2026 Indoor National Preview
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The team at D3GD has done it again—we’ve covered every national event and given you the quick-hitters to watch for in the upcoming 2026 Indoor National Championships back at the Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala. for the first time since 2023. Tune into the free, live broadcast by Stu Newstat and Will Leer, and be sure to follow us on social media for every exciting nationals update. Emily Richards and Christian Patzka will be trackside all weekend for interviews, and our team of photographers and videographers Jen Reagan, Aaron Tries, Seawon Park, and Alan Lam will be capturing all the best moments.
Here’s what it took to make this year’s D3 indoor national meet.
Team projections based on top 8 entries.
60-Meter Dash
Men
The endless list of accolades of UWL's Sam Blaskowski stole the D3 spotlight for multiple years before his graduation. Though he has set the bar in the 60-meter dash high, he leaves behind the second, third, fourth, and fifth fastest 60-meter dashers in D3 history. For the first time in four years, D3 will crown a new rising star. Will it be No. 2 all-time Davian Willems of Oshkosh? Willems enters in a four-way tie for fourth, but don't let his seeding fool you. This is an athlete who has run at the D3 national level, and even the U.S. national level, in what has been a seasoned career including twice-runner-up honors in the men's national 60-meter dash.
Could it be Willems's new teammate, Dylan Doss, the former Illinois College sprinter and No. 3 all-time in this event? Doss has three nationals qualifications to his name, including one eighth-place All-American finish in long jump and last year's fourth-place All-American finish in the indoor 200m dash. On a new level this year as he trades true blue for Titan yellow, Doss is the one to watch. He will contest three additional events: the 200m, where he's seeded No. 1, the 4x400m relay, in which UWO is seeded second, and the long jump, making this a busy weekend for the junior standout.
Perhaps it will be Grinnell's Lucas Fadden, the fourth fastest all-time and No. 2 seed with his 6.66 from December. Though this will be Fadden's first indoor national meet, the senior has placed no higher than third all year and will look to translate this competitive edge into a potential national title.
Rounding out the top five in D3 history is Bethel's Landen Liu. Liu boasts as much veteran status in this field as Willems and has a perfect All-American streak of finishes in this event: fourth, fourth, and third. Will his final contention in this event land him at the top?
Other big names to keep an eye on in an event that will likely come down to hundredths of a second are No. 10 all-time Salisbury's Kai Smith, UW-Whitewater's Caleb Beightol, TCNJ's Maxim Rychkov, UW-La Crosse's Evan Maurud, and Wartburg's AJ Wright. No. 11 all-time and No. 4 seed Caliyph McClinton of Bethany (W.V.) has scratched from the meet.
Women
For the first time in D3 history, three athletes enter the 60-meter dash national prelim seeded under 7.50. UWL's Lauren Jarrett long dominated this event, winning last year in an incredible national record of 7.29. Jarrett is the only D3 athlete in history to run this event in under 7.40, a time she shattered.
With these performances, Jarrett paved the way for new rising stars in No. 4 all-time Izzy Peterson of UW-Platteville and, tied for No. 6 all-time, the duo of Lucia Garcia-Beltran of TCNJ and Simi Lawal of Tufts. Both Peterson and Garcia-Beltran join the D3 ranks from D1 programs, while Lawal rounds out her third indoor season for the Jumbos with a big 7.48-second PR at home on last-chance weekend. All come into this meet as first-time national qualifiers, so managing the emotion of the big stage will be key.
Veterans will be looking to use their experience to their advantage in hopes of securing their first national title. Watch out for five-time All-American and seven-time national qualifier JoJo Tyynismaa of Wartburg, two-time 60m All-American Jasmine Wright of WashU, and 2025 60m All-Americans Dakota Houston of JCU and Makenna Zak of UWL. Houston will also contest the long jump and 200-meter dash.
Some other key performers who know what it takes to win are SUNY Delhi's Shaesha Johnson, who beat Garcia-Beltran at AARTFCs last week, as well as Houghton's Victoria Brewster, who finished runner-up in this event last year. Brewster's start is a huge strength, as she had an early lead on Jarrett last year, so watch the junior out of her blocks when the gun goes off.
200-Meter Dash
Men
D3 athletes set five top-10 all-time marks in the men's 200-meter dash this year, and all are within one tenth of a second of one another. Four of these athletes will battle for gold after a surprising scratch from No. 7 all-time Mary Washington's Jacinto Jones II, who has not competed since January. Another surprising scratch came from Springfield's Josh Goffe, the No. 8 seed, who will go all-in on the DMR as Springfield's 400-meter leg.
The remaining competitors to watch claim the fourth through eighth fastest men's 200m times in D3 history (excluding Jones's No. 7). The favorite coming in is Rowan's Rajahn Dixon, No. 4 in D3 history with his 21.15, which he ran at NJAC Championships to edge out No. 6 all-time TCNJ's Maxim Rychkov. These two will get a rematch on the national stage.
No. 5 all-time Salisbury's Kai Smith comes in with a personal best of 21.18, just a hundredth of a second ahead of Rychkov. Smith was tenth in this event last year but comes off a 60-meter PR at conference that shows he is plenty sharp heading into the weekend. Eight hundredths of a second back is UWO sprints standout Dylan Doss, who will contest his third event of the day following the long jump and the 60m dash. Prelim times will be crucial for lane draws, so look for competition to be spicy both days.
Other names to watch include No. 16 all-time Shane Kawakami-Williams of Occidental, whose 21.40 seed was adjusted to 21.33 at altitude from a meet in Reno (4,500 feet), returning 2025 indoor 200m All-American Franklyn Akabi-During of Dickinson, and national 60-meter hurdles record holder and two-time 200m All-American Luke Schroeder of UWL. The last time Schroeder ran the 200m at indoor nationals, he cast aside a pair of crutches and dove across the finish line to a fourth-place finish despite battling a significant injury. This one is going to be fun.
Women
Only three women in D3 history have dipped under 24 seconds in the indoor 200m, and one of them is Calvin's Sydney Radigan. Not only did the senior run the No. 3 fastest time in D3 history, but she did so on a flat track, making her only one of two women (the other being Lauren Jarrett) to ever accomplish such speed on the flat and narrow curves. Radigan is the favorite heading into the weekend and is certainly in great contention to improve upon her 18th-place finish from 2025.
