NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The 2026 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin on Thursday. Twelve women's teams and eleven men's teams from around the MIAC will compete in the three-day meet held Thursday-Saturday at the Carleton College Recreation Center in Northfield.
The MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships are set to begin on Thursday with the multi-event competitions. The women's pentathlon starts at 2:00 p.m. with the men's heptathlon beginning 20 minutes later. The final heptathlon events begin on Friday at 10:00 a.m.
Friday's field events start at 4:00 p.m., and track events will follow at 4:30 p.m.
Saturday's final session starts with field events at 11:45 a.m. Track events begin at 1:00 p.m. The final set of events - the men's and women's 4x400 relay - will begin at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Daily tickets are required to attend the MIAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. All tickets will be sold and purchased online via HomeTown Ticketing. There will not be cash sales at the venue; however, spectators can purchase tickets using a mobile device at any time, including while at the venue. Tickets are available for purchase on the MIAC's HomeTown Ticketing site.
Single-day adult tickets will be $13, and student tickets are $4. (Note: additional HomeTown Ticketing convenience and credit card fees will be added during checkout, with estimated totals being $13.70 for adult / $4.43 for student per single-day ticket.) Children ages five and under do not require a ticket. Those eligible for student tickets include individuals currently enrolled in college, high school, middle school, and elementary school. Student ID is required where applicable.
No ticket will be required for Thursday afternoon's pentathlon and heptathlon events. However, tickets will be required for the full days of competition on Friday and Saturday.
Spectators traveling to Northfield are encouraged to review the campus parking map.
Fans unable to attend in person will be able to follow the action with live updates via Fast Finish Results. Select track events will also be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network. Select field events will be streamed on the Carleton Athletics YouTube page. A full slate of links and info can be found on the championship home page.
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CHAMPIONSHIP APPAREL
Official championship apparel is available for online purchase via the MIAC Shop powered by UNRestricted MKTG. The online MIAC Shop features officially licensed short-sleeve t-shirts, long-sleeve t-shirts, and hooded sweatshirts to commemorate the 2026 men's and women's conference championship meets. Respective team champion apparel will be added and available for purchase shortly after the meet.
HANDING OUT THE HARDWARE
The MIAC championship trophies will be presented to the first-place women's and men's teams at the conclusion of the meet on Saturday afternoon. Bethel University has swept both the men's and women's championships each of the last three seasons.
The top three finishers in each event automatically earn All-Conference honors, and the 4th-through-6th place finishers will receive Honorable Mention distinction.
Individual awards will be voted on by coaches following the meet and will be announced - along with the complete list of All-Conference and honorable mention recipients - next week.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Bethel senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy) ranks third in NCAA Division III with a 400-meter time of 47.33 this season. His 200 time of 21.41 is tenth in D-III.
The Bethel 4x400 relay team of senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy), first-year Elliott Kent (Alexandria, Minn. / Alexandria), junior Victor Lelinga (New Brighton, Minn. / Mounds View), and junior Caleb Ketterling (Andover, Minn. / Andover) ran the eighth-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season at 3:14.03.
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Creek) has the second-best shot put distance in D-III this season at 18.57 meters (60' 11.25").
Macalester sophomore John Ihrke (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North) ran the sixth-fastest 800-meter time in Division III this season at 1:50.90.
St. Olaf senior Cullen Moore (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Minnehaha Academy) ranks eighth among D-III runners in the 800 meters this season with a time of 1:51.18.
St. Scholastica senior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) ranks third among D-III throwers with a shot put distance of 18.12 meters (59' 5.5").
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Eleven former individual MIAC champions will be back in action this weekend.
Bethel senior Adam Hokanson (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) won the MIAC title in the weight throw in 2024.
Bethel junior Victor Lelinga (New Brighton, Minn. / Mounds View) won the 600 meters in 2024.
Bethel senior Landen Liu (Blaine, Minn. / Centennial) won MIAC titles in the 60-meter dash in 2023 and 2025. He also won the 200 meters in 2023.
