Women's Outdoor Track & Field

2026 MIAC Women'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 12 women'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. Gustavus has won three of the last four conference titles in women's outdoor track & field, including last year's championship.
 
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 senior Anna Speratos (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) is the defending MIAC champion in the hammer throw with a distance of 53.45 meters at last year's conference championship meet.
 
Concordia sophomore Kaia Gack (Sartell, Minn. / Sartell) won the javelin throw in her MIAC outdoor championship debut last season with a distance of 38.99 meters.
 
Concordia junior Genevieve Gruba (Enderlin, N.D. / Enderlin) won the conference championship in the javelin throw in 2024 with a heave of 39.80 meters.
 
Gustavus sophomore Kayla Kajer (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Stillwater) is the reigning MIAC champion in the high jump with a leap of 1.57 meters last spring.
 
Saint Benedict senior Jaylyn Ahlberg (Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View) is the two-time defending conference champion in the pole vault. Ahlberg cleared 3.71 meters at the 2024 MIAC Outdoor Championships and won again last spring with a mark of 3.58 meters.
 
Saint Benedict junior Sabriya Farquharson (Nassau, Bahamas / Saint Augustine's College) won the triple jump at the 2025 MIAC Outdoor Championships with a leap of 11.76 meters.
 
Saint Mary's sophomore Zari Young (Chicago, Ill. / Holy Trinity) took home top honors in the 100-meter dash last season with a winning time of 11.88.
 
St. Olaf senior Isabel Wyatt (Minneapolis, Minn. / Southwest) won the 800 meters last spring with a time of 2:09.44.
STAT PACK
The top times and distances from around the MIAC as of Wednesday, May 6, can be found here.
IN THE POLLS
Bethel leads all MIAC teams in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) TFRI, released on Tuesday, May 5. The Royals are ranked No. 18 in the nation.
 
Three MIAC programs are regionally ranked in the North's top 10 heading into the conference meet. Concordia is No. 4 in the North Region, with Bethel at No. 7 and St. Olaf at No. 10.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Bethel junior Shalom Sulungaine (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) ranks sixth in NCAA Division III this season in the 400 meters with a time of 54.76, recorded at the Hamline Invitational on 3/30.
 
Bethel senior Anna Speratos (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) ranks fourth in D-III with a hammer throw distance of 55.59 (182' 4"), recorded at the Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/22.
 
The Bethel women's 4x400-meter relay squad of senior Madi Pelowski (Jordan, Minn. / Jordan), first-year Ashley Slaybaugh (Nisswa, Minn. / Pequot Lakes), sophomore Hannah Bingham (Cambridge, Minn. / Cambridge-Isanti), and junior Shalom Sulungaine (Blaine, Minn. / Blaine) set a new program record with a time of 3:44.97 in prelims at the Drake Relays on 4/25. The time ranks fourth in NCAA Division III this season and surpassed the previous program mark of 3:45.75, which had stood since 2018.
 
Macalester sophomore Ariella Rogahn-Press (Albuquerque, N.M. / Bosque School) owns the fastest 400-meter time in NCAA Division III this season with a 53.98, recorded at the Hamline Invitational on 3/30.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg senior Allison Hookom (Anoka, Minn. / Anoka) won the 400-meter dash at the Rider/Bolstorff Invitational on 4/25 with a time of 58.89. Hookom also placed tenth in the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.15.
 
Bethel senior Anna Speratos (Farmington, Minn. / Farmington) broke her own program record in the hammer throw with a toss of 55.59 meters (182' 4") at the University of Minnesota's Gary Wilson Invitational on 4/22. That distance briefly led all of NCAA Division III and currently ranks fourth in the nation this season. Speratos also placed third among D-III competitors in the hammer throw at the Drake Relays with a distance of 53.21 meters (174' 7") on 4/25.
 
Carleton senior Hannah Preisser (Chapel Hill, N.C. / Carrboro) was the runner-up in the 10,000-meter run at the Mangrum Invitational on 3/27 with a time of 35:45.54. Preisser's time ranked eighth in the nation in March and remains No. 23 in Division III this spring heading into the postseason.
 
Concordia first-year Josie Brown (Saco, Mont. / Saco) ran the fastest 400-meter hurdle time in the MIAC this season at the Cobb Open on 5/2. Brown's time of 1:02.08 ranks 14th in NCAA Division III this year and is just 0.36 seconds shy of the 31-year-old program record. Brown also ran a MIAC Championship-qualifying time in the 100-meter hurdles, where she clocked a personal-best time of 15.80.
 
Gustavus sophomore Kayla Kajer (Lake Elmo, Minn. / Stillwater) won the women's high jump at the Ole Open on 5/2 with a personal-best clearance of 1.65 meters (5' 5"). That mark ranks 23rd in NCAA Division III this season. Kajer had just one failed attempt on her way up the ladder to 1.65 meters.
 
Hamline first-year Mabel Badejo (Minneapolis, Minn. / Irondale) won the long jump at the Gustie Twilight on 4/15 with a leap of 5.56 meters (18' 3"). That mark ranks second in Hamline program history and third in the MIAC this season.
 
Macalester sophomore Ariella Rogahn-Press (Albuquerque, N.M. / Bosque School) ran the fastest 400-meter dash time in NCAA Division III this season at the Hamline Invitational on 3/30 with a time of 53.98. Rogahn-Press also won the 200 meters in 24.74 and anchored the Scots' 4x100-meter relay squad that crossed the finish line in 49.23.
 
Saint Benedict senior Jaylyn Ahlberg (Shoreview, Minn. / Mounds View) won the pole vault competition at the Ole Open on 5/2 with a season-best clearance of 3.65 meters (11' 11.75"). Ahlberg has placed among the top five pole vaulters in eleven consecutive meets dating back to February.
 
St. Catherine first-year Eleanor Lindeman (St. Louis Park, Minn. / St. Louis Park) recorded the fifth-fastest 10K time in program history, crossing the finish line in 39:51.26 at the CSB/SJU Invitational on 4/16. Lindeman has set collegiate-best times in four different distance events over her last three meets.
 
Saint Mary's sophomore Mya Slavin (St. Charles, Minn. / St. Charles) set a new program record in the 1,500-meter run at the Manitou Classic on 4/11 with a winning time of 4:33.78. Slavin's time surpassed the previous mark established in 2004 by six seconds. Slavin broke another program record three weeks later with a time of 2:10.58 in the 800 meters at the Meet of the Unsaintly on 5/2, surpassing the previous mark that had stood for 15 years.
 
St. Olaf senior Ashlyn Jore (Prior Lake, Minn. / Prior Lake) broke a 43-year-old program outdoor record in the long jump with a winning leap of 5.60 meters (18' 4.50") at the Carleton Relays on 4/16. Jore's jump was the best of the day by more than one foot and is the second-farthest jump in the MIAC this season.
 
St. Scholastica senior Ella Stritesky (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) was the top Division III finisher in the hammer throw at the Todd Pfingsten Open on 4/29 with a season-best distance of 51.74 meters (169' 9"). The mark ranks second in the MIAC and 24th in D-III this season. Stritesky has placed among the top three competitors in the hammer throw at each of her last three meets.
FOR THE RECORD
The MIAC Women'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.