Some of Radigan's stiffest competition comes from No. 7 all-time JCU's Dakota Houston, No. 8 all-time UW-Platteville's Izzy Peterson, and No. 12 all-time Lucia Garcia-Beltran. All are entered in the 60-meter dash prelim earlier in the day and will look to see how fast they can go with one race already under their belts. In fact, only five out of 20 competitors will be coming to the 200-meter prelim start line with fresh legs. Notable 400-meter runners entered include No. 17 all-time 200m runner Sara Schermerhorn of Hope and No. 6 all-time North Carolina Wesleyan's Kamiyah Wooten, who has taken third in this event at indoor nationals twice in a row.
Wooten's best event is the 200m, and she has the experience to nail down a big performance, so don't be surprised to see her in contention when runners round the final curve.
There are seven total top-20 all-time runners entered in this event, making this one of the deepest women's events of the weekend.
400-Meter Dash
Men
We said this in the conference recap and we'll say it in the national preview, too: the men's 400m final could look like a WIAC versus NCAC dual meet. However, notable scratches from the No. 2 and No. 5 seeds, Dylan Doss of UWO and Basheer Alramahi of JCU, hurt these odds.
Still, the ones to watch in this event are No. 4 all-time Collin Conzemius of UWL and Wittenberg duo No. 7 all-time Cameron Elliott and No. 9 all-time Jack Kittle. Conzemius comes into the weekend as the heavy favorite and the only athlete in the field to have dipped under 47 seconds, with his 46.98 from the Iowa Open. His converted seed-time of 46.68 comes from a solo-effort 47.42 at home on the flat curves. Third last year and runner-up outdoors to Bethel's Grant Nelson by thousandths of a second, Conzemius comes into this field with a vengeance.
Kittle returns after a fifth-place All-American finish outdoors and brings with him teammate Elliott, who has never been to a national meet. The duo rocked it out at their conference meet, finishing within a hundredth of a second of one another in a stunning 1-2 punch. No. 6 seed Brock DeBello, a freshman from Wabash, finished just 0.4 seconds back in a No. 18 all-time 47.47. The challenge will be translating the emotion from that moment to a similar nationals performance.
Meanwhile, look out for veterans in the field like Bethel's Nelson, the outdoor national champion; 2025 indoor All-Americans Jacob Miller of SUNY Geneseo and Evan Lowder of Illinois Wesleyan; outdoor All-American Chase Doornink of UWL; and indoor nationals rookies Tyran Bender of UWO and Carroll's Brian Smith.
Women
The women's 400-meter final is getting a makeover after several key players from last year's indoor and outdoor finals graduated or are not competing at nationals. The returning favorites, however, are steadily cementing their names in the D3 history books. No. 4 all-time Sara Schermerhorn and No. 5 all-time Ariella Rogahn-Press will return to action for their third nationals face-off.
Both indoors and outdoors last year, Rogahn-Press narrowly edged out Schermerhorn by a single place, but this year, Schermerhorn comes into the weekend as the favorite by just 0.06 seconds. It's going to be close. With experience on her side, four-time 400m All-American Schermerhorn will look to end her senior indoor season with a bang.
Other key finalist returners include Bethel's Shalom Sulungaine, Williams's Bella King-Harvey, and North Carolina Wesleyan's Kamiyah Wooten. Tufts's Arielle Chechile comes in as the No. 3 seed, a converted 54.92 following an impressive solo 55.65 at home on the flat track. Chechile has never run an open 400 at nationals.
Watch also for Bridgewater State's Kiara Abrantes, UWL's Anna Plautz, and Plattsburgh State's Grace Yarkosky, who all enter with top-8 seeds. Platteville's Izzy Peterson, who held the No. 6 seed, is the most notable scratch.
800-Meter Run
Men
Can Cael "the Showman" Schoemann be stopped? It's hard to bet against the three-time 800m national champion, who has been undefeated indoors since his dramatic dive across the finish line with WIAC rival Sam Verkerke in 2024. Schoemann appears to be in great form this indoor season, too, having previously never broken 1:50 indoors until his No. 9 all-time 1:49.51, which enters as the top seed.
However, Dickinson's Trevor Richwine showed last year that he wasn't afraid of the returning champ when he stormed down the homestretch to nab the outdoor national title. Richwine will contend for an indoor title as well this weekend and enters as the No. 4 seed after a surprising scratch from No. 3 seed MIT's David Whitaker.
Wartburg's Hutton Edney enters with the only other sub-1:50 seed, with his converted flat-track 1:51.20 from conference. Edney took seventh in this event last year indoors and is the only other returning indoor finalist besides Schoemann and Richwine.
Seven out of nine outdoor finalists last year were seniors, clearing the way for new rising talent in this year's men's 800. Watch out for Nebraska Wesleyan's Reed Emsick, Bridgewater State's Kevin McBirney, and St. Joseph's Haytham Ramadan. JCU's Basheer Alramahi is looking for his Femke Bol moment after moving up to the 800 following a dominant career in the open 400 meters. Having only run two quick 800s this season, it will be fun to watch the sprints star navigate sharing lanes in a new challenge.
Women
WashU continues to show why some may consider them "800U" with three athletes in the top seven of the women's 800-meter run. Their trio of freshman Kate Delia and juniors Caroline Echols and Catherine Christopher may look to do what a trio three years prior did at the 2023 Outdoor Championships, when Emma Kelley, Aoife Dunne, and Alessia Sarussi went 1-4-8 in the 800m final. Delia had a breakout race at the Wartburg qualifier, setting a three-second PB of 2:11 on a flat track. Nationals returners Echols and Christopher will have to take Delia under their wing, though all enter this meet as first-time qualifiers in the 800.
The name everyone will be talking about in this event is SUNY Geneseo's Sierra Doody. Doody's 2:08.82 from Boston currently leads the field by almost a full second. A seasoned veteran at the national meet, this will be Doody's ninth nationals appearance and potentially her first time earning first-team All-American in an individual event.
Aside from the WashU trio, Doody's stiffest competition comes from Loras's Keelee Leitzen, who ran 2:09.83 in the same meet where Doody ran 2:08. Look for these two to key off each other in pursuit of their first national title. The time to watch on the clock is 2:07.95, which cracks the top ten in D3 history.
Other names to watch are Williams sophomore Annika Paluska, who took eighth last year, nationals returner Krystal Montgomery of MIT, and Rochester's Eva Ciuffetelli, national qualifier in the 400-meter hurdles (perhaps also, and more accurately, looking for her Femke Bol moment).
