PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. -- The Augustana Vikings men's indoor track & field team earned a second place finish over the weekend at the CCIW Indoor Track & Field Championships, their sixth top-two standing in the last seven championship meets.

After the first day of competition, the Vikings found themselves in first-place with a total of 42 points. Michael Gille placed second in the 5000m run with a time of 15:15.16 to earn the Vikings eight points in the event. In the pole vault, Augie secured four spots in the top six, led by Reid McNeil in second (4.41m) and Derek Butts in third. Dakota Straight and Seth Rohr came in fifth and sixth, respectively. The pole vault group scored a total of 21 points for the team. Carson Eipers earned third overall in the weight throw with a toss of 18.35m. Luke Cowan placed eighth.

The men led with a team score of 41, followed by Millikin (38), Carthage (34), North Central (32.5), Wheaton (27), Carroll (14), Elmhurst (6.5), Illinois Wesleyan (2) and North Park (0). 

On day two, Augustana was led by Seth Sottos, who was the event winner in the 200m to earn himself a conference championship with a time of 22.61. Teammate Connor McBride took second in the same race, crossing the finish line with a mark of 22.78. Augie had four total members earn all-conference in the event as Braeden Clements and Ian Rothery placed sixth and seventh, respectively. Sottos also grabbed third in the 55m race, while Rothery (2nd) and Clements (8th) both secured all-conference and lifetime best times in the 400m as well. Sylvester Brady and Jimmy Vercoe narrowly missed out in the top eight, but each posted a PR in the 400m.

In the 3000m and one-mile races, Gille finished second and third to add on to his all-conference accolades over the weekend. Teammate Alex Gazarek had a huge PR (8:49) in the 3000m as well to snag a point for the Vikings. In the 55m hurdle event, Judd Anderson took home fourth with an 8.25 mark. Additionally, teammate Connor Lopez placed seventh in the event. Cole Long and Zach Vandagriff (PR) each finished in the top eight in the heptathlon. 

In field events, Jon Cathcart grabbed all-conference with a sixth-place finish in the triple jump and eighth-place standing in the long jump. In the shot put, Jack Currie heaved a 15.00m mark to earn him fifth.

Overall, Augustana tallied 113 points to place them second overall. A total of 22 members of the team saw personal bests over the weekend. The Augie men's coaching staff also earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors as awarded by the CCIW.

The Vikings are back in action on March 4-5 at the Wartburg qualifier.