CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Fightin' Engineers captured the men’s title on Saturday in the 2026 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship.

Rose-Hulman finished the championship with a team score of 215, with Manchester scoring 157 to come in second. Hanover College had 81 points to finish in third place, followed by Mount St. Joseph University (71 points) in fourth place.  Franklin College (45 points), Anderson University (41 points) and Transylvania University (21 points) finished in fifth, sixth, and seventh places, respectively.  Berea College (8th place with 18 points), Bluffton University (9th place with 10 points) and Earlham College (10th place with 4 points) rounded out the competing institutions.

COMPLETE RESULTS
AWARDS PHOTOS

Championship Superlatives:

Men's Co-Newcomers of the Year: Xaiden Jenson, RHIT and Qi'Yam Simmons, Anderson
Men's Jumps Athlete of the Year: Gentry Oliver, Manchester
Men's Throws Athlete of the Year: Tommy Wilmoth, Hanover
Men's Distance Athlete of the Year: Gavin Byerly, Manchester
Men's Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year: Andrew Shields, RHIT
Men's Assistant Coach of the Year: Derrick Lawrence, RHIT
Men's Coach of the Year: Shane Mills, RHIT
 
All-Conference Honors:

Each athlete and relay team that finished their respective events in First Place are named to the First Team HCAC All-Conference; Second Place finishers are named to the Second Team HCAC All-Conference; and Third Place finishers are named to the Honorable Mention HCAC All-Conference Teams.

Track Events thumbnail:  

The day got started on the track in the 5000 meter, with Rose-Hulman's Joshua Pohle earning the win in the event with a time of 15:07.08.  

In the Distance Medley Relay, it was Hanover who took first place, with the team of Jacob Miller, Jayden Enderle, Charlie Stuelpe, and Colin Kistler teaming up for a time of 10:55.50. 

In the 4x200 relay it was the Mount St. Joseph team of Diego Yun, Kyle Evers Smith, Ezekiel Thomas, and Chris Barrow who finished first, with a time of 1:29.52, setting a new HCAC record.

In the mile run, Manchester's Gavin Byerly took home the gold, finishing with a time of 4:22.06.

In a tightly contested 60 meter dash, Brandon Bensouda of Hanover came out on top, besting the competition with a run of 6.89 seconds. 

William Fleck from Rose-Hulman was crowned as champion in the 60 meter hurdles in a time of 8.41.

In the 400 meter dash, Andrew Shields of Rose-Hulman finished on top, with a winning run of 49.51, which puts him in the record book for the HCAC.

In the 800m run, Manchester's Gavin Byerly took home his second gold of the day and crossed the line in a time of 1:56.96. 

In the 200 meter dash, Diego Yun from Mount St. Joseph set an HCAC record and ran a time of 22.10 to pick up the win.

In the final individual event of the championship, Manchester's Gavin Byerly won his third individual gold metal of the day in the 3000 meter race with a time of 8:47.87, capping off a fantastic day.

In the final event of the evening, Rose-Hulman's 4x400 relay team, consisting of Connor Bodie, Wyatt Starkie, Alejandro Clark, and Andrew Shields brought home the gold with a time of 3:26.24. 

Field events thumbnail:

In the field events, the shot put kicked off the day and saw Hanover's Tommy Wilmoth throw for an HCAC record best of 17.68 meters placed him on top of the podium. In the other throwing event, the weight throw, George Myles of Manchester bested the competition with a throw of 16.58 meters. 

In the high jump, Anthony Lloyd from Hanover cleared a height of 1.95 meters to take first in the event. 

In the long jump, Gentry Oliver from Manchester picked up the win, with a leap of 6.89 meters.

In the pole vault, Rose-Hulman’s Kolton Nanko won the event by clearing a height of 4.85 meters for a new HCAC record. Another Fightin’ Engineer, James Kaunas, concluded the day's field events by winning the triple jump event with a distance of 13.84 meters. 

For more information on HCAC Track and Field, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.