Mile
Men
Although coming into the meet with the second fastest time this season, St. Lawrence's Nick Lyndaker returns as the reigning national champion. With a newly minted sub-four PB of 3:59.42, which stands as the fifth fastest mile all-time in D3 history, Lyndaker looks to repeat as national champion. The Liberty League Mile and 3k champion will face off against No. 2 seed Jack Brown of Central College, No. 3 Jayden Zywicki of UW-La Crosse, and No. 4 Rabbit Barnes of Colorado College, all of whom are seeded around 4:04.
This looks to be a tight race for All-American status, as there are eight men all between 4:07.01 and 4:07.87, with U. of Chicago's Sanju Patel and MIT's Jacob Cobb sharing the exact same time.
In last year's final, it was a slow burn with a blazing finish that left returner Lyndaker with the title and Brown in seventh. With seven seniors in last year's final, this will be anyone's race. Will we see team tactics with Nash Merklein and Zywicki of La Crosse along with the NYU duo of Huck Oakes and Liam Hagerty? With notable scratches from the field such as Ryan Hagan of Geneseo, Tim Neumann from MIT, Seth Clevenger of Rowan, Chasen Hunt from Lynchburg, and Emmanuel Leblond of Johns Hopkins focusing on separate events, this looks to be a very unique mile both in tactics and depth. Only time and 16 laps over two days will tell!
Women
The accolades keep piling up for No. 1 Amelia Lehman from UW-Oshkosh. The recent WIAC Track Performer of the Meet comes in with an intimidating 4:41.03, currently the second fastest time in D3
history. No. 2 Haley Schoenegge from Vassar returns as the national champion from 2025. Schoenegge won the Mile, 3000m, and DMR at the Liberty League championship meet, much like Lehman did at the WIAC indoor meet.
You cannot mention last year's national meet without mentioning No. 3 Kate Tuttle from Williams, who finished as the runner-up in last year's final only 1.85 seconds behind Schoenegge. With the up-front talent of Lehman, Schoenegge, and Tuttle, it will be quite the battle for the top three.
Outside of D3's most historic milers, No. 4 Bailey Puckett of Trine is the last sub-4:50 miler. Puckett may be a dark horse of sorts in this race, as she did not make the final last year, yet is having a dominant 2026 campaign coming off wins at the MIAA championship in the 800m and Mile. No. 5 Lexi Fernandez of MIT cemented qualification at the Tufts Final Qualifier and looks to bring that positive last-chance energy to Birmingham. It would not be a proper final if we did not mention No. 6 Grace McDonough of Connecticut College, who finished third in 2025's final.
Will Lehman break away from the field early to deny Schoenegge's repeat? Will Tuttle gain control of the race in the finish to surpass her 2025 placing? Either way, it will be a popcorn-worthy finale to watch.
3000-meter Run
Men
A new champion will be crowned in the men's 3k, but that doesn't mean the field is without champions. Chasen Hunt (2025 Outdoor 5k and 2024 Indoor DMR Champion), Emmanuel Leblond (2025 XC Champion), and Nick Lyndaker (2025 Indoor Mile Champion) will bring their championship pedigree to Saturday's final.
XC champions UW-La Crosse will have five runners entered in the 3k, and that does not include Grant Matthai, who hasn't raced this indoor season. With a team title on the line, La Crosse will be in prime position to know how many points they need to secure a trophy if they're in contention, adding extra motivation to the Eagles in this race.
This race features the who's-who of D3 running right now. Lynchburg’s Chasen Hunt will notably come in fresh, as he scratched the mile to presumably go after the 3k title. He'll have to contend with D1 Iowa State transfer Seth Clevenger, who ran jaw-dropping times this indoor season. Seth will be coming back from the 5k, so we'll see if he can recover quickly enough to take a shot at the title.
In one of the fastest years ever in this event, it took 8:09 or faster to make this star-studded field. Caleb Tenney, a freshman from Johns Hopkins, ran 8:04.55 to claim the freshman 3k record. This kicks off what should be a fun career for him.
Keep an eye on Ryan Hagan from SUNY Geneseo. He's shown quite the range this season, from a 1:52 800 to a 14:12 5k. If he's in it with 400m to go, watch out for his kick.
Women
Amelia Lehman heads into this race as the No. 1 seed. The three-time All-American has never competed in an event longer than the mile at a track national meet. Her best finish at XC nationals was 47th, but none of that matters when you're having a season like Lehman is having. With PRs in the 800 through the 3k and running all-time best marks, Lehman appears to have all the confidence this season. The true test is how she'll handle the mile, DMR, and 3k triple. She practiced it at WIACs, where she won the mile and 3k in 4:58 and 9:51.
She'll have tough competition from a strong field that required 9:41 to earn entry. MIT’s Kate Sanderson took the field out quickly at XC nationals—will she do the same at the end of the weekend? Vassar’s Haley Schoenegge will most likely be coming off the mile final; how will she handle tired legs? RPI’s Jules Bleskoski appeared to have a slow start to the season, as her first race was Feb. 1. She looked to gain fitness each week and grabbed her qualifying mark at the Tufts Last Chance meet.
The 3k steeple champion, Calvin’s Sophie Bull, will be one to watch. She'll be fresh and trying to add a flat 3,000m title to her resume.
It's going to look like cross country out there, with two from MIT, two from Johns Hopkins, three from Williams, and two from NYU.
Similar to the 5k, there really isn't a clear favorite here. Yes, Amelia Lehman has the No. 1 seed, but without a returning champion who has dominated D3 this season, we're expecting this to be a highly contested race. Everyone has a shot at glory. Look for a hard move with 1k to go to try to take the win.
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5000-meter Run
Men
The 5k will feature a lot of new names bursting onto the national scene. One in particular is freshman Anthony Clark from Johns Hopkins. His 14:03 was the fifth best true freshman time in the entire country, not just D3.
Adding to the new names is Rory Lieberman. He keeps the good times rolling at Lebanon Valley. After leading them to the program's first-ever XC national berth, he qualified for his first-ever track national meet.
With UWL’s Grant Matthai not competing this season, it opens the door for a new indoor 5k champion. Seth Clevenger, as previously mentioned, transferred in from Iowa State and ran the D3 5k national record at BU this year.
A few guys to watch who could challenge Clevenger's seed time are XC champion Emmanuel Leblond, newly sub-14 Aidan Matthai, and flat-track king Isaac vanWestrienen. Don't be surprised if Isaiah Hammerand of Wartburg injects some quicker laps in the middle. We've seen him do that in the past, and he's not afraid to go for it.
In a race featuring familiar names and names we're just getting to know, this could shape up to be an unpredictable race. The last time we were in Birmingham, D3 greats put on a show. Expect this field to channel their inner Christian Patzka and lay it all out there.
