Marian Earns NAIA National Championship in Men's 4x800M Relay

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - For the second time in the 2025-26 academic year, the Marian men's track and field program has recorded an NAIA National Championship in the men's 4x800m relay, as Marian's team ran to gold on Thursday night. The Knights' championship is their first of the 2026 NAIA National Championship.

After turning in the top time in the prelims on Wednesday, the Knights were determined to bring home another relay championship to Indianapolis. Holding one of the top times in the NAIA entering the event, Marian gave Mason Piatt the baton first, who held in the pack in sixth place through the first 400m of the event. Piatt gradually gained speed in his second lap, dropping his pace by 0.90 seconds to hit the first exchange in first place.

Ben Riehle was the second man up for the Knights, and, coming off his personal-best time in the open 800m prelims earlier in the evening, the sophomore kept pace with Piatt, carrying a 55.23-second split in his first lap. Although his pace slowed entering the second exchange, Riehle carried Marian into the second half of the relay in first place by 0.43 seconds over Mount Vernon Nazarene.

The Cougars would challenge Marian's third leg Charles Leedke, but were unable to overcome the touted distance runner. Leedke maintained a 0.14 second edge at the 2000m mark over MVNU, and grew the gap to 2.18 seconds by the time he hit the final exchange, using a 55.58 lap to give Tristan Trevino an edge.

Trevino shot out of the exchange zone like a cannon, bursting around the track in 53.77 seconds, holding the 1.7 second lead over Mount Vernon's team. Trevino's efforts allowed him to hold a lead, as his strong start carried him across the finish line in first place, completing the relay in 7:28.01, bringing home another NAIA National Championship in his decorated career.

The efforts of Riehle, Piatt, Leedke, and Trevino, along with Rick Williams and Sean Sienkowski's marks in the prelims, capture Marian's second NAIA National Championship in the 4x800m relay in the 2025-26 track season, backing up the Knights' win at the Indoor Championships. The six-man team earned NAIA All-America honors with their victory in the relay.

The All-America honor is Marian's second of the championship, as the relay team joins Gunner Kovach as scorers so far in the championship for Marian. Through seven scored events, Marian is in fifth place at the NAIA Championship, trailing the leader, the University of the Cumberlands, by seven points. 

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