Men's Outdoor Track & Field

2026 MIAC Men's Outdoor Track & Field Championship Preview

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The 2026 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Outdoor Track & Field Championships are set to get underway on Friday, as eleven men's teams from around the league will compete in the two-day meet held at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.
 
| 2026 MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships | Tickets | Video Stream | Real-Time Results | Championship Apparel |
 
The MIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships officially kicked off last week with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon competitions held at Carleton College. This weekend's action will begin on Friday afternoon with field events starting at 2:00 p.m. and track events beginning at 2:30 p.m. Saturday's events are scheduled for a noon start with the final set of events - the women's and men's 4x400 relay - running at 5:10 p.m.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Daily tickets are required to attend the MIAC Outdoor 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.
 
Spectators traveling to Northfield are encouraged to review the campus parking map. Primary parking will be in the Lower Lincoln lot, with overflow parking in the grass at the bottom of Old Main Hill. Concessions will be available for purchase near Porter Hall on the west end of the track.
 
Fans unable to attend in person will be able to follow the action with live updates via Hero's Timing. Select events will also be streamed live on the MIAC Sports Network. A full slate of links and information can be found on the championship home page.
 
| CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE | INITIAL MEET PROGRAM |
MEDIA CREDENTIALS
All photographers and videographers must be credentialed in advance by the St. Olaf Sports Information Department. Media personnel planning to attend the MIAC Championships in an official working capacity should email Michael Abdella (abdellam@stolaf.edu) no later than Thursday, May 7, to request a media pass. Credentials will be available for pickup at the entrance behind the bleachers at the venue.
 
| CREDENTIAL REQUEST |
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, hooded sweatshirts, tank tops, and shorts 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
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 has been crowned MIAC champion of men's outdoor track & field each of the last two seasons.
 
In addition to team awards, the top three finishers in each event will automatically earn All-Conference honors, while the fourth-through-sixth place finishers will be named Honorable Mention.
 
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.

| CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY |
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Bethel sophomore Timmy Ball (Hugo, Minn. / Centennial) took home a pair of conference titles in his MIAC championship debut last season, with wins in the discus (41.25m) and shot put (15.80m).
 
Carleton senior Gabe Nichols (Grove City, Penn. / Grove City) is the reigning MIAC champion in the 5,000-meter run. He won the 2025 conference crown in 15:03.56.
 
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Park) won the MIAC title in the shot put in 2024 with a throw of 17.07 meters.
 
Concordia junior Eli Hayes (Fargo, N.D. / Davies) won the conference championship in the javelin throw in 2024 with a distance of 56.73 meters.
 
Hamline sophomore Isaiah Watson (Fridley, Minn. / Fridley) took home top honors in the triple jump at the 2025 MIAC Outdoor Championships with a leap of 14.81 meters.
 
Saint John's senior Mitchell Degen (Brainerd, Minn. / Brainerd) won the MIAC championship in the javelin last year with a throw of 58.46 meters.
 
Saint John's senior Kole Guth (St. Peter, Minn. / St. Peter) is the reigning MIAC pole vault champion, claiming the title last spring with a clearance of 4.57 meters.
 
St. Olaf senior Lance Nemecek (Minnetrista, Minn. / Mound Westonka) won the conference title in the 800-meter run last spring with a time of 1:51.32.
 
St. Scholastica junior Joshua Monreal (Proctor, Minn. / Proctor) is the defending MIAC champion in the hammer throw with a distance of 54.23 meters at the 2025 conference meet.
STAT PACK
The top times and distances from around the MIAC as of Wednesday, May 6, can be found here.
IN THE POLLS
Bethel ranks No. 10 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) TFRI, released on Tuesday, May 5.
 
Bethel and St. Olaf also regionally ranked in the North's top 10 heading into the conference meet. The Royals are No. 6 in the North Region, with the Oles at No. 10.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Bethel senior Landen Liu (Blaine, Minn. / Centennial) ran the 100 meters in 10.39 at the Drake Relays on 4/22, tied for the ninth-fastest time in the event in NCAA Division III this season.
 
Bethel senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy) clocked the fourth-fastest 400-meter time in NCAA Division III this season at the Redlands Invitational on 3/19, crossing the finish line in 46.80. Nelson also ranks sixth in Division III in the 200-meter dash thanks to a time of 20.91 at the Redlands Invitational on 3/19.
 
The Bethel 4x400 relay team of first-year Elliot Kent (Alexandria, Minn. / Alexandria), junior Caleb Ketterling (Andover, Minn. / Andover), first-year Brody Schelhaas (Woodbury, Minn. / New Life Academy), and senior Grant Nelson (Minneapolis, Minn. / Providence Academy) finished in 3:11.42 at the Drake Relays on 4/22, good for the fourth-fastest time in D-III this season.
 
