Men's Track and Field

Rose-Hulman Repeats as HCAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Champions

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Rose-Hulman completed the repeat by capturing the 2026 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship on Saturday with a team score of 204.

Manchester finished as the runner-up with 144 points followed by Anderson with 94. Hanover and Franklin wrapped up the top half of the standings in fourth and fifth with scores of 89 and 86, respectively. Mount St. Joseph ranked sixth with 44 points followed by Berea with 41. Transylvania, Bluffton, and Earlham closed out the standing in that order with 32, 28, and 12 respective points.

Contributing to the Engineer’s championship score were four more individual champions. Highlighting the performances was a record-setting 400m by Andrew Shields who finished with a time of 48.25. Joshua Pohle added his second gold of the meet, winning the 5000m run with a time of 15:22.63, while William Fleck won the 110m hurdles with a finals time of 14.85. RHIT’s final individual title came in the triple jump as James Kaunas won with a distance of 13.82m.

The Spartans picked up three individual championships on Saturday, including two record-setting performances by Gavin Byerly. Byerly won the 800m with a meet-record 1:52.53 and the 1500m with a time of 3:55.90. These were Byerly’s third straight HCAC 800 titles and second straight 1500 crown. Manchester’s other gold medalist on Saturday was another multi-gold winner at the 2026 championships as Kenneth Redd Jr. added the HCAC high jump title to his resume, clearing 1.92m.

Franklin was the last school to have multiple individual champions. Joe Johnson was a record-setter in the javelin with a mark of 61.18m. Meanwhile, Brayden Wilkins dominated the sprints, winning both the 100m and 200m dashes with times of 10.86 and 21.42, respectively.

The final individual title in the field events went to Hanover’s Tommy Wilmoth who won the shot put with a meet-record throw of 17.46m. On the track, Robert Russell from Berea ran a 55.09 in 400m hurdles to take gold.

Hanover and Berea each had gold-medal winning relay teams as well. The Panthers’ quartet of Layden Adair, Blaine Ison, Kingston Dugan, and Brandon Bensouda set a championship record in the 4x100m relay with a time of 41.61, while the team of Arphaxad Nyabuto, Austin Gatewood, Jackson Gunter, and Gloire Muzeba from Berea won the 4x400m with a time of 3:22.76.

DAY 1 & 2 RECAP

At the conclusion of the Championship meet, major award winners were honored. Anderson’s Michael Sweigart and Manchester’s Redd took home the awards in the field events as Throws and Jumps Athletes of the Year, respectively. On the track it was Manchester’s Byerly earning Distance Athlete of the Year and Franklin’s Wilkins earning the Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year honor. Wilkins’ teammate Johnson won the Newcomer of the Year award.

Meanwhile, Shane Mills from Rose-Hulman was named Coach of the Year and Anderson’s Chuck Foga won Assistant Coach of the Year.

ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Each student-athlete and relay team that finished their respective events in first place were 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.

MAJOR AWARDS
Throws Athlete of the Year - Michael Sweigart, Anderson
Jumps Athlete of the Year - Kenneth Redd Jr., Manchester
Distance Athlete of the Year - Gavin Byerly, Manchester
Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year - Brayden Wilkins, Franklin
Newcomer of the Year - Joe Johnson, Franklin
Coach of the Year - Shane Mills, Rose-Hulman
Asst. Coach of the Year - Chuck Foga, Anderson

2026 HCAC INDIVIDUAL/RELAY CHAMPIONS
  • 100m - Brayden Wilkins, Franklin
  • 200m - Brayden Wilkins, Franklin
  • 400m - Andrew Shields, Rose-Hulman (Meet Record)
  • 800m  - Gavin Byerly, Manchester (Meet Record)
  • 1500m - Gavin Byerly, Manchester (Meet Record)
  • 5000m - Joshua Pohle, Rose-Hulman
  • 10,000m - Joshua Pohle, Rose-Hulman (Meet Record)
  • Steeplechase - Gavin Byerly, Manchester
  • 110m Hurdles - Joshua Pohle, Rose-Hulman
  • 400m Hurdles - Robert Russell, Berea
  • 4x100m Relay - Layden Adair, Blaine Ison, Kingston Dugan, Brandon Bensouda, Hanover
  • 4x400m Relay - Arphaxad Nyabuto, Austin Gatewood, Jackson Gunter, Gloire Muzeba, Berea
 
  • Discus - Antoine Cooper, Rose-Hulman
  • Hammer Throw - Michael Sweigart, Anderson
  • Javelin - Joe Johnson, Franklin
  • Shot Put - Tommy Wilmoth, Hanover (Meet Record)
  • Long Jump - Kenneth Redd Jr., Manchester
  • Triple Jump - James Kaunas, Rose-Hulman
  • High Jump - Kenneth Redd Jr., Manchester
  • Pole Vault - Sean Woods, Hanover
TEAM RESULTS
1. Rose-Hulman 204
2. Manchester 144
3. Anderson 94
4. Hanover 89
5. Franklin 86
6. Mount St. Joseph 44
7. Berea 41
8. Transylvania 32
9. Bluffton 28
10. Earlham 12

For more information on HCAC outdoor track & 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.