Harrisburg native and Central Methodist senior Brayton Stephenson won the national title in the shot put at the 2025 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships over the weekend in Gainesville, Florida. 

The CMU track & field program garnered three All-Americans, including Stephenson’s national title at the event.

Stephenson is the first thrower on the men’s side to bring home gold at nationals in school history. He won the national title with a throw of 17.44 meters. He is also the first NAIA National Champion for the men since Ryan Gandy won the outdoor decathlon in 2017.

Central was represented by six athletes at this year’s championships, including Colder Evans (Shot Put), Stephenson (Shot Put), Doriye Jackson (600m Run), Hugo Massa (600m Run), Ethan Smith (Heptathlon), and Leroy Williams (60m Hurdles). 

Williams qualified in the hurdles but did not compete due to injury. 

Smith posted a 14th place standing in the heptathlon after tallying 4,773 total points in the seven-event competition.

Massa advanced to Saturday’s finals of the 600m run after qualifying in the prelims with a time of 1:19.50. He would finish sixth in the finals after clocking a time of 1:20.10 to earn All-America honors for the first time in his career. 

Jackson finished 14th in the prelims of the 600m run in a time of 1:20.68.

The highlight of the championships came in the throws competition on the final day, which saw two Eagles earn All-America honors in the shot put.

Behind Stephenson, senior Colder Evans finished sixth in the shot put event with a new personal best toss of 16.65 meters. He is now a two-time All-American after earning honors in the outdoor discus in 2024.

Central finished 13th in the team standings with 17 points, the best finish for the program during indoor nationals since Coach Kenny Anderson took over in 2020.