LAKELAND, Fla. — Southeastern men's track & field closed out the Sun Conference Championship with a strong two-day performance at Tenoroc High School, totaling 220 points to finish runner-up behind St. Thomas and ahead of Keiser in the final standings.
Powered by five individual conference titles, numerous All-Conference performances and multiple NAIA qualifying marks, the Fire pieced together one of the strongest team showings of the season. Highlighting the weekend was
Lucky Baldwin earning Sun Conference Co-Most Valuable Performer honors, using a title in the discus and a runner-up finish in the hammer throw to help lead Southeastern's charge.
Baldwin's honor punctuated a meet filled with standout performances across the lineup, including a dominant championship Sunday from
Dario Laing.
Laing swept the hurdles, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 14.42 to hit the NAIA B standard before claiming the 400-meter hurdles title in 52.13. That performance met the NAIA A standard, held at No. 3 in program history, ranked No. 1 in the Sun Conference and No. 6 nationally.
Kevin Davis Jr. made it a Fire one-two finish in the 400 hurdles, placing second in 52.33 while also hitting the NAIA A standard and moving into the program top six.
In the field,
Jeremiah Rutledge delivered one of the top moments of the meet, clearing 2.06 meters to win the high jump title and set a new school record. The mark made him the first Fire athlete ever to clear a mark over two meters, the first in program history to hit an NAIA standard in the event, and moved him into a tie for No. 5 in the NAIA.
Isaiah Burns added a runner-up finish in the event to give Southeastern a major points boost.
The Fire also found big points in distance events.
Billy Mueller and
Tobias Dickerson both earned All-Conference honors in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with second- and third-place finishes, while
Jack Brooks placed third in the 1,500 meters and
Jeremy Durbin added a fourth-place finish.
Kodi Quimby added another conference crown in the 5,000-meter race walk, reaching the NAIA B standard with his winning performance.
In the relays, Southeastern's 4x100 quartet of Laing,
Derion Ayliffe, Jessie Official and
Kevin Davis Jr. earned All-Conference honors with a third-place finish, hit the NAIA B standard and moved into the program top 10.
Cody Rand added another podium finish in the shot put, while Rutledge also contributed points in the long jump as the Fire continued to stack scoring performances across the meet.
With every top-three finish earning All-Conference recognition, Southeastern collected honors throughout the weekend while pairing championship performances with depth across the roster.
From Baldwin's Co-Most Valuable Performer recognition, to Laing's hurdle sweep, to Rutledge's record-setting leap, the Fire combined star performances and team depth to bring home the runner-up trophy and continue building momentum moving forward.
With conference hardware secured and several national qualifying marks added over the weekend, the Fire now set their sights on the NAIA Men's Outdoor Track & Field National Championship, May 20-22 at Karl Straus Track in Asheville. Southeastern will look to carry its Sun Conference momentum into the national meet.
