Hunter Shatters 14-Year School Record at AAC Indoor Championships

The Spartanburg Methodist College men's track and field team opened competition at the Appalachian Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday, highlighted by a record-breaking performance from Ryan Hunter.

Hunter tied for third place in the 5,000 meters and shattered the 14-year-old school record by 33 seconds, crossing the line in 15:00.56. He eclipsed the previous mark of 15:33.07, set by Austin Stegall at the Niswonger Invitational on January 28, 2012.

The Pioneers also made a strong statement in the 60-meter dash, qualifying three athletes for the finals. Junior Romeo Brown posted the fastest preliminary time in the field at 6.82. Sophomore Javion Brannon and sophomore Qamari Govan secured their spots with season-best times of 6.87 and 6.99, the fourth- and seventh-fastest marks, respectively.

Freshman Qya Clemmons narrowly missed advancing in the 60 meters, finishing 12th in 7.07, while junior Parker Balog clocked a 7.19. Balog also placed 16th in the 400 meters with a time of 54.34.

In the 1,000 meters, sophomore Caleb Williams led the Pioneers with a 15th-place finish in a school record time of 2:39.72, and freshman Dante Hudnall was 18th in 2:46.44.

The SMC distance medley relay team of Williams, Charles Ramsey, Matthew Radford, and Hudnall finished ninth in 11:46.44 — the sixth-fastest time in program history.

The two-day meet concludes Friday at the JDL Fast Track in Winston-Salem, N.C., with track events beginning at 10 a.m.