Women
There isn't an individual national champion in this field! We're crowning an absolute new champion.
More than half the field is comprised of four schools. MIT has three, NYU has three, Johns Hopkins has three, and Williams has three! There's a mini competition between these powerhouse XC schools to see who can score the lowest point total among their three runners. NYU is coming off an XC national title where they took down defending champions MIT and held off Williams's five All-American performances. We'll be excited to see how team tactics, if used, play out.
Similarly on the men's side, Sofia Moukaddem of Suffolk qualified for her first national meet, and Suffolk qualified for XC nationals for the first time in program history. Coincidence?
From an individual standpoint, MIT’s Rujuta Sane comes in with the best time of 16:26. Adriana Catalano of Johns Hopkins ran 16:34 back in December and has yet to run a 5k since. She's raced sparingly this track season, suggesting she'll be fresh and ready for the 5k. She added a new mile PR of 4:49 in January. We'll be eager to see how she handles this race and the tactics she'll use.
Washington and Jefferson’s Claire Anderson was a great story in cross country after her third-place finish. She surprised herself with that leap but is back at her first indoor national meet since 2024. Watch for her to put herself in contention and give herself a shot at the title.
Katja Dunayevich of UChicago will be in the 5k/3k as a first-year. There is a high success rate for first-years at the national meet over these past couple of seasons. She's coming off a 61st-place finish at XC nationals, so she'll be vying for her first All-American finish.
Jules Bleskoski, XC runner-up, is toward the end of the start list. As mentioned in the 3k preview, she had a slower start to her season. If she's 100%, Bleskoski is someone to look out for to take this 5k field down.
60-Meter Hurdles
The only event of the weekend with both national record holders is the 60-meter hurdles. This event might be the most exciting of the weekend, as both will also showcase huge depth. The women's event has five top-20 all-time marks and the men's has three top-20 all-time marks from this season. All will contest this weekend in an epic battle.
Men
UWL's Luke Schroeder has never placed in a national hurdle final. An unfortunate string of DQs has left him without any results to prove his national hurdle talent. Until now. Two weekends ago at the WIAC championship, Schroeder stormed his way to gold and the D3 national record. His 7.67 beat Jamir Brown, the one-year-and-done D3 freshman from Rowan, who held the previous record of 7.72. Schroeder became the first athlete in D3 history to dip under 7.70 in this event and backed it up with another sub-7.70 performance of 7.68 in the final. He is the one to beat in Birmingham this weekend.
His challengers? Jason Agyemang and Kwaku Nkrumah of Rowan, Gunner Meyer of Central, and Blake Postler of UW-Eau Claire. All are in the top 20 in D3 history and all head into the weekend as top seeds. No. 4 all-time Agyemang and No. 11 all-time Nkrumah might pose the biggest threat. Let's not forget that both have hurdle national titles to their names: Agyemang is the defending indoor champion in this event, and Nkrumah won the 2024 outdoor title. The duo shares eight combined first-team All-American hurdle finishes, so they have a lot of experience hurdling and succeeding at the national level, whereas Schroeder will perhaps have to work harder to mentally overcome past misfortune and navigate having a huge target on his back.
Excitingly, Nkrumah and Agyemang are not even the only previous national hurdle champions in this field. Nebraska Wesleyan's Eli Etherton (remember him?) returns to the national scene after missing much of the 2025 season. He captured the 2023 indoor 60m hurdle title the last time nationals was hosted in Birmingham and followed it up with a fifth-place finish in 2024. No. 21 all-time, Etherton has the talent and the taste of victory on his side.
AND WAIT, THERE'S MORE. MIT's Enoch Ellis enters as the 15th seed in his first national meet since he was the outdoor 110m hurdle champion in 2023. Are you excited yet? There are four hurdle national champions in this event, for goodness' sake!
No. 14 all-time Meyer and No. 16 all-time Postler also come in as previous hurdle All-Americans. Meyer was eighth both indoors and outdoors, and Postler was fifth in the 400m hurdles outdoors. Meyer just beat Etherton, and Schroeder beat Postler, all at the conference meet, so we will see these matchups again. Springfield's Michael Anderson and Washington and Lee's Davin (Macky) Gartley round out the top eight seeds and are both first-time national qualifiers.
Women
Buckle up for the women's 60-meter hurdles. Three top-10 all-time athletes will take the starting blocks, including a national record holder. One sits just outside the top 10 at No. 11 all-time, and a fifth falls in the top 20 all-time at No. 18.
UMass Boston's Aryianna Garceau is the defending indoor champion, the 100m hurdle outdoor national champion, and the new D3 60-meter hurdle national record holder. Can anyone break her streak? She has set the bar pretty high — the highest it's ever been in D3 history. Her 8.31 beat three-time national champion Birgen Nelson's previous altitude-converted time of 8.33, set at the USATF indoor national championships. Nelson and Garceau are the only athletes in D3 history to have dipped under 8.4 in this event, and both have done so multiple times. Last year, Garceau won in an astonishingly fast 8.35. This year, she's already run 8.37 and 8.31. Could she be the first athlete to dip under 8.3? If so, and if she does it in the final, the title is surely hers.
Winning is not a guarantee for Garceau, as Pacific's Ally Hammond and SUNY Geneseo's Jill Ambler will likely both be looking to take her down. Hammond was runner-up last year by 0.15 but is running faster than she ever has, her 8.47 cracking the top 10 at No. 7. Ambler is having the season of her life and will be looking to ride the momentum of her No. 9 all-time hurdles performance and No. 6 all-time long jump leap of 6.11m. She will contest both events as well as the 4x400m relay.
Dark horse Ithaca's Rachel Larson was sixth in this event last year, third in the 100m hurdles outdoors, and set a new personal best this year of 8.50, No. 11 all-time. She beat Ambler at AARTFCs but lost to another name to watch: Springfield's Katherine DeFosse. DeFosse's 8.54 is good for No. 18 all-time. No stranger to the national final, she was seventh last year and will look to improve that placing as much as possible.
Similarly to the men's event, there are multiple national champions going head-to-head this weekend. A two-time 400-meter hurdle national champion and the 2024 indoor national 60m hurdle champion, Buffalo State's Natalia Sawyer is finally back on the national stage for the first time since 2024. Sawyer enters as the 14th seed, but she holds the No. 7 fastest time in D3 history, tied with Hammond, and is absolutely one to watch on any national stage.
Other returning national finalists include CMS's Josephine Jett, who was sixth outdoors; Utica's Laura Suppa, formerly of Ithaca, who was fourth last year; and five-time All-Americans Wartburg's JoJo Tyynismaa and Rochester’s Nora Chen. This will be Chen's first time racing the 60-meter hurdles at nationals.
