CARMEL, Ind. – Following an outstanding 2026 Men’s Indoor Track and Field Season that saw 21 new Top 10 HCAC marks, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) has announced the results of the 2026 Men's Outdoor Track and Field preseason poll with Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology expected to follow their indoor championship by taking first in the men’s polls in a vote amongst league coaches.
The men’s poll sees three teams picking up first place votes. The Fightin’ Engineers got six of those nods, while Manchester picked up two and Hanover earned the other lone first place vote. By the numbers, the coaches believe the Manchester Spartans will finish in second place this spring with Hanover predicted to come in third. Mount St. Joseph and Franklin round out the top five predicted finishers.
Since 2021, Rose-Hulman and Manchester have alternated years as outdoor men’s champions with Rose-Hulman winning the honor in 2021, 2023, and last year. Meanwhile, the Spartans won in 2022 and 2024. So with the Engineers taking last year’s title, does history owe the Spartans the rings in 2026, or will the Panthers sneak into this traditional two-team conference fight?
2026 Men's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
1 - Rose-Hulman 79 (6)
2 - Manchester 74 (2)
3 – Hanover 64 (1)
4 – Mount St. Joseph 57
5 – Franklin 48
6 – Anderson 41
7 – Transylvania 34
8 – Berea 23
9 – Bluffton 18
10 – Earlham 12
Men's HCAC Top 10 (Outdoor)
Men's HCAC Championship Meet Records (Outdoor)
Men’s HCAC 2026 INDOOR Championship Results
Taking a closer look at the top performances from the indoor season, ten performances landed on the HCAC Top-Five list of all-time indoor track and field marks.
Leading that pack with two top HCAC indoor records were Rose-Hulman’s
Andrew Shields (Bryan, Texas) in the 400 meters and Hanover College’s
Tommy Wilmoth (Magnolia, Ky.) in the shot put. Wilmoth used that mark to qualify for the NCAA Division III National Championship where he finished in fifth place nationally and earned First Team All-American honors.
In the 400 meters, Manchester’s
Kenneth Redd, Jr (Dayton, Ohio) achieved a 2026 indoor mark only thirty seconds behind Shields. That ranks Redd as third best all-time in the HCAC indoor 400 meter record book. Redd also set top-five indoor records in the long jump and the 200 meters. Redd looks to follow that outstanding indoor season with similar results outdoors.
In the 200 meters MSJ’s
Diego Yun (Cincinnati, Ohio) ran a 22.10 that is good enough for second place in the all-time HCAC indoor record book.
Similarly, also setting a second-place all-time mark this indoor season was
Gavin Byerly (Huntington, Ind.), who achieved that mark in the 3000 meters. The Huntington, Indiana native also won the HCAC Cross-Country Championships in the fall. The distance star also put a third-place all-time HCAC mark in the indoor record books for his performance in the 5000-meter race. Look for Byerly to come into this outdoor season very motivated to keep his name climbing into HCAC history.
During the indoor season, in addition to Redd’s HCAC fifth-place long jump mark, three other HCAC athletes had impressive showings. Redd’s Manchester teammate,
Gentry Oliver (Lafayette, Ind.) bested him for fourth place all time. Those two should certainly put on a fun spring competition trying to out jump one another outside.
Rose-Hulman had two outstanding field competitors as
Kolton Nanko (Yorktown, Ind.) set a third-place height of 4.85 meters in the pole vault record books and his teammate
James Kaunas (Johnsburg, Ill.) put his name on the fifth-place line for the triple jump.
If these indoor performances tell us anything about the current field of HCAC competitors, this spring’s outdoor season should be a very special one across the conference. The HCAC Outdoor Championships will be hosted at Transylvania University on April 23-25, 2026, and fans can again tune into live coverage on HCAC.tv.
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.