Men's Track & Field NAIA Championships Preview

COMING UP: at NAIA Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Thursday-Saturday, Gulf Shores, Ala.
 
LIVE VIDEO / LIVE TIMING: Live Video of every event at the NAIA Championships will be available through the NAIA Network, while Live Timing of every event will be providing thanks to FloTrack.
 
OFF TO ALABAMA: The C of I men's track team will complete the 2018 season this week at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships inside Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores, Ala. The Yotes will take four competitors, participating in five individual events, with C of I one of 94 teams represented at the meet.
 
HISTORY AT NATIONALS: The Coyote men have sent at least one competitor to Outdoor Nationals every season since track returned to C of I in 2005.  C of I had their best finish in 2013, placing 13th and placed in a tie for 27th last year.
 
YOTES COMPETING: The lone C of I athlete returning to Nationals is senior Brooks Ney, who will compete for the second-straight year in the decathlon. Ney placed 12th in the event last year and heads to Alabama ranked No. 8 among the 16 competitors. Fellow senior Dylan Haas will close out his career by competing in the 3,000-meter steeplechase after hitting the national cut at the Cascade Conference Championships. Haas is seeded No. 15 among the 18 competitors in the event – which will not have a preliminary heat. Distance runners Marcos Cervantes and Alex Martin will also compete – Cervantes will look to double in the 5,000 and 10,000-meters, with Martin running in the 5,000-meters. Martin is seeded sixth and Cervantes No. 25 in a 25-man field in the 5,000, with Cervantes seeded 15th in a 22-runner field in the 10,000.
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Times MDT): Thursday – Decathlon begins at 9 a.m. (all day), 10,000-meters at 7:45 p.m. Friday – Decathlon begins at 9 a.m. (all day), 5,000-meter prelims at 6 p.m. Saturday – 3,000-meter steeplechase final at 12:20 p.m., 5,000-meter final at 3:55 p.m.
 
COYOTES FIFTH AT CCC CHAMPIONSHIPS: C of I placed fifth as a team at the 2018 CCC Championships in Hermiston, Ore., recording 77 team points. Three Coyotes earned All-CCC honors at the meet – with Josh Brown defending his title in the discus, Alex Martin taking second in the 5,000-meters and Marcos Cervantes placing second in the 10,000-meters.