final (21.85), while
Derion Ayliffe moved on in the 100-meter dash final. Jessie Official also secured a lane in Sunday's 200-meter final with a sixth-place qualifying time of 21.81, giving the Fire multiple scoring opportunities in the short sprints.
In distance action,
Derek Robinson added points in the 10,000 meters with a fifth-place finish, while the 4x800 relay team of
Jack Brooks,
Kaleb Mellott,
Spencer Louis, and
Tobias Dickerson claimed bronze in 8:14.08, moving to No. 6 in program history.
The Fire also made significant noise in the field events.
Chase Graziadei cleared 4.45 meters to finish runner-up in the pole vault and move to No. 2 in Sun Conference performance rankings.
Lucky Baldwin added a second-place finish in the hammer throw, while
Cody Rand scored with a third-place effort in the shot put.
Southeastern closed championship day one with a strong showing in the mixed 4x400 relay, as
James Turner, Ar'Briel Scott,
Leland Melton, and Skyla Stevens finished second in 3:39.91.
With qualifiers spread throughout Sunday's finals and scoring opportunities remaining across the track and field slate, the Fire enter championship day firmly in the team title hunt.
Sunday's final day begins at 8 a.m. with field events and multi events before running finals start at 11 a.m. Southeastern will look to turn a strong opening day into a conference championship push, led by finalists in the hurdles, sprints, middle distance events, relays, and multiple field disciplines. Awards are scheduled for 5 p.m. following the conclusion of competition.
