KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A program-record seven Montana Tech men's track & field athletes will head to Gainsville, Fla., next month for the 61st Annual NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championship, the national office announced Wednesday with its full field of qualifiers. 

The Orediggers will compete for titles in a combined six events March 5-7 at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center. 

Cade VanVleet and Morgan McClernan will both represent Montana Tech in multiple events, while Konnor Gregerson, Nicoló Lancini, Matthew Moreni, Adam Schrader, and Ricky Williams all qualified in a single event. 

VanVleet, a senior from Noxon, posted the top shot put mark in the NAIA this past weekend on his way to victory at the Frontier Conference championship meet. His 17.78-meter throw shattered his own program record. He will also compete in the weight throw, in which he's ranked 20th (17.89m). It will be VanVleet's third-consecutive appearance at indoor nationals; he was runner-up in the shot put a year ago. 

McClernan, a senior from Butte, heads to indoor nationals for the second time in his career. He became the first Montana Tech man to post a qualifying standard in the 60m hurdles, entering the meet ranked 22nd in the country with his program-record run of 8.15 seconds on Valentine's Day in Bozeman. 

McClernan will also team up with Gregerson, Moreni, and Schrader in the 4x400m relay. The team enters the national meet ranked No. 25 in the NAIA at 3:17.52. 

Lancini, a junior from Adro, Brescia, Italy, will make his second-career attempt at an indoor triple jump championship, entering with the NAIA's seventh-longest leap at 15.11m, which he posted February 6 in Bozeman. He was eighth in the event in 2024, earning All-America honors. 

Williams, a freshman from Noxon, is set to make his nationals debut after posting a huge high jump mark at last week's Frontier Conference championship meet. His 2.04m leap ranks seventh in the country. 

The Orediggers' seven qualifiers are the most the program has ever sent to an indoor national meet, besting the previous record of five, set the past two seasons. 

Montana Tech Men's Indoor Track & Field All-Time National Qualifiers 
*All-America
2023 – Payton Cates (HJ), Edwin Kipainoi (3,000m)   
2024 – Braden Anderson (SP), Nicoló Lancini (TJ*), Jesse Mecham (SP), Drake Schlacter (HJ), Cade VanVleet (SP)  
2025 – Morgan McClernan (4x400m), Matthew Moreni (4x400m), Adam Schrader (4x400m), Cade VanVleet (SP*), Will Wagner (4x400m)  
2026 – Konnor Gregerson (4x400m), Nicoló Lancini (TJ), Morgan McClernan (60H, 4x400m), Matthew Moreni (4x400m), Adam Schrader (4x400m), Cade VanVleet (SP, WT), Ricky Williams (HJ)

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