GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Embry-Riddle men's track & field team scored 228 points to win the inaugural Peach Belt Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center on Monday. The Eagles dominated the field, finishing ahead of Flagler (96 pts) and Central State (86 pts).
 
The Eagles opened the day with a dominant performance in the 3000m scoring 20 points in that event. Brendon Shea topped the podium in a time of 8:27.23, while Tayan Benson's PR of 8:29.38 was good for third and Andrew Stowe (8:41.06) finished fourth.
 
The Eagles' next win came in the long jump where Walker Cowherd registered a PR of 6.47m to score 10 more points for the Blue and Gold.
 
The pole vault saw the Eagles score all 31 possible points, led by Conrad Prisby whose personal-best 4.76m met the NCAA II provisional qualifying standard.
 
The Eagles' second provisional mark came in the triple jump. On his fourth attempt, Antonio Caito set a program record and the 19th best mark in NCAA II this season with a leap of 15.05m to give the Eagles their fourth win of the day.
 
The weight throw featured three personal records and more Eagle dominance as the Blue and Gold captured the No.2 through No. 7 spots. Chance Tressler's PR of 14.80m put him in second place while Matt Larsen (13.42m) and Joshua Dixon (13.09m) both recorded personal bests to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.
 
Derick Brown posted a pair of gold-medal performances on Monday, winning the 60m hurdles in 8.19 and the 200m in 21.71. Adam Landen was second to Brown in the 200m with a time of 21.90, but later won a gold medal of his own with a time of 49.29 in the 400m, which is the fourth fastest time in program history.
 
In the 800m, the two fastest runners in program history grabbed the top two spots. Jacob Fritz crossed the line first in 1:53.17 followed closely by Jacob D'Aleo who was second in 1:53.30.
 
In the second-to-last event on the track, Landen, Fritz, D'Aleo and Shea combined to win the distance medley relay in 10:11.29.
 
Following the meet, the PBC presented its superlative awards. Tressler was named the Freshman Indoor Field Athlete of the Year and the Outstanding Field Athlete of the Year presented by College Ave. Jeremy Mog was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team, while Michael Kotey won the Elite 18 Award presented by Barnes & Noble College which goes to the student-athlete at the meet with the highest grade point average.
Mike Rosolino garnered Coach of the Year honors.
 
Those who have hit provisional qualifying marks throughout the season now wait to see if they will earn a spot in the NCAA II Indoor Track & Field Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas, March 8-9.