4x400m Relay
Men
Championship teams need to have championship 4x4s! Nothing's worse than being a few points out of a trophy and not having a 4x4. Not calling any team out—just saying as a fan of track and field.
In pursuit of defending their team title, La Crosse comes in with the No. 1 seeded 4x4, followed closely by WIAC rival Oshkosh. Both teams are sitting at the top of points projections. I can see it now: one of these teams is up one point going into the 4x4, they're both in the final, and they give us a performance of a lifetime. Or at least one can hope.
Speaking of projections — La Crosse, Oshkosh, and Rowan are so far out in front in the projected team battle that vying for a fourth-place trophy will seemingly come down to the 4x4.
Central College 22
Lynchburg 22
Wartburg 20
Washington U. 20
Wis.-Eau Claire 20
SUNY Geneseo 17
Johns Hopkins 15.5
Central and Lynchburg are tied for fourth in projections and neither team has a 4x4. Wartburg, WashU, Eau Claire, and SUNY Geneseo all have a 4x4 team and hope it'll catapult them into trophy contention.
From an actual race perspective, watch out for TCNJ. They ran the seventh-best time in D3 history this season. Sitting as the fifth seed, some teams may not expect them to come through. With SUNY Cortland not qualifying a team, we'll have a new 4x4 national championship team.
Women
Can Colby do it again?! The reigning national champions will have their hands full with strong teams, including outdoor national champions MIT. Katelyn Ewald and Tally Zeller return from last year's Colby squad. Can they instill the wisdom they gained from winning the title in Olivia Doherty and Charlotte Brake-Hoffman?
WashU. 51.5
MIT 39
Wis.-La Crosse 36.66
SUNY Geneseo 35
Wartburg 27
Johns Hopkins 26
Tufts 24.5
Williams 24.5
Centre 22
Loras 22
Wis.-Oshkosh 22
Here are the top teams based on projections; the highlighted teams have a 4x400. With how close these projections are, the 4x4 is going to be absolutely electric!
It's also great to see Nebraska Wesleyan back in the 4x400 mix. Their historic 4x400 program reigned supreme across D3 when they won seven straight 4x4 titles, spanning from Outdoors 2016 to Outdoors 2019.
DMR
Men
Heading into last-chance meet weekend, the sixth-best team in the nation had run 10:01 on a flat track. After the last-chance meet weekend, 19 schools ran faster than 10:01, flipping the field on its head!
One thing is certain from last-chance weekend: we're in store for an incredible DMR field.
Adding to the spectacle is MIT. They scratched Jared Steins and Tim Neumann from the mile, where they were ranked 2nd and 4th this season after running 4:01 and 4:02 respectively. AND they scratched David Whitaker, who was 3rd in the 800m with his 1:50. That is some firepower they'll have fresh. They just missed the D3 record by 0.5 seconds earlier at BU. Can they get it at the national meet?
Ryan Hagan will be anchoring SUNY Geneseo's squad. He also scratched the mile so he can be fresh for this DMR. Look for his 4:02 to be a big factor in the closing laps of the race.
Women
UChicago heads to Birmingham to defend their national title. They’ll have to hold off WashU who took home the title in Birmingham back in 2023. These UAA rivals went head to head at their conference meet with WashU winning the title by five seconds. With WashU coming in with the number one seed, they’ll try to replicate that performance on the national stage. If anything is certain in D3 lately, it’s WashU having an elite mid distance squad.
Williams would like to have a word, though. They ran the fourth fastest time in D3 history earlier this season but got pushed back to the fourth seed after conversions.
As we’ve seen in previous years, anchors have the biggest impact on the race. Grace Hadley hunted the entire field down in 2024 to give WPI the victory. It took a heroic effort from a heroic runner. Who can replicate that this year?
A few that come to mind are Amelia Lehman of UW-Oshkosh and Grace McDonough of Conn College. Lehman for reasons stated above is the best miler in the DMR field. McDonough is coming off three third place finishes: the DMR, indoor Mile and outdoor 1500 last year. With a 4:49 PB, the Camels just need to give her a shot.
Pole Vault
Men
There must be something in the St. Louis skyline — the Gateway Arch has long symbolized elevation, and this year's WashU pole vault squad seems intent on matching it. After placing three athletes in the top nine indoors and the top five outdoors last year, the Bears return that same elite trio alongside two additional qualifying teammates. Leading the charge is George Bourdier, who cleared 5.22m in
January. Having finished 4th outdoors last year, Bourdier is hunting for the top step of the podium. He is joined by teammates Peter Lichtenberger and Tommaso Maiocco, who enter with the 3rd- and 5th-best marks in the division this season. Lichtenberger is a model of consistency with four straight top-five national finishes, while the veteran Maiocco enters his seventh national meet seeking redemption after a dramatic second-place jump-off finish at last year's outdoor championships.
Despite WashU's strength in numbers, the man to beat is Collin Kao of UW-Oshkosh. The former Illinois and Purdue standout made a massive statement at the Midwest ELITE Invite in February, clearing 5.25m. That height ties him for 13th all-time in D3 history and is the highest mark the division has seen since 2021. Competing in his first year at the D3 level, Kao looks to prove his status as the top vaulter in the field.
Not to be outdone in the depth department, UW-La Crosse has qualified a formidable four-man contingent as they hunt for crucial team points. The Eagles are led by Connor Boyle, who sits in a tie for the 3rd-highest vault this indoor season at 5.10m, and Andrew Tumminaro, a two-time All-American with the big-meet experience to crack the top of the leaderboard. Between the WashU dynasty, the high-flying Kao, and the La Crosse depth, the runway in Birmingham is set for a historic vertical battle.
Women
The era of Yasmin Ruff has officially concluded. After a dominant two-year stretch where the WashU star captured three national titles and never finished lower than second on the big stage, her graduation has left a massive power vacuum at the top of the runway. While the 'Ruff era' is over, the athlete best positioned to seize the crown is a very familiar face: Leah Zastrow of UW-Stout. Entering her sixth national championship, Zastrow finished as the indoor runner-up to Ruff last year and took third outdoors. She arrives in Birmingham with the division's top mark of 4.13m, driven by the chance to join her brother Noah (the 2021 champion) in the exclusive club of UW-Stout pole vault national titleists.
