Men's Track and Field

HCAC 2026 Men's Outdoor Track & Field Notebook, Week 4

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

Around the League:
HCAC Men's Track & Field Schedule
 
Athletes of the Week: 
Men’s Throws Athlete of the Week:
Michael Sweigart (Alexandria, Ind.) Anderson University | Throws | Senior - Michael Sweigart collected 28 points in his three events at the DIII Championships at Depauw. He bested his discus PR to take the lead in the conference and sitting 28th in the nation. He was second in shot put and won the hammer throw.

Men’s Jumps Athlete of the Week:
Kenneth Redd Jr. (Dayton, Ohio) Manchester University | Jumps | Junior - Kenneth Redd Jr. jumped 7.00m in long jump and finished first at the Indiana DIII Championships. This jump is currently first in the HCAC, sixth in the region, and 35th in the nation.

Men's Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Week:
Diego Yun (Cincinnati,Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Hurdles | Junior - Diego Yun won the 400m hurdles for the third consecutive week. He took down the Mount St. Joseph record with a 52.90 performance in the long hurdle race. His time is still the best time in the conference and the Great Lakes Region, plus it is top-10 in the nation.

Men's Distance Athlete of the Week:
Joshua Pohle (Osgood, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Distance | Senior - Joshua Pohle led the distance team for Rose-Hulman with a school record in the 10000m run with a time of 30:34.71. Pohle earned a 10th-place finish at the Lee Fast Break Athletics Invitational. His time leads the conference this season by over a minute, ranks third in the region, and 30th in all of NCAA DIII.

Notable Performances:
Throws
  • Joshua Patel (Houston, Texas) Berea College | Throws | Senior - Joshua Patel returned to throw a season best in the shot put and a personal best in discus at the Scots Invitational. Patel threw 9.72m in the shot put and 23.51m in the discus.
  • Joe Johnson (Woodland Park, Colo.) Franklin College | Throws | Freshman - Joe Johnson had himself a career day in the javelin. His toss of 53.08m was a two-meter PR, and earned him the win at the Indiana DIII Championships. That mark currently puts him second in the HCAC.
  • Shane Hagen (Spring Hill, Fla.) Manchester University | Throws | Junior - Shane Hagen threw almost a two-meter PR in the javelin at the Indiana DIII Championships. His second-place throw is currently third in the HCAC, eighth in the Great Lakes Region, and the fifth best throw in Manchester history.
  • Dylan Hammons (Ross, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Throws | Senior - Dylan Hammons was the runner-up in the javelin at the All-Ohio Championship this weekend, setting a new personal best with a throw of 46.29m. The throw ranks him fifth in the HCAC.
  • Antoine Cooper (Indianapolis, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Throws | Senior - Antoine Cooper was the top thrower for Rose-Hulman at the Indiana DIII Championships. Cooper earned a second-place finish in the discus with a mark of 46.95m. He then placed third in the shot put with a mark of 14.72m. Cooper finished his day with a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 49.19m. His hammer throw and shot put marks both rank fourth in the conference so far this season. His hammer mark is 21st in the region, and his shot put distance is 17th.
Jumps
  • Nathaniel Mitchell (Mableton, Ga.) Berea College | Jumps | Freshman - Nathaniel Mitchell continues to impress in his first season of long jump. Mitchell jumped a personal best of 5.71m in the long jump at the Scots Invitational. The jump is nearly a five-centimeter increase on his previous best.
  • Tommy Reddick (Dumas, Ark.) Earlham College | Jumps | Sophomore - Tommy Reddick hit a massive PR in the long jump going 6.88m which was good for second place at the DIII Invitational as well as shot him up the rankings to second in the HCAC. In his first year of track and field Reddick has hit some massive strides as this was a .5m PR for him. He is now ranked 11th in the Great Lakes Region.
  • Andrew Wendt (Geneva, Ill.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Jumps | Freshman - Andrew Wendt had an impressive performance at the Indiana DIII Championships. Wendt earned an event win in the pole vault after clearing a height of 3.85m. His height ranks fourth in the conference this season and 44th in the region. 
Sprints/Hurdles
  • Kaleb Eldridge (Anderson, Ind.) Anderson University | Hurdles | Freshman - Kaleb Eldridge ran two PRs in the 110m and 400m hurdles over the weekend. He finally broke into the 15s for the 110m hurdles and 59 seconds in the 400m hurdles. He is currently ranked 4th and 10th in the HCAC in those events, respectively.
  • Robert Russell (Valdosta, Ga.) Berea College | Sprints | Senior - Robert Russell delivered a top-three school performance with a 55.70 finish in the 400m hurdles at Maryville's Scots Invitational. That finish earned him the event win, set a new personal record, and ranks second in the HCAC. Russell followed that up by leading the Mountaineers to a 4x400m relay win by nearly four seconds over second place.
  • Brayden Wilkins (New Palestine, Ind.) Franklin College | Sprints | Sophomore - Brayden Wilkins put together a strong triple at the Indiana DIII Championships. He ran 10.83 in the 100m and ran a huge PR of 21.82 in the 200m, both of which currently lead the conference. He also anchored 4X100m relay team to a time of 42.58, which is #4 in Franklin history.
  • Blaine Ison (Butlerville, Ind.) Hanover College | Sprints | Junior - Blaine Ison had an impressive day at the Indiana DIII Championships competing as part of the 4x100m relay, the 100m, and 200m. He was the fastest leg in the team's record-breaking 4x100m relay performance that took the top spot with a time of 41.85 seconds. The time ranks third all-time among the HCAC. He landed fourth in the 100m dash with a time of 10.85 seconds, while also claiming sixth in the 200m dash with a time of 22.38 seconds.
  • Ryan Fox (Kouts, Ind.) Manchester University | Sprints | Junior - Ryan Fox ran 52.72 in the 400m at the Indiana DIII Championship. His time was a new personal best.
  • Andrew Shields (Bryan, Texas) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Sprints | Sophomore - Andrew Shields was the top sprinter for Rose-Hulman at the Indiana DIII Championships. Shields earned an event win in the 400m dash with a time of 48.29. He also earned a fourth-place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 22.29. His time in the 400 is faster than any other competitors in the HCAC, ranking second behind his own time of 48.19 earlier this season.
Distance
  • David Lane (Cincinnati, Ohio) Anderson University | Distance | Sophomore - David Lane ran a great race to push himself into the 17-minute range in the 5000m for the first time ever. He dropped 20 seconds off his previous best.
  • Desire Itwitaho (Louisville, Ky.) Berea College | Distance | Freshman - Desire Itwitaho ran a personal best of 4:28.60 at the Scots Invitational. The time is nearly an eight-second improvement for the freshmen runner.
  • William Hirsch (Evansville, Ind.) Franklin College | Distance | Sophomore - William Hirsch repeated as the 5000m champion at the Indiana DIII Championships on Saturday. His time of 15:16.69 was an eight-second season-best and finished 15 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
  • Gavin Byerly (Huntington, Ind.) Manchester University | Distance | Senior - Gavin Byerly accomplished the double win over the weekend at the Indiana DIII Championships in the 1500m and 800m with times of 3:55.07 and 1:56.26, respectively. 
  • Alex Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio) Mount St. Joseph University | Distance | Junior - Alex Taft had a silver-medal finish at the NKU Norse Invitational in the 5000m race. His time of 16:13.91 is a new PR as well as a school record.