MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Central Methodist University men's track and field program earned a fourth place finish at the 2020 Heart of America Indoor Track & Field Conference Championship on Saturday.

Central tallied 97 points during the two-day event, led by a pair of conference titles from Jesse Pinkley (FR/Saint Genevieve, Mo.) and Joseph Bruemmer (SR/Holts Summit, Mo.). A phenomenal weekend showing saw five record-breaking performances and five NAIA National Championship qualifying marks met. Once again, the Eagles swept the pole vault event as Robert Jerrick (JR/Steelville, Mo.) placed 2nd and Parker Yager (SO/Monroe City, Mo.) placed 3rd.

"We continued our excellent tradition in the pole vault with yet another conference champion in Jesse, and Joe cruised to a strong victory in the racewalk to be the first racewalking champ from CMU since 2017," stated head coach Mark Nelson. "Taylor turned in a spectacular performance over the weekend with two massive school record and national qualifying tosses in both throws and our 4x400m school record has come down by 7 seconds since the beginning of the year."

The top three finishers of each event earned 1^st Team, 2^nd Team, and 3^rd Team All-Conference honors, respectively. Individuals finishing in 4^th-6^th place are considered Honorable Mention All-Conference honorees.

"Mohammed turned in an incredible 400m performance and then turned in an even better run to lead off the 4x400m relay. I'm very proud of the way our men competed and finished with our best placing since the conference expanded," added Nelson. "We'll be taking Taylor, Jesse, Joe, the 4x400m relay, and hopefully Hayden to nationals while the rest of the team gears up for the outdoor season."

Grand View secured the event title with a total of 175 points, followed by Baker (139) and MidAmerica Nazarene (98).

TOP PERFORMERS:

Jesse Pinkley – Pole Vault (1^st / 4.65m) *NAIA 'B' Standard

Joseph Bruemmer – 3000m Racewalk (1^st / 15:48.27)

Mohammed Nyaoga (SO/Arlington, Tex.) – 400m (2^nd / 49.39) *New school record

Robert Jerrick – Pole Vault (2^nd / 4.45m)

Taylor Bottomley (JR/Harrisburg, Mo.) – Shot Put (2^nd / 15.44m) *NAIA 'B' Standard & new school record, Weight Throw (3^rd / 17.93m) *NAIA 'A' Standard & new school record

4x400m Relay – Nyaoga, Curtis Johns (SO/Grand Prairie, Tex.), Mutiu Shittu (FR/Baldwin, N.Y.), Nehemiah Colyer (JR/St. Louis, Mo.) – 2^nd / 3:18.94 *NAIA 'B' Standard & new school record

Elliot Knernschield (SR/Jefferson City, Mo.) – Mile (3^rd / 4:24.46), 3000m (6^th / 8:58.36), 5000m (6^th / 15:30.33)

Parker Yager – Pole Vault (3^rd / 4.35m)

Hayden Hackman (JR/Glasgow, Mo.) – Heptathlon (4^th / 4555 points) NAIA Heptathlon Standard

Chris Roberts (FR/Fayette, Mo.) – Shot Put (4^th / 15.13m)

Abdulai Rashid (SO/Montlair, Va.) – Long Jump (5^th / 6.87m), Triple Jump (6^th / 13.60m)

Radovan Kemboi (JR/Eldoret, Ken.) – 5000m (6^th / 15:30.33)

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS:

1. Grand View – 175
2. Baker – 139
3. MidAmerica Nazarene – 98
4. Central Methodist – 97
5. Benedictine – 65
6. Missouri Valley – 53
7. Culver-Stockton – 43
8. Mount Mercy – 38
9. William Penn – 31
10. Evangel – 30
11. Clarke – 24
12. Graceland – 16