By: Chris Donsereaux: Sports Information Graduate Assistant
GULF SHORES, Ala. - The Life University men's track and field team claimed the 2026 SSAC Outdoor Championships title on Tuesday, April 21st, 2026. The Running Eagles turned in 214 points with seven conference champions, eight runners-up, one single-A standard and one single-B standard. The victory also marks the fourth consecutive Outdoor Championship for the Running Eagles.
Team Scores:
1 - Life: 214 points
2 - William Carey: 185.5 points
3 - Mobile: 103.5 points
DAY ONE
Starting off Day One on the track, Life U's 4x800 meter relay team took home gold after winning the event and running a time of 7:46.23. The relay team consisted of Justin Ducote Abedelemejid Kerebo, Josh Mckinlay and Gray McIntyre. In the short sprints, junior Sammy Samuel placed fourth overall in the 100-meter dash prelims, running a personal best time of 10.59 and earning his spot in the finals on day two. Junior Samuel Piquant earned a spot in the 200-meter dash finals on day two after running a qualifying time of 21.89 in the prelims. In the longest run of the day, sophomore Elie Penitzka ran a beautiful personal-best time of 32:22.57 for a fourth-place finish in the 10,000 meter race, adding four points to the team total.
The Running Eagles team saw most of its Day One success on the field side, as 12 athletes finished in scoring position across four events. Headlining the Life U field group was junior Winston Sanders who earned two victories in the Discus (48.37 meters) and Hammer throwing events. Finishing right being Sanders in the discus event were three of his fellow Running Eagles; Sophomore Darius Barge finished second overall throwing 47.58 meters, while juniors Akinwale Dare, who finished third after throwing 45.34 meters, and Christian Dixon who finished fourth after throwing 43.83 meters, rounded out the top four. As mentioned, Sanders was also victorious in the hammer throw event after his mark of 50.98 meters. Following behind was Barge who finished second after throwing 50.64 meters, Dixon who finished third after throwing a personal-best 46.28 meters, and Dare who added another top-5 finish to his resume after throwing 45.34 meters and placing fifth. Sophomore Michael Holbrook would also add to the points total for the Running Eagles picking up a sixth-place finish in the event after throwing 41.99 meters.
In the high jump event, junior Keondre Glover would place second overall after jumping 2.03 meters, while teammate Braden Deal placed third after jumping 2 meters flat. To finish off Day One of the SSAC Championships, junior Khalil Carr jumped an outdoor season-best 7.07 meters on his way to a second-place finish in the long jump event.
At the end of day one the Running Eagles held a commanding lead over their opponents;
Team Scores:
1- Life: 97
2- William Carey: 38.5
3- Brewton-Parker: 29
Day Two
With all the momentum on their side after Day One, the Running Eagles team entered Day Two with heads held high. On the track, the relay team of Omar Bajo, Khalil Carr, Jeremiah Giddens and Drew Pochylko ran a time of 42.19, which was good enough for a fourth-place finish. Junior Sammy Samuel finished fifth overall in the 100 meter dash finals, running a time of 10.74. In the 400 meter dash, Giddens ran a time of 49.79 for a second-place finish, while fellow teammate Sean Hewitt ran a time of 50.02 for a third-place finish. Hewitt later returned to the track to compete in the 400-meter hurdle race, where he won the event after running a single-B standard time of 53.48. Pochylko placed second in the event after running a time of 54.91 and freshman Justin Ducote placed sixth in the event after running a time of 57.12.
In the longer running events of the day, seniors Abedelemejid Kerebo (AK) and Gray McIntyre finished first and second in the 800-meter race; Kerebo ran a time of 1:54.47, while McIntyre ran 1:55.13. Freshman Abedeleselam (AB) Kerebo also received a podium finish after running a personal-best time of 1:56.89 and placing fourth overall in the event. In the 1500-meter run, freshman Josh Mckinlay placed fourth overall after running a personal-best time of 4:02.00. Fellow Running Eagles Julien Jansen, who ran 4:05.74 and AB Kerebo who ran another personal-best time of 4:06.60, placed seventh and eighth respectively. Following a fourth-place finish in the 10,000-meter run, sophomore Elie Penitzka took to the track again to compete in the 5000-meter run. Penitzka ran a time of 15:17.86, which was good enough for another fourth-place finish. In the final race of the day, Life U sent out a relay team composed of McIntyre, Bajo, Carr and Alejandro Ramos to compete in the 4x400. The men would go on to win the event while running a time of 3:17.08.
Over on the field event side, AK Kerebo placed third in the javelin throw event after his mark of 46.96 meters. In the shot put event, sophomore Darius Barge continued his dominance as he walked away victorious after his single-A standard and personal-best throw of 17.90 meters crowned him champion. Junior Christian Dixon finished second overall after throwing 16.02, while sophomore Michael Holbrook finished sixth overall after his personal-best throw of 12.71 meters.
Up Next: The Running Eagles will compete at home on Saturday, April 25th in the Keith Wright Memorial meet.
