ROLLA, Mo. – Another strong finish led to a championship for Missouri S&T's men's track & field team, as it captured the Great Lakes Valley Conference outdoor championship for the third straight year in the meet that concluded Saturday at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

The Miners, who won their seventh GLVC outdoor title, became the first team in a decade to win three outdoor titles in succession; Indianapolis won four straight from 2010-13.  S&T also recorded its highest point total at a GLVC championship meet with 207 points as it finished 61 points ahead of Lewis in the team standings.

"This was a very special group," said Missouri S&T head coach Shaun Meinecke, who was named by his peers as the GLVC Coach of the Year following the meet.  "The seniors that just gave us their last efforts at this championship have really set the tone over the course of the year and the team showed that they not only recognized those efforts, but want to continue the precedent that has been set."

Missouri S&T won six events over the three days and took three on Saturday, beginning when Rhet Liley (Jackson, MO/Jackson) captured the javelin throw title by five inches over Truman State's Jacob Morris – who was named at the end of the meet as the Field Athlete of the Year – with his throw of 188-3.

S&T then captured the 4x100-meter relay to open the track portion of the afternoon with a season-best time of 41.23 seconds behind the quartet of Aaron Toben (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette), Sam Wright (Hillsboro, MO/Hillsboro), Kyle Burke (Plainfield, IL/Plainfield) and Samuel Schmidt.

Toben recorded the third win of the day as he got past favorite Connor Wagner of Lewis late in the race to take the title in 53.52 seconds.  He was joined in the scoring column in that event by Wright, who was fourth in 55.77 seconds and Otto Knittel (Spring Hill, KS/Spring Hill), who finished seventh in 56.66 seconds.

S&T also got a second place finish from Owen Fraser (Kirksville, MO/Kirksville) in the discus throw with a mark of 166-9, leading a contingent of four Miners among the top seven in that event.  Nathan Swadley (Willard, MO/Willard) finished third with his throw of 160-1, while Tyler Marchert (Frankfort, IL/Lincoln-Way East) was fifth at 148-5 and Jacob Luebbert (Warsaw, MO/Warsaw) finished seventh with a throw of 143-6.

The Miners also had three of the top seven in the 110-meter hurdles, led by Burke's second place showing in 14.36 seconds.  Wright finished sixth in 15.29 seconds and Christopher Holland was right behind him in 15.59 seconds.

Schmidt had a pair of top-three finishes, placing second in the 200-meters in 21.76 seconds and third in the 100-meters with a time of 10.59 seconds, while Paulvin Horton (Raleigh, NC/Garner) claimed third in the triple jump with a leap of 47-0¼ and Lucas Rackers (Florissant, MO/St. Louis University HS) took fourth in the 1,500-meters with a time of 3:55.44.

The Miners' other relay team took fifth in the 4x400-meter relay, as the group of Wright, Kael Knittle, Pate and Toben posted a time of 3:23.69.

Justis Braden (Liberty, MO/Liberty North) finished fifth in the javelin at 182-4, right ahead of teammate Dawson Sherer's (Galena, MO/Galena) mark of 176-7 and Oto Knittel's seventh place throw of 171-0.  S&T also got a fifth place effort from Michael Pate (Wildwood, MO/Lafayette) in the 400-meters in 49.56 seconds.

S&T got a sixth place showing from Hayes Pateidl (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley West) in the 1,500-meters with a time of 3:57.34, a seventh from Noah Richardson (Hillsboro, MO/Grandview) in the triple jump with his top leap of 43-1¾ and a pair of eighths from Kamden Lockwood (Herscher, IL/Herscher) in the high jump as he cleared 5-10 and in the triple jump with a mark of 41-10.

"The dedication that our young men and women in our program have shown throughout the year was on display for these last three days and we couldn't be prouder of the results they achieved," Meinecke said.  "It was an exciting weekend and our teams want to thank all of those who helped and supported us throughout."