CLEVELAND, Ohio – On Monday afternoon, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) announced the pre-championship polls for the upcoming 2026 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Ohio Wesleyan University women's track & field team was picked to finish atop the conference standings while the men's team was picked to finish fourth.
WOMEN'S POLL & PREVIEW
The Ohio Wesleyan women took the top spot in their poll, earning 60 points with four first place votes, four ahead of DePauw with 56 points and two first place votes, and eight ahead of John Carroll with 52 points and two first place votes. Wittenberg was fourth with 36 points, followed by Denison with 35, Kenyon with 25, Oberlin with 16, and Wooster with eight.
The Battling Bishops currently hold 23 top-five marks in the NCAC: eight in sprints and hurdles, four in distance, and 11 in field events.
The Red and Black dominance in the field is highlighted by the high jump where Layla Bauknecht,
Audrey Spooner,
Hailey Harris, and
Niyah Shipman all place within the top five. Bauknecht and Spooner are knotted at 1.56 meters for second, while Harris is fourth at 1.52 meters, and Shipman is fifth at 1.51 meters.
Addie Beck and
Stephanie Novak take two of the top three spots in the pole vault at first and third. Beck currently holds the best mark in the conference at 3.55 meters, followed by Novak in third at 3.43 meters.
In terms of throwing, the top two discus tossers hail from OWU with
Emily Davis and
Jera Hoy retaining the honors with respective marks of 44.52 meters and 43.94 meters.
Hazel Jolliff's efforts in the javelin currently slate her second in the conference at 35.93 meters. Finally, Davis also sits third in the hammer throw at 44.23 meters.
Katherine Dortmund leads the Bishops' sprinters with top-five marks in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes, as well as the 100-meter hurdles. She retains the top spot in the hurdles at 13.84 and sits second and third respectively in the dashes, running 12.00 in the 100-meter and 25.38 in the 200-meter.
Kennedy Elfers ties Dortmund for third in the 200-meter at 25.38,
Alaina Nathan nabs fifth in the 100-meter at 12.28. Ohio Wesleyan is also represented in the 400-meter hurdles by Bauknecht in fourth at 1:06.09.
The Red and Black are represented by
Brianna Montgomery in the mid-distance events,
Zoe Ward and
Sophie Cotts in the distance events, and
Elsa Hoam in the steeplechase. Ward recorded the conference's best time of 17:15.80 in the 5000-meter run, while Cotts sits fourth with a 17:49.90. Cotts also takes third in the 10000-meter run at 36:19.45. Hoam holds the top spot in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 11:14.66. Montgomery has the third-best time of 4:42.05 in the 1500-meter run.
The Battling Bishops' relay teams currently rank second and third respectively in the 4x100-meter and the 4x400-meter at 46.99 and 3:57.20.
MEN'S POLL & PREVIEW
The Ohio Wesleyan men finished fourth in their poll, earning 54 points. Above the Bishops was Wittenberg in first with 80 points and eight first place votes, Wabash in second with 73 points and one first place vote, and John Carroll in third with 63 points. DePauw was fifth with 41 points, followed by Kenyon with 35, Denison and Oberlin with 25, and Wooster with nine.
The Battling Bishops currently hold nine top-five marks in the NCAC: three in sprints, two in relays, and four in field events.
Reigning indoor high jump national champion
Connor Smith looks to continue his dominance in the event, holding the top spot in the outdoor circuit at 2.07 meters. He is joined atop the conference leaderboards by
Dominic Brown with the top mark in the javelin at 54.27 meters.
Alex Bzdafka and
Ryan Tripp sit second respectively in the pole vault and long jump. Bzdafka's best vault of the season was 4.29 meters. Tripp's top jump was 7.00 meters even.
Joel Adade and
Nate Snead lead the Bishops in the 100-meter dash, sitting second and third in the conference with times of 10.66 and 10.71. Tripp also places fifth in the 200-meter dash at 21.80.
OWU holds the third-best times in the relays with times of 41.36 in the 4x100-meter and 3:16.91 in the 4x400-meter.
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
The Red and Black kick off the 2026 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships this weekend at the NCAC Combined-Events Championship on Saturday and Sunday in Granville, followed by the rest of the events next Friday and Saturday in Gambier.