Bethel senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy) is the returning MIAC champion in the 200 and 400 meters.
Carleton senior Gabe Nichols (Grove City, Penn. / Grove City) won two conference titles at the 2023 MIAC Championships, placing first in both the mile and 3,000-meter run.
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Creek) won the shot put at the 2022 and 2024 MIAC Championships.
Hamline senior Austin Schloeder (Buffalo, Minn. / Rockford) is the reigning MIAC champion in the pole vault.
Hamline sophomore Isaiah Watson (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) is the defending MIAC champ in the triple jump.
Macalester sophomore John Ihrke (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North) is the defending conference champion in the 800 meters.
St. Olaf junior Max Albertson (Hastings, Minn. / Hastings) won the MIAC crown in the long jump last winter.
St. Scholastica senior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) won both the weight throw and shot put at last year's MIAC Championships.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg first-year Shawn Huberty (St. Paul, Minn. / Washington Tech Magnet) made his collegiate debut at the Minnesota Open on 1/10, clearing the high jump at 1.90 meters (6' 2.75"). That remains the third-highest mark in the MIAC this season.
Bethel senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy) racked up a pair of national top-five times at the Mark Guthrie Legacy Invitational on 2/7. Nelson ran the 400 meters in a converted time of 47.33, good for the fifth-fastest time in NCAA Division III this season. He also ran the first leg of the Royals' 4x400-meter relay squad that finished in 3:14.03. That time ranks third in the country this winter.
Carleton senior Gabe Nichols (Grove City, Penn. / Grove City) broke the meet record in the mile run with a time of 4:17.25 at the Vanessa Seljeskog Classic on 1/24. Nichols' season-best time of 4:13.09 ranks second in the conference.
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Creek) broke a 29-year-old program record in the shot put at the NDSU Bison Open on 2/7 with a Division III-best throw of 18.57 meters (60' 11.25"). Folkestad surpassed the previous program mark by more than a foot.
Gustavus junior Nick Brauer (Mankato, Minn. / Mankato East) won the mile run with a time of 4:20.82 at the Meet of Hearts on 2/14. Brauer also finished second in the 1000-meter with a time of 2:33.77. He shaved off two seconds a week later with a winning time of 2:31.71 in the 1K at the Maverick Indoor Open on 2/20.
Hamline senior Austin Schloeder (Buffalo, Minn. / Rockford) cleared 4.71 meters (15' 5.5") to win the pole vault competition at the Tostrud Classic on 2/20. Schloeder's mark is tied for 37th in NCAA Division III this season.
Macalester sophomore John Ihrke (Northbrook, Ill. / Glenbrook North) won the 800 meters with a program-record time of 1:52.48 at the University of Minnesota's Snowshoe Open on 2/24. Ihrke's converted time of 1:50.90 currently ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season.
Saint John's junior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn. / Maple River) broke the Johnnies' program record in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:19.52 at the University of Minnesota's Snowshoe Open on 2/20. Stencel finished third overall and first among NCAA Division III competitors. Stencel also broke SJU's record in the mile run 2/7 with a time of 4:10.42 at the Gopher Classic.
Saint Mary's sophomore Ryan Cramer (Elk River, Minn. / Elk River) set a program record in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.88 at the Maverick Indoor Open on 2/20. Cramer ran a 7.01 in prelims.
St. Olaf senior Kevin Turlington (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes) broke the program record in the 5,000-meter run at the Midwest Elite Invitational on 2/13, winning the event in 14:20.51.
St. Scholastica senior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) swept the men's throwing competitions at the St. Olaf Invitational & Multi on 1/31. Beseth set a program record with a weight throw of 18.60 meters (61' 0.25") and won the men's shot put with a throw of 17.41 meters (57' 1.5").
FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Record Book contains annual Conference championship information and MIAC overall and meet record-holders. The information included in the record book is based on available data, and research for additional historical documents is ongoing.