MARION, Ind. - After ending day one trailing Indiana Wesleyan by two points, the Marian men's track and field team made up for the deficit in a big way on Friday, as the Knights scored a whopping 165 to run away with the 2026 Crossroads League Championship, winning the program's sixth consecutive title. The title is Marian's 11th overall in program history. 

In the Knights' championship clinching outing, the team scored great points on the track, logging at least one point or more in every event but two on Friday. The sprint crew scored 21 points in the 100m, with Will Osafo leading the pace with his 10.50 victory in the finals. Jeremiah Brown finished behind Osafo with a 10.53 time to take the runner-up, and Jonathan Phillips finished sixth with his 10.69 time. Osafo also won the 200m with a 21.35 time, and Brown finished third with a time of 21.52 seconds. Eric Materna finished sixth in the 200m with a time of 21.64, capping a 19-point event for Marian.

Eric Materna led Marian's 400m runners with a runner-up finish, clocking an NAIA B standard time with his 47.21 time. Materna helped Marian score a total of 22 points in the 400m, as he was joined on the podium by Tre Jones' 47.95 third place time. Eli Givens finished fourth (48.43), and Dexter Parker finished sixth (48.68). Malik Ferdinand finished just outside of the scoring places by 0.20 seconds. 

A lifetime best from Mason Piatt headlined an 11-point team effort in the 800m, as Piatt finished as the runner-up with his 1:52.26 time. Benjamin Riehle and Rick Williams finished seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 800m. Tristan Tevino kept the mid-distance standard going with a narrow victory in the 1500m, winning by the thousandth of a second against Trenton Sweet with a 3:50.63 time. Charles Leedke joined Trevino on the podium with a 3:51.16 time that was good for third place.

Travis Running led Marian in the 5000m on the day with an eighth place finish, clocking a 15:24.01 time, and Marc Hernandez finished 17th for the second-best mark from the Knights. Gregory Hueston scored a fourth place finish in the 400m hurdles with a 55.03 time, and in the 3000m steeplechase, Benjamin Moster scored the team a first place victory, hitting an NAIA B standard with his 9:22.95 time. Lucas Steward also finished with a scoring mark in the steeplechase, finishing seventh. 

Marian's final track points came from the 4x400m relay, as the Knights' team of Michael Hunter, Rick Williams, Eli Givens, and Malik Ferdinand ended the CL Championships with a victory, winning with a 3:18.26 time. 

The Knights concluded their championship with big points in the triple jump, javelin, and hammer throw. Brendan Oleksak earned his first collegiate victory in the triple jump with a winning mark of 13.35m, while teammate Marzeion Jones finished as the runner-up with a 12.61m distance. Oleksak later finished in third in the javelin with a 48.27m mark, and in the hammer, Markevious Keys and Sam Runholt went 1-2, bringing home 18 points in the final individual field event. Keys' logged the eighth-best throw in league meet history with his A Standard and lifetime best toss of 60.06m. 

The final points in Marian's championship came from Michael Runions and Peyton Doty, who capped off a grueling two-day decathlon. Runions finished fifth overall, and Doty finished seventh, scoring a combined six points to complete Marian's total scoring.

Marian finished with a 229.5 point total, winning the championship by 59 points over Indiana Wesleyan. Spring Arbor finished third, followed by Mount Vernon Nazarene and Taylor. 

At the conclusion of the championship, head coach Katie Wise-Butler was named as the Coach of the Year, and Will Osafo was named as the meet's Most Valuable Athlete and Most Outstanding Track Performer. 

Marian will compete in two different last chance qualifier meets next Friday at Indiana University and Indiana State University, aiming to add more qualifiers for their 2026 NAIA Outdoor Championship roster. The NAIA National Championships are held May 20-22 in Asheville, North Carolina. 

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