CLEVELAND, Ohio – On Wednesday afternoon, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) announced the indoor track & field pre-championship polls for the upcoming 2026 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.

The Ohio Wesleyan women took the top spot in their poll, earning 60 points with four first place votes and narrowly edging out John Carroll in second with 59 points and four first place votes as well. DePauw was third with 49 points, followed by Wittenberg with 40, Denison with 31, Kenyon with 25, Oberlin with 16, and Wooster with eight.

The Battling Bishops hold 16 top-five marks within the NCAC on the women's side, highlighted in sprints by two of the top three times in the conference in the 60 meter dash with Alaina Nathan and Katherine Dortmund turning in times of 7.78 and 7.80 this season. Dortmund also holds the second-best NCAC time in the 60 meter hurdles at 8.76 and third-best time in the 200 meter dash at 25.64. She is followed closely by Kennedy Elfers in fourth in the 200 at 25.66. Kaylee Lusk currently sits fifth in the conference at 59.20 in the 400 meter dash. All three of OWU's relays are in the top three, taking first in the 4x200 with a 1:42.80, second in the distance medley with a 12:05.51, and third in the 4x400 with a 4:00.90.

In the area of distance, Sophie Cotts holds the third-best time in the 5000 meter run at 17:50.54 with Brianna Montgomery and Zoe Ward taking top-five spots in the 800 meter, the mile, and the 3000 meter. Montgomery's 800 meter time of 2:17.77 stands at fourth with her mile time taking fifth at 5:04.59. Ward is one spot ahead in the mile at 5:03.43 with her 3000 meter time taking third at an even 10:10.00.

Finally, the Bishops continue to put up great numbers in the field events. Hailey Harris, Niyah Shipman, and Layla Bauknecht split the third-best mark in the conference in the high jump at 1.53 meters. Addie Beck and Stephanie Novak sit at second and fifth in the pole vault with marks of 3.47 meters and 3.27 meters. Lastly, Jera Hoy holds the top spot in the weight throw at 14.27 meters, followed by Emily Davis at 13.93 meters.

The Ohio Wesleyan men finished fourth in their poll with 53 points, behind John Carroll at 77 (six first place votes), Wittenberg at 70 (three first place votes), and Wabash at 69. Below the Bishops are DePauw at 46 points, Oberlin at 31, Kenyon at 30, Denison at 20, and Wooster at nine.

OWU owns nine top-five spots within the NCAC on the men's side, highlighted by the field events. Connor Smith stands atop the high jump rankings with a season-best mark of 2.06 meters. In the pole vault, Alex Bzdafka and Tanner Sir Louis are second and third with marks of 4.40 meters and 4.26 meters. Ayden Clary comes in at third in the shot put with a mark of 14.92 meters, followed by Ryan Tripp at fifth in the long jump with a mark of 6.70.

On the track, the Red and Black take second in both the 4x200 meter relay and the distance medley relay. The best 4x200 of the season is a program-record 1:27.63 set by Nate Snead, Tripp, Joe Larkins, and Smith. In the DMR, Perry Jackson, Alex Stoller, Jake Marzulli, and Lucas Weaver set Ohio Wesleyan's best time this season at 12:05.51. Lastly, the Battling Bishops' sprinters hold the third-best times in the conference in both the 60 meter dash and the 60 meter hurdles, with Snead dashing a 6.95 and Dylan Harper hurdling an 8.28.

The Red and Black kick off the 2026 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday and Sunday with combined events taking place at Wooster, followed by the remainder of the events taking place at Wittenberg on February 27th and 28th.