ATLANTA, Ga. (May 1, 2026) – Covenant’s Ethan Saiki headlines this year’s honorees, earning Track Athlete of the Meet, Overall Athlete of the Meet, and Athlete of the Year after three dominant long-distance performances.

Belhaven’s Neal Terry continued his reign in the field events, claiming Field Athlete of the Meet honors for the third consecutive season. LaGrange’s Ryheem Mighten was named Rookie of the Year after a breakout campaign, while Maryville head coach Kunle Lawson earned Coach of the Year recognition after leading the Scots to their first CCS men’s team title.

The superlative awards were determined through a vote by the conference's head coaches, with team selections and meet awards based on the standout performances at this year's CCS Track & Field Championship meet.

Track Athlete of the Meet, Overall Athlete of the Meet, & Athlete of the Year  | Ethan Saiki, Covenant
The Covenant distance standout swept all three long-distance events at the meet, claiming individual titles in the 10,000m, the 5,000m and the 1,500m en route to 30 points — a performance that earned him Track Athlete of the Meet, Overall Athlete of the Meet and Athlete of the Year in a single sweep. Saiki's dominance extended well beyond championship weekend. He leads the conference in the 5,000m, with his best time of 15:06.74 coming at the Berry Field Day Invitational in April, and tops the league in the 10,000m after posting a 33:29.63 at the Lee University Invitational. His 1,500m time of 4:09.64 — run at the CCS Championship — ranks second in the conference.

Field Athlete of the Meet | Neal Terry, Belhaven
A familiar name atop the podium, Neal Terry secured Field Athlete of the Meet honors for the third straight year with another standout performance. The Belhaven senior claimed individual titles in the long jump (7.19m) and the triple jump (15.11m), while also contributing to the Scots' third-place finish in the 4x400 relay. Terry's championship performance was accompanied by a landmark moment in the long jump, where he broke his own CCS record with a mark of 7.31m, surpassing the previous record of 7.30m he had set in 2024. Terry now holds the all-time CCS record for First-Team All-Conference selections in a career with nine.

Rookie of the Year | Ryheem Mighten, LaGrange
Ryheem Mighten emerged as one of the conference’s most dynamic sprinters in his first collegiate season with the Panthers. The freshman emerged as one of the conference's premier sprinters, collecting individual championships in the 200m and the 400m at the 2026 CCS Track & Field Championship Meet and establishing himself atop the conference leaderboards across multiple events. Mighten currently leads the league in the 400m with a time of 47.81, set at the championship meet, and ranks second in both the 100m (10.67, Emory Spring Break Classic) and the 200m (21.39, Embry-Riddle Running Elements).

Coach of the Year | Kunle Lawson, Maryville
Kunle Lawson capped a historic season on both sides of the program by guiding the Maryville men to a CCS team championship title — the program's first. On the men's side, his squad produced 14 school records, and 15 podium finishes at the conference championships.
 
Superlative Awards
Track Athlete of the Meet – Ethan Saiki, Covenant
Field Athlete of the Meet – Neal Terry, Belhaven
Overall Athlete of the Meet – Ethan Saiki, Covenant
Athlete of the Year – Ethan Saiki, Covenant
Rookie of the Year – Ryheem Mighten, LaGrange
Coach of the Year – Kunle Lawson, Maryville
 
2026 CCS Men’s Track and Field All-Conference Teams

First Team

Hammer	George Ketch	Piedmont
High Jump	Kenneth Mills	Belhaven
Long Jump	Neal Terry	Belhaven
Javelin	Christian Mortimer	Covenant
Steeple	Adyn Elliott	Maryville
10,000m	Ethan Saiki	Covenant
Shot Put	Lukas Yackley	Maryville
Discus	Sky Pleasant	Maryville
Pole Vault	Matthew Wilson	Asbury
Triple Jump	Neal Terry	Belhaven
4x100m	Silas Goolsby  Franklin Brown Jr.  Tyler Brown Bryant Murray	Piedmont
1500m	Ethan Saiki	Covenant
110 Hurdles	Rory Gilroy	Huntingdon
400m	Ryheem Mighten	LaGrange
100m	Clarence McLean	Maryville
800m	Andrew Beedle	Asbury
400 Hurdles	Rory Gilroy	Huntingdon
200m	Ryheem Mighten	LaGrange
5,000m	Ethan Saiki	Covenant
4x400m	Andrew Beedle  Caleb Payne Coleman Anderson Manny Dut	Asbury

 
Second Team

Hammer	Matthew Blocksom	Piedmont
High Jump	Carson Meloon	Asbury
Long Jump	Alex Reed	Belhaven
Javelin	Walter Burks	Piedmont
Steeple	Steven Cope	Maryville
10,000m	Alex Burns	Covenant
Shot Put	Sky Pleasant	Maryville
Discus	Matthew Blocksom	Piedmont
Pole Vault	Jacob Faulkner	Maryville
Triple Jump	Javerious Askew	Huntingdon
4x100m	Zedrick Drew  Clarence McLean  LaRue Tisby Manny Palmer	Maryville
1500m	Chandler Lines	Covenant
110 Hurdles	Silas Goolsby	Piedmont
400m	Silas Goolsby	Piedmont
100m	Fabian Coleman	LaGrange
800m	Chandler Lines	Covenant
400 Hurdles	Damian Sidelien	Belhaven
200m	Silas Goolsby	Piedmont
5,000m	Aidan Devries	Covenant
4x400m	Rory Gilroy Gavin McAbee  Johnny Quarles  William Mann	Huntingdon

 
Third Team

Hammer	Joshua Panetta	Maryville
High Jump	Austin Umberger	Maryville
Long Jump	Austin Umberger	Maryville
Javelin	Cameron McElroy	Asbury
Steeple	Keegan Ivey	Piedmont
10,000m	Aidan Devries	Covenant
Shot Put	Jayden Smith	Piedmont
Discus	Cameron Robinson	Maryville
Pole Vault	Jackson Lakeman	Maryville
Triple Jump	Alex Reed	Belhaven
4x100m	Seth Haynes Julius Phillips Leeson Taylor Kenneth Mills	Belhaven
1500m	James LeNeve	Maaryville
110 Hurdles	Jackson Rinehart	Huntingdon
400m	Manny Dut	Asbury
100m	Zedrick Drew	Maryville
800m	Jacob Graston	Asbury
400 Hurdles	Johnny Quarles	Huntingdon
200m	Clarence McLean	Maryville
5,000m	Alex Burns	Covenant
4x400m	Julius Phillips  Leeson Taylor Neal Terry Seth Haynes	Belhaven

 

Men’s Track and Field All-Sportsmanship Teams

Both Mony	Asbury
Drew Duckworth	Belhaven
Ethan Saiki	Covenant
Marcus Malone Jr.	Huntingdon
Steven Cope	Maryville
Fabian Coleman	LaGrange
Xander Wiley	Piedmont