PITTSBURG, Kansas– The Pitt State men turned in a dominant performance in last weekend’s Indoor National Championship meet, Chaz Wright took a closer look at their run to a national title.

National Champions. You know what I liked about those two words? It means you’re the best. It means you’re the best in the country. It means you get to hoist up one of these trophies and call yourself number one. And that’s exactly what the Pitt State men did this weekend in Virginia Beach at the 2023 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

The Pitt State Men’s team claimed the Division II National Championship to give them their 2nd title in program history. But That feeling when you realize you’re national champions is a feeling and moment unlike any other.

Hunter Jones said, “Once we got that trophy it was, it’s a pretty surreal feeling no matter what it looked like before”.

Cordell Tinch said, “When we found out, I had just finished up high jump and I was like “What’s it look like?” and I was told it’s not close and I was like oh, so you know that feeling really started to settle in then, but it really set in all the way as soon as our 4×400 crossed the line”.

“Sometimes it’s hard to enjoy it in the process so right now I’m just elated with the men,” said Head Coach Kyle Rutledge, “and sort of relieved that we did it and it’s fun it’s exciting”.

Now you could say This Pitt State men’s team has coined the phrase “dominant performances” after winning the MIAA Championships by 108 points…AJ Evans and Treyvon Ferguson had some strong words for the rest of Division II ahead of the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Natty champs, natty champs. We gonna see everybody in Virginia. we ain’t taking no names, we ain’t scared of nobody, we ain’t ducking no smoke, Treyvon Ferguson said, “so, that’s all we got to say you know what I mean. Everybody kind of got that dog and this is just a warm up you feel me. We ain’t even unleashed our full arsenal so we gonna see everybody”.

AJ Evans said, “Oh, we’re winning nationals, we’re winning nationals. we’re definitely winning nationals, and I’ll say it rest of D2, we gonna see y’all in Virginia”.

And win nationals they did, but they didn’t just win it, they won it by 44 points scoring 86 total. I guess you can say the Gorillas “talked the talk because they can walk the walk”. But to be able to get to this point to do so doesn’t start on the track it starts with the bond you build with one another off the track.

“We’re pretty close knit as a family now and we have our team meetings in our little gatherings where we have our little in between period of talking to each other just hanging out on on a track off the track,” said Ferguson, “But it translates really well onto the track and for us to put those pieces together, coming in from transfers, and people who’ve already been here and getting the results we been looking for, it’s special”.

Jones said, “You know, it has to do a lot with these new people that came in and just bonded with the whole team so easily. We have a special connection here”.

Rutledge said, “There’s such a close bond to one another and how they pick one another up and that’s why they’re so good. How close they are on and off the track I mean it is a true brotherhood that we have here and that’s why we know they’re such a special group”.

Now that the indoor season has wrapped up Pitt State will take a short break before they start their outdoor season. And hopefully by that time they can be hoisting up another national championship trophy.