Zastrow's primary challenger is Maddy Habberstad of UW-La Crosse, who cleared 4.10m this season and looks to improve on her fifth-place outdoor finish from a year ago. The depth of the field is bolstered by a cluster of women who have all cleared the elite 4.00m threshold this winter. MIT boasts a lethal duo in Hailey Surace– last year's indoor co-runner-up–and Katelyn Howard, a fifth-place finisher outdoors who has shown consistent improvement week over week. However, both were recently upended at the New England Championships by Williams's Ellie Fitzgerald, who cleared a career-best 4.00m to signal she is peaking at the perfect moment.
Even without Ruff, the WashU tradition remains alive through Mackenzie Walker. The breakout sophomore secured her first national trip by clearing 4.00m to win the UAA Championships, proving that the Bears' pole vault program is still producing contenders. With a handful of athletes clustered around the four-meter mark and Zastrow finally clear of her longtime rival, the women's pole vault is set to be a tactical battle of nerves and clean cards.
High Jump
Men
The era of MIT's Jackson Bliey, who dominated the field with three national titles across 2024 and 2025, has officially come to a close. With his graduation, the crown is vacant, and the men's D3 high jump has transformed into a wide-open power struggle. Heading into the weekend, Rowan University has emerged as the undisputed heavyweight of the discipline. The Profs, who sent three jumpers to outdoor nationals last year, have leveled up significantly, qualifying a staggering five athletes for this weekend's meet. They are led by standout freshman David Brown, whose season-best clearance of 2.19m is the highest the division has seen since 2018 and ranks him 7th all-time in D3 history. Having cleared 2.10m or higher five times this winter, Brown arrives in Alabama as the favorite to inherit the throne.
Rowan's strategy for a podium sweep rests on an incredible depth of talent supporting their freshman phenom. The trio of Jamile Gantt, Noah Wampole, and Isaiah Davenport have all cleared 2.09m or higher this indoor season, making them a collective force to be reckoned with. Gantt, last year's outdoor bronze medalist, opened the season with a strong 2.10m in December. Though he has been sidelined since January, he remains officially entered and ready for the weekend. He is joined by Wampole, who took 6th outdoors last year, and Davenport, who enters his national debut with massive momentum after hitting a lifetime personal best of 2.09m just last week to secure his spot.
Challenging the Rowan blockade is Lamont Victoria of the University of Lynchburg. A seasoned competitor with previous stops at Campbell and NC Central, Victoria has adjusted seamlessly to D3, clearing 2.15m this season—a mark tied for 17th in the all-time divisional rankings. With a lifetime best of 2.16m, he has the ceiling required to push David Brown to the limit. He is joined by teammate Jamarcus Brown, a model of consistency who secured 6th place indoors and 5th outdoors last year.
The battle for the remaining All-American spots features a mix of fresh talent and battle-tested veterans. Rutgers-Camden freshman Jayden Deleon crashed the party late with a 2.09m clearance at the TCNJ Last Chance meet, proving he can perform under pressure. On the other end of the spectrum, MIT’s Anthony Meng brings the invaluable experience of four previous top-9 national finishes into his fifth championship appearance.
Women
The D3 women's high jump landscape is currently defined by the absolute dominance of Coast Guard senior Allie Wildsmith. After a flawless 2025 campaign where she secured both the indoor and outdoor national titles without losing a single meet, Wildsmith has managed to reach even greater heights in 2026. She has cleared 1.78m or better in every appearance this season, punctuated by a massive 1.81m clearance at the BU David Hemery Valentine Invite in February. That mark moves her into 3rd all-time in D3 history, placing her within striking distance of the legendary top-two records of 1.82m and 1.83m that have stood since the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
However, the field is far from a one-person show, as Ohio Northern's Avery Baker-Schlendering has emerged as a formidable challenger. The sophomore, a transfer from Hartford, has been on a tear this winter, most recently clearing 1.79m at the OAC Indoor Championships. That jump ties her for ninth all-time and sets the stage for a high-stakes showdown in what will be her first-ever national meet. Joining her in the hunt is Serena McNeilly of Centre, a seasoned podium finisher who placed second at last year's indoor nationals and third outdoors. McNeilly enters the weekend with a fresh personal best of 1.78m (No. 10 all-time), though her endurance will be tested as she competes in four separate individual events.
Rounding out the top tier of contenders is Jaden Gatts of Dubuque, who looks to translate her veteran experience into a title run. Gatts, who tied for third at last year's outdoor nationals, is entering her fifth career national championship in peak form, having recently notched a personal best of 1.74m at the UW-Platteville Invite.
Long Jump
Men
After having the greatest long jump season in D3 history, No. 1 Joshua Rivers of UW-Oshkosh returns after breaking the national record and winning both the indoor and outdoor titles in 2025. Rivers leads the field by a quarter of a meter over No. 2 Cameron Sample of Fredonia, who finished fourth at the outdoor championships last year. Rivers is a one-of-a-kind athlete, as he currently has four marks in the top five in D3 history, his fourth being his season best this year.
Behind two senior veterans sits No. 3 Anthony Parker from Rowan, who is just four centimeters behind Sample with a mark of 7.62m. Parker finished third at NJACs and looks to establish himself among D3's best jumpers. No. 4 Ahmad Fogg of Stockton, who also sits second in the triple jump, finished sixteenth at the outdoor meet in 2025. Fogg will certainly jump for glory to help propel himself to an All-American finish. No. 5 Caleb Wright of UW-Oshkosh seeks to back up Rivers with some team points. Wright finished ninth at last year's indoor meet and third outdoors, which positions him for another top-five finish given his current momentum.
No. 6 Dennis Bobbitt of Brockport State mixes up the potential podium finishers, as he was not at the indoor or outdoor meet last year. Bobbitt won the Empire 8 title in both the triple and long jump. Just behind Bobbitt in the seedings is No. 7 Henry Brandstadter of Emory, who is flying somewhat under the radar; he finished as runner-up behind Rivers indoors last year and fifth outdoors. Do not count out Brandstadter, who has plenty of experience and firepower in a championship meet. No. 8 Dylan Doss of UW-Oshkosh, previously of Illinois College, rounds out the top 8 and looks to join his fellow Titans Rivers and Wright. Doss won the 60m and 200m and was runner-up at WIACs in the 400m and long jump. He will certainly be a busy man this weekend, but will be another one for the field to watch.
Women
You cannot mention long jump without mentioning No. 1 Chloe Hein of Centre. To say that Hein is the favorite would be a dire understatement. She not only tied the D3 record at 6.34m but broke it six days later with a 6.41m jump. This is Hein's weekend, and we are all here to watch the greatness unfold. Only Sky Morrison of Wartburg has jumped further outdoors, back in 2012. Hein finished fourteenth indoors and fourth outdoors last year, yet this is a new era for Chloe Hein.
