CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The MACU Men's Track & Field team made history in just its second ever NCCAA Indoor National Championships as the 4x800-meter relay team captured the program's first ever event victory while the team as a whole scored 30 points to place eighth overall inside Doden Field House on the campus of Cedarville University.
 
*- denotes MACU Record
()- denotes # of runners/teams
{}- denotes points scored

RESULTS

• 4x800-Meter Relay (8)
  • Chase Cotarelo, Collin Seely, Jonathan Avila, Lucky Maila – 1^st {10} – 8:07.77*
• 5000-Meter Run (18)
  • Lucky Maila – 4^th {5} – 15:19.70
  • Jaden Rodriguez – 6^th {3} – 15:31.94
  • Aidan Collins – 13^th – 15:57.66
• 800-Meter Run (23)
  • Chase Cotarelo – 5^th {4} – 1:59.70
  • Blake Jensen – 16^th – 2:06.28
  • Jonathan Avila – 18^th – 2:07.25
  • Collin Seely – 22^nd – 2:11.79
• Distance Medley Relay (9)
  • Chase Cotarelo, Blake Jensen, Collin Seely, Jonathan Avila – 5^th {4} – 10:50.90
• 3000-Meter Run (26)
  • Lucky Maila – 6^th {3} – 8:48.92
  • Jaden Rodriguez – 8^th {1} – 8:54.14

SUMMARY

• With the men's 4x800-meter relay opening the second day of the NCCAA National Championships, Chase Cotarelo opened the race with a sensational first leg and while the Evangels fell to third entering the final lap of the last leg, Lucky Maila put together an incredible last lap, surpassing the runners from Cedarville and Malone to secure the victory.
• Overall, the Evangels finished the race with a time of 8:07.77, winning the event by more than two seconds and shattering the previous program record of 8:20.08 set by Aidan Collins, Cameron Pearson, Alexander Pebeahsy, and Collin Seely at last year's NCCAA Nationals.
• On-top of being crowned National Champions, Cotarelo, Seely, Jonathan Avila, and Maila were also officially named NCCAA All-Americans, becoming the program's first indoor All-Americans. The crew joins Jaden Rodriguez (5000-meter) and Mohamed Zairi (800-meter) as All-Americans in track when that duo became MACU's first track All-Americans during the 2025 NCCAA Outdoor National Championships.
• On the opening day of the championships, Maila and Rodriguez scored MACU a combined eight points in the 5000-meter run. Maila's mark of 15:19.70 set the second-fastest placement in MACU's record book and a personal best for the junior from South Africa.
• Competing in the 5000-meter for the second-straight year at Nationals, Rodriguez posted the fourth-fastest time in MACU's record book with a time of 15:31.94 while earning a sixth-place finish in the race.
• The Evangels opened the Championships with the 4000-meter long distance medley relay as the four-man squad of Cotarelo, Blake Jensen, Seely, and Avila posted the second-fastest time in program history in the event with a 10:50.90, giving MACU a fifth-place finish in the race and four points toward its team score.
• Spearheading the Evangels in the 800-meter run on Saturday, Cotarelo won the second heat with a time of 1:59.70 for his personal-beset and the third-fastest in MACU's record book to place fifth overall and score MACU four points in the race.
• After the tandem of Maila and Rodriguez scored eight points for the Evangels in the 5000-meter, the duo also combined to net four points for the Evangels in the 3000-meter race on Saturday. Maila's time of 8:48.92 was good enough to get him sixth place in the race as well as set the fourth-fastest 3k time in MACU's record book while Rodriguez came in eighth with an 8:54.14, netting the fifth-fastest time on the list and giving MACU one point as a team.
• By the conclusion of all events, the Evangels had scored a team total of 30 points, allowing them to finish in a tie for eighth along with fellow Sooner Athletic Conference squad Wayland Baptist and three points in-front of another SAC foe in Southwestern Christian.
• The result was a vast improvement from last year's NCCAA Indoor National Championships when the Evangels tallied only six team points and finished 15^th in their first ever appearance at the national meet.

UP NEXT

• Mid-America Christian will now have some time to recover and start training for the outdoor season, which will begin with the Oklahoma Baptist All-Comers Meet taking place at the Hurt Memorial Athletic Complex in Shawnee, Okla. on Mar. 27-28.