Men's Track and Field

HCAC 2026 Men's OutdoorTrack & Field Notebook, Week 1

CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Men's Outdoor Track & Field teams competed in week one of the 2026 season.

Around the League:
HCAC Men's Track & Field Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week: 
Men's Throws Athlete of the Week:
Tommy Wilmoth (Magnolia, Ky.) Hanover College | Throws | Junior - Hanover hit the road competing at the Pioneer Classic with Tommy Wilmoth leading the way. The junior claimed the top spot in the shot put with a school record toss of 17.03m. He also won the discus with a distance of 44.25m.

Men's Jumps Athlete of the Week:
Kenneth Redd, Jr. (Dayton, Ohio) Manchester University | Jumps | Junior - Kenneth Redd, Jr. jumped a PR of 7.14m in long jump for the win at the Pioneer Invitational. This jump should be first in the nation, first in the Great Lakes Region, and first in the HCAC, however there was no wind guage at the meet. This jump is also second in school history and seventh in HCAC History.  

Men's Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week:
Andrew Shields (Bryan, Texas) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Sprints | Junior - Andrew Shields was the top sprinter for Rose-Hulman at the Early Bird Invitational. Shields earned an event win in the 400m dash with a time of 48.19. He also picked up a second-place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 22.20. He was also a member of the third-place 4x400m relay team with a time of 3:32.30. His 400 time ranks third in the Rose-Hulman record books and leads the HCAC so far this season. His 200 time ranks second in the HCAC this year.

Men's Distance Athlete of the Week:
Gavin Byerly (Huntington, Ind.) Manchester University | Distance | Senior - Gavin Byerly won the 1500m race at the Pioneer Invitational over the weekend. His time of 3:53.71 is leading the conference by 10 seconds, ranked first in the Great Lakes Region, and third in the nation.  

Notable Performances:
Throws
  • Michael Sweigart (Alexandria, Ind.) Anderson University | Throws | Senior - Michael Sweigard started his senior year with a 15.66m shot put for eighth in the nation and second in the HCAC, a 47.45m Discus throw for 11th in the nation and second in the HCAC, and a 59.94m hammer throw for second in the nation. The mark also broke his own school record by 2.34m which puts him second in HCAC history and leads the HCAC by 10m.
  • Micha Woolridge (Humble, Texas) Berea College | Throws | Freshman - Micha Woolridge opened his collegiate career with his best throws. At the EKU Spring Invitational, Woolridge threw 40.25m on his first throw to shatter his previous PR by over 12m. Woolridge followed that up in the finals with a personal best of 41.18m, finishing fifth overall and hitting the conference standard.
  • George Myles (Gary, Ind.) Manchester University | Throws | Sophomore - George Myles threw 49.25m in the hammer throw, setting his second-best career mark. It currently ranks 26th in the nation, third in Great Lakes Region, and Current third in HCAC.
  • Kaleb Fitzgerald (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Throws | Junior - Kaleb Fitzgerlad just missed making the hammer throw final at the Blizzard Buster, but threw a personal best 43.83m, which is fourth all-time at Mount St. Joseph and good for seventh in the conference.
  • Antoine Cooper (Indianapolis, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Throws | Senior - Antoine Cooper led the throws team for Rose-Hulman at the Early Bird Invitational. Cooper won the discus with a mark of 47.48m. He also placed second in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.63m. Cooper finished the day with a third-place finish in the shot put with a mark of 14.44m. His mark in the discus leads the HCAC this season, his hammer throw ranks fourth, and his shot put ranks fifth in the conference.

Jumps
  • Josiah Marshall (Huber Heights, Ohio) Anderson University | Jumps | Sophomore - Josiah Marshall opened up the outdoor season with a 13.71m triple jump for the conference lead and sits 17th in the nation.
  • Thomas Vaughn (Cincinnati, Ohio) Berea College | Jumps | Freshman - Thomas Vaughn posted the best jump of his career and the second-best jump of the EKU Spring Invitational in a competitive field. Vaughn leaped to a personal best of 6.69m, which is a 27-centimeter improvement on his previous best and good for third in the conference. 
  • Sean Woods (Corydon, Ind.) Hanover College | Jumps | Junior - Sean Woods led Hanover at the Pioneer Classic over the weekend, winning the pole vault. The junior won the event with a vault of 4.25m.
  • Chris Barrow (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Jumps | Sophomore - Chris Barrow finished eighth in the high jump as the only Division III school competing. He cleared 1.89m, which leads the HCAC and is fifth all-time in Mount St. Joseph history.
  • Kolton Nanko (Yorktown, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Jumps | Junior - Kolton Nanko had an impressive finish in the pole vault at the Early Bird Invitational. Nanko finished in first place after clearing a height of 4.90m. His mark leads the conference this season and ranks fifth in the Rose-Hulman record book.
  • Markieus Hill (Lexington, Ky.) Transylvania University | Jumps | Senior - Markieus Hill jumped 13.49m at the Pioneer Invitational. His mark is a season best and is the third best jump of his life.

Sprints/Hurdles
  • Myles Davis (Anderson, Ind.) Anderson University | Sprints | Sophomore - Myles Davis had two big PRs to open the outdoor season. He dropped .46 off his 100m time for an 11.49, and dropped 1.8 off his 200m for a 23.64.
  • Robert Russell (Valdosta, Ga.) Berea College | Sprints | Senior - Robert Russell had a busy weekend, leading Berea to two top-two conference finishes. Friday, Russell was on the Mountaineer team that ran 3:27.51 at the EKU Spring Invitational, currently holding second in the conference. Russell followed that up on Saturday by running his fastest 400m hurdle opener and second-fastest of his career by winning the Pioneer Invitational with a time of 56.90. The time is good enough for first in the conference by nearly two seconds.
  • Chris Rene (Logansport, Ind.) Manchester University | Sprints | Junior - Chris Rene ran 58.95 in the 400m hurdles. This time was a lifetime PR and ranks third in the HCAC this year.
  • Trevor Bush (Nicholasville, Ky.) Transylvania University | Sprints | First-year - Trevor Bush put together a great double at the Pioneer Invitational, getting the heat win over 200m. He ran 11.18 for 100m and 22.68 for 200m, both lifetime personal bests.
Distance
  • Johnnie Behrends (Normal, Ill.) Anderson University | Distance | Freshman - Johnnie Behrends opened the outdoor season narrowly missing the HCAC standard in the 800m and ran a strong 1500m. He ran a 2:02.74 for fifth in the HCAC and a 4:18.24 for 13th in the HCAC, respectively.
  • Desire Iwitaho (Louisville, Ky.) Berea College | Distance | Freshman - Desire Itwitaho opened his outdoor campaign running a lifetime best in the 1500m of 4:36.50 at the Pioneer Invitational.
  • Sawyer Richter (Delphi, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Distance | Junior - Sawyer Richter picked up a win in the 3000m steeplechase at the Early Bird Invitational with a time of 10:19.46. His time is the best in the conference for the event so far this season.