WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey took first, second and fourth in the pole vault and Justin Johnson set a school record to take third place in the long jump, highlighting Belmont Abbey's first day at the 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Indoor Track and field championship.

Abe McNelly and Noah Whack were the final two competitors in the pole vault, both clearing 4.40 meters. Down the their last of three attempt at 4.50m, Whack just missed his try, while McNelly cleared to earn the title. Dalton Gould placed fourth at 4.30m, dropping a tiebreaker (previous misses) for the final podium spot.

Less than an hour earlier, Johnson had the best mark in the preliminaries of the long jump, a school-record 7.17m. He did not improve that during the finals round, while two competitors passed him.

The Crusaders stand second with five of 17 events scored, tallying 27 points. Converse is the leader with 28. The meet concludes tomorrow.

BELMONT ABBEY RESULTS

• Heptathlon Day One
  • Josh Gulapa, 2nd, 2590 points
    • 60m Dash -- 5th, 7.40, 745 points
    • Long Jump -- 2nd, 6.30m (20'-8"), 652 points
    • Shot Put -- 3rd, 10.47m (34'-4.25"), 514 points
    • High Jump -- 3rd, 1.86m (6'-1.25"), 679 points
  • Abe McNelly, 4th, 2417 points 
    • 60m Dash --10th,  7.50, 10th, 713 points
    • Long Jump -- 8th, 6.00m (19'-8.25"), 587 points
    • Shot Put -- 10th, 8.77m (28'-9.25"), 412 points
    • High Jump -- 2nd, 1.89m (6'-2.25"), 705 points
  • Antonio Caggins, 5th, 2408 points
    • 60m Dash -- 4th, 7.29, 782 points
    • Long Jump -- 9th, 5.81m (19'-0.75"), 5.46 points
    • Shot Put -- 7th, 9.45m (31'-0"), 453 points
    • High Jump -- 4th, 1.80m (5'-10.75"), 627 points
  • Ayden Thompson, 7th  2352 points
    • 60m Dash -- 2nd, 7.24, 799 points
    • Long Jump -- 6th, 6.11m (20'-0.50"), 610 points
    • Shot Put -- t5th, 9.62m (31'-6.75"), 463 points
    • High Jump --  10th, 1.62m (5'-3.75"), 480 points
• 5000m Run
  • Clinton Hubbard, 17th, 16:15.73
• 60m Hurdles - Prelims
  • Josh Gulapa, 8th, 8.49q -- qualified for finals 
  • Ayden Thompson, 6th, 8.45Q -- qualified for finals
  • Antonio Caggins, 10th, 8.62
  • Amari Trawick-Peterson, 12th, 9.16
  • Christian Baccile, 14th, 9.51
• Distance Medley Relay
  • 'A' • (Kolbe Zuniga, Peter Thierfelder, Jake Legato, John Hetzel), 5th, 10:31.92
• Long Jump
  • Justin Johnson, 3rd, 7.17m (23'-6.25") -- school record, third-team all-conference
  • Dayzhaun Gooding-Williams, 6th, 6.87m (22'-6.50")
  • Devin Agard, 8th, 6.75m (22'-1.75")
  • Sekani Coleman, 17th, 6.25m (20'-6.25")
• Pole Vault
  • Abe McNelly, 1st, 4.50m (14'-9") -- first-team all-conference
  • Noah Whack, 2nd, 4.40m (14'-5.25") -- second-team all-conference
  • Dalton Gould, 4th, 4.30m (14'-1.25")
  • Harrison Krause, 9th, 3.85m (12'-7.50")
• Weight Throw
  • Zion Wright, 14th, 12.08m (39'-7.75")
  • Davis Powers, 16th, 11.74m (38'-6.25")