SSU men finish program-best 13th in USTFCCCA-NAIA Track and Field and Cross Country Program of the Year standings
Behind a complete effort that included a top-15 team finish at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships in the fall and three NAIA All-American performances between Aiden Kammler, Shawn Little, and Justin Moore, the Shawnee State men's cross country and track and field programs achieved their highest finish in school history in the USTFCCCA-NAIA Track and Field and Cross Country Program of the Year rundown, placing 13th in the NAIA to complete a fantastic year where Shawnee State ultimately had 15 NAIA National Qualifiers on the men's side and claimed its highest finish in the USTFCCCA rundown since officially sponsoring the sport of indoor track and field beginning with the 2016-17 season.
Shawnee State, whose previous best in the season-ending program of the year standings was 15th following the 2022-23 season, bettered that position by two spots this past year. The Bears tallied 101 points for a 15th place mark last year, but dropped that mark to 84.5 points after improving its finish at the NAIA Cross Country National Championships by six spots and being represented well in the NAIA All-American track and field rundown between Kammler and Moore.
While Shawnee State was 13th in the entire NAIA in the rundown, the Bears were the seventh best program when only considering programs east of the Mississippi River, as the only programs on the east coast to finish ahead of SSU in the final rundown were No. 1 Cumberlands (Ky.), No. 4 William Carey (Miss.), No. 5 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 8 Montreat (N.C.), No. 9 Southeastern (Fla.) and No. 10 Milligan (Tenn.). Cumberlands, who finished the year as the top-ranked program, notched an NAIA-low five points by winning the 2024 NAIA Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field National Championships and placing third as a team in the NAIA Cross Country National Championships.
Shawnee State was one of only six programs in the Midwest to be ranked in the final rundown and one of only two programs in the Midwest outside of the state of Indiana to be ranked.
In cross country, the Bears had two NAIA All-Americans as Kammler finished 14th while Little placed 28th to head up SSU's top-12 standing. Track and field saw Kammler carry the baton again as the terrific distance talent finished as the NAIA National Runner-Up in the 5,000 meter run on the indoor side of the spectrum while Moore finished ninth nationally in the indoor shot put, one spot off of an NAIA All-American position.
Outdoor-wise, SSU got several impressive efforts with Moore, Kammler and Alan Austin all claiming top-10 efforts nationally at the NAIA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships, with Moore earning NAIA All-American honors in the outdoor shot put after placing third and Kammler finishing eighth in the 5,000 meter run to add in his third NAIA All-American honor of the year and his seventh of his illustrious career. Austin, meanwhile, finished 10th overall in his first-ever NAIA National Championship appearance in the discus. Isaiah Lanoy finished 19th in the 3,000 meter steeplechase, allowing the SSU men's outdoor track and field program to go four-for-four in terms of its national qualifiers obtaining top-20 national finishes in outdoor competition.
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