Leavenworth, Kan.— Ready or not, postseason is here as the 2026 KCAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships will commence on Thursday, April 30^th through Friday, May 1^st returning to the campus of Friends University in Wichita, Kansas for the first time since 2018.

In true competitive fashion, the fight to the finish will be tight. The latest USTFCCCA rankings show the USM men and women just edging out the Friends Falcons on both sides for the top spot in the conference finals.

Thursday will open with the Hammer Throw at 9:30 a.m., followed by the High Jump and Long Jump beginning at 11:00 a.m.  The final field event of Day 1 will be the Javelin Throw, starting at 2:00 p.m.  Track events will begin on Thursday around 5:30 p.m. with the finals in the 3,000m Steeplechase followed by preliminaries of the 100m, women's 100m Hurdles & men's 110m Hurdles. The 4x800m relays will be Thursday's second final on the track, followed by preliminaries in the 200m before the final outings in the 10,000m for women and men to wrap up day one.

Day two on Friday is slated for 11:00 a.m. with the Pole Vault, Triple Jump, Shot Put and Discus Throw to kick the morning off.  All of Friday's track events will be finals only beginning around 3:30 p.m. with the 4x100m to begin the action. The meet will wrap up with the 4x400m, tentatively scheduled for the women at 7:55 p.m. and 8:10 p.m. for the men.  The awards ceremony recognizing the high-point Athletes of the Meet, Coaches of the Year, and team champions will conclude the meet at approximately 8:30 p.m.  

While there are a few Spires still seeking out their ticket to the national meet, a host of USM athletes have already achieved their marks, still eager to see what else they can accomplish. Last week, KCAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week, Prince Ntozo, earned an NAIA "A" Standard in men's 3000 Steeplechase. With his 9:15.12 finish, Prince is now No. 1 KCAC and No. 7 in all of NAIA in the Steeplechase, earning his chance to compete on the national stage.  

Tyler Holmes has been a standout all year long, whether that be on the basketball court or now on the track, the freshman made quick work of punching his ticket to the national meet in North Carolina. At the Drake Relays last week, Holmes took home 2^nd overall out of twenty-four athletes, with a final leap of 7.31m. Tyler already holds the No. 1 spot in the KCAC and earned his NAIA "A" Standard earlier this month with a 7.44m jump to book his trip to Asheville.

This past weekend was full of national marks between the Drake Relays and the Kip Janvrin Open with senior Abigail White adding to the tally. Abby earned her spot at nationals in the women's 3000 Steeplechase with an 11:16 final finish, ranking her No. 1 in KCAC, No. 14 in the NAIA, and a national "B" Standard.

In the field, junior Keely Barnard continues to impress. Last weekend at Grand View, Keely finished 2^nd overall out of seventeen Javelin throwers with a final heave of 40.15m for the KCAC's leader.

Senior Josie Tyrrell would continue to add to her nationals tally last weekend at the Kip Janvrin Open, finishing big in the 5K race. Josie would grit out a 2^nd place finish and a final time of 17:12.82, moving her up in the rankings to No. 10 in the NAIA. At the national meet next month Josie will now compete in both the women's 5K and 10K races.

Last week in Indianola, USM record holder Carly Holadia punched her ticket to the NAIA Championships in the women's 800m. Carly added another top ten finish in the 800, finishing 9^th overall with a tough 2:13.77 finish, eager to compete in NC.

Freshman Mohammed Elgossy moved his way up in the Spire record books last weekend. Elgossy would battle it out in the men's 3000 Steeplechase alongside Ntozo, coming in 8^th place overall with a final time of 9:27, making him the second fastest freshman all time in USM history.

Be on the lookout for these Spire athletes and their team this weekend in Wichita and don't miss a second of the KCAC Championships by following along with all Live Results in what will be one of the final opportunities of the 2026 season to earn their way to the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field National Championships. The 2026 KCAC Championships are yet again shaping up to be a highly competitive weekend on the track for the Spire athletes!