GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Cade VanVleet is Montana Tech men's track & field's first-ever national champion! 

The senior won the 2026 NAIA indoor shot put title Saturday afternoon, ending the Orediggers' stay at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center with a bang. His winning throw went 17.73 meters. 

Competing in the third flight of prelims, VanVleet began his day with a 16.25m throw that put him into fifth place. On his second toss, he broke out a 17.73m bomb — the second-longest of his indoor career — that proved untouchable for the rest of the field. It was also a facility record. 

"It turned out exactly how I liked," VanVleet said. "I'm pretty satisfied with how it went." 

VanVleet endured very little competition through the rest of the event. Runner-up Tahaj Acoff from Arizona Christian became the only other athlete in the field to top 17 meters, doing so on his final throw. VanVleet fouled in his final four attempts, safely in the lead and with Montana Tech's other 13 national qualifiers cheering him on. 

"My teammates really showed up and gave me the confidence to do well," VanVleet said afterward. 

VanVleet's victory marked the first national title for a Montana Tech men's track & field athlete since the program's inception in 2021. He's been runner-up twice, first in the shot put last indoor season and again in the discus at the 2025 outdoor national meet. 

It was his fourth-career All-America honor, joining the two runner-up finishes and a seventh-place result in the shot put at the 2024 NAIA outdoor meet. 

Montana Tech's other competitors scheduled for Saturday didn't enjoy such luck. Both Clark in the women's high jump and Nicoló Lancini in the men's triple jump didn't record a mark due to injury. 

All told, however, it was one of the most successful national trips in Montana Tech track & field history. VanVleet became the Orediggers' third All-American of the meet, joining Abby Clark and Jadyn Vermillion, who were third in the women's pentathlon and long jump, respectively. Montana Tech had never had three All-Americans at an indoor national meet prior to 2026. 

VanVleet's 10 points put the Orediggers men in 25th place in the meet's team standings. The women, with 12 points, placed 30th.

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