No. 2 Jill Ambler of SUNY Geneseo joins Hein as the only other athlete to go over six meters this season with a 6.11m jump. Ambler finished eleventh overall indoors and twelfth outdoors, but in 2026 she has nearly perfected her craft, having won the 200m, 60m hurdles, 4x400m, and long jump at the Empire 8 championships last month. No. 3 Elysse Cumberland of Tufts finished fifth outdoors last season but looks to eye up a higher place atop the podium this season after winning the New England championship meet in the long and triple jump. No stranger to the top of the podium, she won the triple jump indoors last year.
No. 4 Chloe Selmer of Elmhurst has continued her progression from last year, having finished eighth indoors in 2025 and ninth outdoors. Most recently, Selmer was the CCIW indoor champion in the long jump and looks to continue her advance at this weekend's championship. No. 5 Annabelle Lanik of Trinity (Tex.) sits just behind the previous three athletes at 5.91m. Lanik was third in this event outdoors last year, ahead of Hein, Cumberland, Selmer, and Ambler. Lanik is certainly one to watch as she looks to improve her outdoor placing.
From Allegheny, No. 6 Evie Ellenberger, who is just one centimeter off Lanik in the seed mark, won the AARTFC championships this month to qualify for this weekend. The top freshman in the field, No. 7 Grace Tincher of Franklin, looks to upset some veteran talent after winning the HCAC long jump title with her qualifying mark. No. 8 Dakota Houston of John Carroll won the North Coast AC title in this event, also getting her qualifying mark there, after winning the 60m and 200m as well.
Triple Jump
Men
Holding the top seed in the field, No. 6 all-time Matayo McGraw of Widener returns to the indoor championships after winning the triple jump title outdoors in 2025. McGraw finished 5th indoors last year, but after winning the outdoor title and remaining undefeated this season in this event, all eyes are on the Widener junior.
Seeded at 15.17m, No. 2 Ahmad Fogg of Stockton comes hot off winning the long and triple jump at the NJAC Championships. Fogg finished sixteenth at the outdoor championships in 2025 yet looks to rise to the top of D3 after qualifying for his first indoor championship. No. 3 Hiven Biffot of Montclair State and No. 3 Manuel Sepulveda of Cortland St. both share a mark of 15.11m. Biffot brings back championship experience after finishing third in this event at last year's indoor championship, while Sepulveda finished seventh.
No. 5 seed Joshua Justin of Rowan finished ninth in last year's final but has his eyes on a podium spot after finishing as the NJAC runner-up and edging past the 15m barrier. Rounding out the next three rankings are No. 6 Carter Pearson of UW-La Crosse, No. 7 Keenan Powell of Greenville, and No. 8 Kale Purcell of Central College. Pearson finished fourth in this event last year, just behind Biffot. Powell, although a freshman, won both the SLIAC and NCCAA titles in this event. Purcell looks to improve on his eighteenth-place finish at last year's indoor meet after winning the ARC title a few weeks ago.
Women
In 2025, No. 8 all-time Imani Ogunribido of Illinois Wesleyan won the outdoor triple jump title after finishing tenth indoors. This year she is ranked No. 1 ahead of the field by 48 centimeters. Ogunribido has her eyes on another gold this year and nothing else. Seeded behind her is No. 2 Maya Evans of UW-La Crosse, who finished eleventh at last year's outdoor championship. Evans is having quite the dominant season after winning the WIAC triple jump title and finishing runner-up in the long jump, along with being named WIAC Field Performer of the Meet.
No. 3 Elysse Cumberland of Tufts won the 2025 indoor triple jump title by one cetimeter and finished thirteenth at the outdoor championships. Surely no one can bet against Cumberland to defy the favorites and repeat her title in this event, as she already has some historic indoor luck on her side. No. 4 Chloe Selmer of Elmhurst looks to take a great step in her career after missing the podium at the outdoor championships last year, having finished eighth indoors. This could be a great opportunity for Selmer to continue to establish herself among the division's best.
No. 5 Serena McNeilly of Centre rounds out the All-Americans with her eighth place finishes both indoors and outdoors last year. McNeilly, much like Selmer, will be another athlete eyeing up a chance to cement herself as one of D3's finest in 2026.
Among the other potential podium finishers are No. 6 Lauren Murphy, who shares the same seed mark as McNeilly, and No. 8 Marlyse Haack of Salisbury and No. 8 Ellie Hernes of Bethel (Minn.), who share marks of 11.95m. With so many athletes so close in marks, this will be quite the battle for All-American honors.
Shot Put
Men
After missing the 2025 indoor season, UW-Eau Claire's Gage Stankiewicz is back to lead the nation in the men's shot put. His toss of 18.81 meters is No. 7 all-time, tying marks with Eau Claire assistant throws coach and legend Roger Steen, who just a few weeks ago won the U.S. national title in this event.
The last time Stankiewicz threw indoors, he was fifth overall. Now he leads the field by 24 centimeters. Can anyone catch him? Perhaps Concordia-Moorhead's Cooper Folkestad can. Folkestad's 18.57-meter PB is No. 14 all-time, putting him ahead of returners Trent Beseth of St. Scholastica and Karter Rashke of Stout, who beat him in last year's indoor competition. Beseth is the runner-up from last year and comes into this weekend as the No. 3 seed.
Other returning All-Americans from last year include Loras's DreAnthony Jackson, who was sixth, and Cortland State's Isaiah Brunache, who was eighth. Outdoors, Brunache took runner-up, while this year's No. 4 seed Owen Fremeau of Olivet took fifth. They are the highest-placing returners from the most recent national shot put competition, having finished ahead of both Folkestad and Stankiewicz. Anything can happen in the shot put national final!
Other names to watch include Nebraska Wesleyan's Samuel Clements and Hanover's Tommy Wilmoth, who will look to secure their first first-team All-American honors.
Women
We are not in the business of sports betting, but if we were, we'd bet on defending runner-up Jenae Bothe. WashU's Bothe is No. 17 all-time and the only athlete in this field to have thrown over 15 meters this year. Her seeded mark is 61 centimeters ahead of the next competitor. With last year's champion Alexis Boykin now out of the picture, the spotlight turns to Bothe.