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Park) has the top shot put throw in NCAA Division III this season with a distance of 19.26 meters (63' 2.25") recorded at the NDSU Spring Classic on 4/11. Folkestad's discus toss of 55.25 meters (181' 3") at the Embry-Riddle Open on 4/2 ranks second in the nation.
 
Hamline sophomore Isaiah Watson (Fridley, Minn.) is tied for sixth in NCAA Division III with a triple jump leap of 15.00 meters (49' 2.5"), recorded at the Drake Relays on 4/22.
 
St. Olaf senior Kevin Turlington (Rochester, Minn. / Lourdes) ranks fourth in D-III for the 10,000-meter run after finishing in 29:17.58 at the WashU Distance Carnival on 3/26. Turlington clocked in at 14:01.93 in the 5,000-meter run at the UW-Platteville Invitational on 4/10. That time remains eighth-fastest in the event this season.
 
St. Scholastica senior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) recorded Division III's fifth-best shot put distance at the Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/22 with a mark of 18.14 meters (59' 6.25").
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg first-year Vicente Bolivar (Bennett, Colo. / Kiowa) collected event victories in back-to-back weeks to close out the month of April. Bolivar won the long jump at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational on 4/24-25 with a distance of 6.64 meters (21' 9.5") before taking top honors in the triple jump at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on 4/29 with a leap of 13.06 meters (42' 10.25").
 
Bethel senior Adam Hokanson (Shakopee, Minn. / Shakopee) registered a collegiate-best and program-record hammer throw at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational on 4/24-25 with a distance of 57.12 meters (187' 5"). The mark ranks second in the MIAC and 24th in D-III this season.
 
Carleton senior Gabe Nichols (Grove City, Penn. / Grove City) won the 1,500-meter run at the Joe Sweeney Invitational on 4/29 with a season-best time of 3:56.67. Nichols has not placed lower than second in any distance event since the Gopher Classic on 2/7.
 
Concordia senior Cooper Folkestad (Wadena, Minn. / Wadena-Deer Park) recorded the third-farthest distance in the shot put in NCAA Division III history as he won the event at the NDSU Spring Classic on 4/11 with a mark of 19.26 meters (63' 2.25"). That distance is the tops in D-III this season, and ranked No.11 on the Division I performance list and No. 2 on the Division II list in April. Folkestad's winning distance broke his own program record by two feet.
 
Gustavus first-year Logan Day (Wayzata, Minn. / Wayzata) recorded the best javelin throw of his collegiate career with a distance of 56.40 meters (185' 0") at the Ole Open on 5/2. The throw ranks second in the MIAC this season.
 
Hamline sophomore Isaiah Watson (Fridley, Minn.) set a new PR with a triple jump leap of 15.00 meters (49' 2.5") at the Drake Relays on 4/22. That distance leads the MIAC and is tied for sixth in NCAA Division III this season.
 
Macalester sophomore Ataa Mensah (St. Paul, Minn. / Roseville) recorded two of the top three leaps in the MIAC this season in a two-day span last month. Mensah's triple jump mark of 14.18 meters (46' 6.25") at the Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/22 ranks second in the conference this season, while his high jump of 1.95 meters (6' 4.75") two days later at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational remains third-best in the MIAC.
 
Saint John's junior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn. / Maple River) finished sixth out of 31 runners, and first among NCAA Division III participants, in the 1,500 meters at the Meet of the Unsaintly on 5/1. Stencel recorded a personal-best time of 3:49.71, which is good for 19th-best in NCAA Division III this season and just over one second shy of the program record of 3:48.46, set in 2015.
 
Saint Mary's first-year Gage Hatch (Detroit Lakes, Minn. / Detroit Lakes) was part of three event victories at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational on 4/24-25. Hatch won both the 100 (11.05) and 200 (22.16) individually and helped the Cardinals' 4x100 relay squad to a first-place finish in 43.02.
 
St. Olaf senior Cullen Moore (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Minnehaha Academy) ran the 800 in 1:51.66 while representing the Oles at the Bryan Clay Invite in Azusa, California, on 4/17. Moore's time ranks No. 4 on St. Olaf's all-time list, No. 1 in the MIAC this season, and No. 20 in NCAA Division III.
 
St. Scholastica senior Trent Beseth (Stanchfield, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti) turned in three first-place finishes while competing in a pair of meets for the Saints last week. Beseth won the shot put at the Todd Pfingsten Open on 4/29 with a distance of 17.70 meters (58' 1") before bettering that distance with a throw of 17.98 meters (59' 0") at the Meet of the Unsaintly on 5/1. He also competed in the discus at both meets, placing third overall and first among D-III competitors with a toss of 52.19 meters (171' 3") at the Todd Pfingsten Open and winning the event with a distance of 50.97 meters (167' 3") at the Meet of the Unsaintly. Three of the four throws - both shot put marks and his first discus distance - rank among the 15 best in NCAA Division III this season.
FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Men's Outdoor 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.