FAYETTE, Mo. - The Central Methodist University men's track & field team had 22 different athletes score points to help CMU to a runner-up team finish at the Heart of America Athletic Conference outdoor track & field championships Friday and Saturday.

Central Methodist, which posted one school-record and two NAIA qualifying performances at the HAAC championships, scored 129.5 points for the second-place team finish. Lindenwood University continued its reign as the team champion for the sixth straight year, finishing with 264 points in the meet. Baker University came in third with 119.5 points.
 

Freshman Josh Whitener (Imperial, Mo.), sophomore Kevin Couty (Jefferson City, Mo.), freshman Gary Jones (Jefferson City, Mo.) and sophomore Daniel Jacobs (New Haven, Mo.) raced to a new CMU record in the 1,600-meter relay, finishing fourth in a time of 3 minutes, 21.72 seconds, which bettered the 2002 record of 3:23.46. The three teams who finished ahead of CMU Saturday all bettered the track record at CMU's William L. Hairston Track.
 

Freshman Lucas Manring (Stockton, Mo.) ran nearly four seconds faster than his season-best in the 800, finishing as the runner-up in the event with a time of 1:54.66. Manring's time also achieved the NAIA "B" standard for the National Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 21-23 in Edwardsville, Ill. Junior Peter Muldoon (Co Cavan, Ireland) crossed the finish line in 22:58.66 in the 5,000 race walk to finish as the runner-up with an NAIA "A" standard time.
 

Central Methodist earned runner-up finishes in three other events at the HAAC championships. Sophomore Mike Hernandez (Balmorhea, Texas) ran nearly four seconds faster than his only other time in the 1,500 this season, finishing second in 4:02.48. The 3,200 relay team of Hernandez, Jacobs, Jones and sophomore Josphat Sawe (Kapsabet, Kenya) was one of three teams to crush the track record in the event, placing second in a time of 7:54.72. The previous track record in the 3,200 relay was 8:03.05, set in 2008 by MidAmerica Nazarene University. Senior Kyle Shelton (Kirksville, Mo.) also finished as a runner-up for CMU, clearing a height of 4.10 meters in the pole vault for second place.
 

Whitener and Sawe raced to season-best times in the 400 and 1,500, respectively, for third-place finishes. Whitener posted a time of 49.19 seconds in the 400, while Sawe had a time of 4:03.93 to finish behind teammate Hernandez in the 1,500. Sophomore Josh Vaughn (Fulton, Mo.) also picked up a third-place finish, with a time of 15.14 in the 110 hurdles, while sophomore Alex Clawson (Brookfield, Mo.) finished third in the high jump with a leap of 1.91m.
 

For complete results from the HAAC championships, visit www.centralmethodist.edu/cmathletics/trackfield/index.asp.