Looking to pull off a massive upset will be MSOE's Jessa Alderman, who has hit her 14.55-meter PR two separate times this season. Now that's precision. Trailing just behind is Whitworth's Madison Carr, who will contest indoor nationals for the first time. Carr will be joined by Whitworth teammate Amblessed Okemgbo, who took fifth in this event last year and enters as the No. 6 seed. Other returning first-team All-Americans to look out for include Nebraska Wesleyan's Emmilly Berglund, who placed fourth indoors, and Dubuque's Chloe Reiser, who took seventh outdoors.
With so many senior All-Americans having graduated from this event, make way for the next generation of women's shot put talent. Southern Maine's Zoe Barnes, UWL's Madilyn Vander Sanden, and Utica's Allie Carey enter as top-eight seeds.
Weight Throw
Men
Oshkosh's Gavin Fritsch is one centimeter shy of a full-meter lead over the entire national field. Let that sink in.
In an exhilarating men's weight throw competition last year, three athletes threw over 20 meters, and Fritsch finished second to Wilmington's JJ Durr. With Durr now gone, Fritsch has his eyes on the national prize. His past month of throwing has been nothing short of incredible—he's thrown between 20.74 and 20.84m, No. 8 in D3 history, a total of four times. There's little chance this year's title goes to anyone but Fritsch.
He will be challenged by Cortland State's Isaiah Brunache, seventh last year, and the leading returner behind Fritsch. Brunache has a busy week ahead with the shot put competition as well, but has the luxury of kicking off the entire weekend with the men's weight throw, the first event of the meet on Friday at 11 a.m.
The other leader in the field is UWL’s Logan Powers, who comes in as the No. 3 seed with his 19.73-meter toss. Powers will be looking to score valuable team points for the Eagles in what will be the senior’s first ever national meet. Oshkosh’s Bryce Hale will likely look to respond to score points for Oshkosh, who is a strong contender with UWL for the team trophy.
The only other returning All-American from last year is Augustana’s Magnus Wells, who set a career-best 19.33 meters at the Sol Butler Classic in February and enters as the No. 4 seed, tied with Baldwin Wallace’s Kitar Olsen.
Other seeds to watch in flight two are Carthage’s Tyler Rose, Dubuque’s Lucas Cummings, St. John Fisher’s Brandon Kaplan, and Olivet’s Owen Fremeau. Fremeau will look to capture All-American honors in both throwing events.
Women
The women's weight throw is going to be a show! Three top-10 all-time athletes will step into the ring against one another: No. 4 all-time Caitlyn Cox of Loras, No. 8 all-time Erika Ezumba of Johns Hopkins, and No. 12 all-time Kayla Behnke of UW-Eau Claire. Cox leads this field by a sizable margin with her toss of 20.33 meters, the only mark over 20 meters, leading the next competitor, Ezumba, by 74 centimeters. The weight throw is undoubtedly Cox's best event. She's finished fourth at nationals twice and was last year's runner-up to Alexis Boykin. This is Cox's year to shine. She's thrown over 20 meters three times and in the 19.9's twice, so she has all the reps needed to know exactly what to do.
Ezumba comes in ready to steal the title. Her 19.59-meter PB came just a few weeks ago and beats Cox's Wartburg Last Chance meet throw of 19.14m by a good margin. This will be Ezumba's first indoor national meet, so managing emotion will be key. Behnke comes in as the only other competitor over 19 meters and is a name you'll recognize if you follow D3 throws. Behnke's impressive throws resume includes seven All-American finishes: three in discus, two in hammer, and two in weight. Her highest weight throw finish at nationals was sixth in 2024. Could she add 'national champion' to her resume?
SUNY Geneseo's Lauren Jaklitsch is the sole 18-meter marker. If this were a track race, she might get stuck on her own between packs. Jaklitsch will look to carry momentum from her shiny new 18.80-meter PR set just one week ago.
Behind these four, the battle for the final and All-American will be a game of centimeters. A senior-heavy final last year makes this anyone's game. Look out for top-8 seeds Anna Speratos of Bethel, Lauryn Schutz of UW-River Falls, and UW-La Crosse duo Ella Puls and Jadyn Roden.
Hepthathlon
The two big storylines in this year’s Hepthathlon are: can Jacob Balcome repeat as champion, and how many points can Oshkosh get from their four entries?
Balcome surprised the field last year after winning his first ever national championship in his first attempt. He followed it up by finishing fourth in the Decathlon outdoors. He returned to River Falls better than when he left. He’s coming off a WIAC title in which he scored 5361 points, which was 57 more points than what he scored to win his NCAA title. Coming off a PB at conference, Balcome will use that momentum to take home another title.
He’ll have to take down Decathlon champion Charlie Nolan. Nolan is seeded fifth and if he can improve upon that, that will help UW-Oshkosh in their quest for a title. With three other teammates, they need to heavily outscore La Crosse, who has two entries in this event.
Look for Kale Hobart of Central College. He was sixth in the Hep and is coming off a runner-up performance in the Decathlon. Hobart set a new PB back in December and has yet to compete in the Hep again. He’s posted PBs in the 60mH and shot put, so we’ll be interested to see how that translates in Birmingham.
Pentathlon
Fourteen out of last year’s 19 competitors in the pentathlon were seniors, including national champion and national record holder Nikki Boon, meaning the women’s multi is ready for some new stars. Many of the top-seeded athletes come to this event in their first ever national meet. One such athlete looking primed to take Boon’s place atop the podium is Stockton’s Elaina Styer. Her score of 3747 is No. 12 in D3 history and, though this is her first national meet, she will look to translate it to a national title.
Styer’s biggest competition comes from No. 2 seed Grace Braden, who enters her second national meet but first in the multi. Just last week, she set a personal best in every event to score 3669, also a new PB, in this event at home. Will Braden be recovered enough to replicate this performance?
Central College’s Olivia Bohlen and Middlebury’s Emily Rubio are the only returning first-team All-Americans from last year's field, and Bohlen in particular comes into this year with a new PB in both the hurdles and the multi. Geneseo’s Mackenzie Kubat is ready to make her national debut and comes in as the three seed behind Braden. In fact, five of the top 8 seeds enter this meet as first time national qualifiers, including fourth through sixth seeds Olivia Bohlen of Central College, Claudia Ouimet of Johns Hopkins, and Jordan Murphy of Hartford.
Keep an eye on Centre’s Serena McNeilly, who has the busiest national meet of any athlete entered this weekend, and the highest chance of success. She’s ranked third in the high jump, 11th in the long jump, fifth in the triple jump, and seventh in the pentathlon. Two years ago, Victoria Kadiri took top three in the pentathlon, long jump, and triple jump–which she won–and narrowly missed All-American in the 60. If McNeilly can earn All-American in all four events, she will be the first to do so in D3 history.