CLEVELAND, OH – The 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held Friday-Saturday, May 3-4, at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Heading into this year's meet, the Wittenberg men, Wittenberg women, and DePauw women have been selected as the favorites based on pre-championship balloting by the league coaches. The Wittenberg men are seeking their fifth overall NCAC crown and first since 2002, while the Wittenberg women are in search of back-to-back titles after winning for the first time a season ago. The DePauw women are on the hunt for the program's first title since joining the league in 2011.
 
In the men's poll, Wittenberg (80) topped the field after the Tigers garnered eight of the possible nine first-place votes while the Wabash Little Giants (73) collected the last first-place nod. Oberlin collected 60 points for third while Denison, the 2023 champion, placed fourth with 45 points. DePauw and Wooster tied for fifth with 41 points apiece, while Ohio Wesleyan (38), Kenyon (18), and Hiram (9) rounded out the nine-team field.
 
The Wittenberg Tigers will be led by a mix of veterans returning to the 2024 NCAC Championships as well as a group of talented underclassmen that are primed to earn the team's first title since 2002. The Tigers enter the conference meet under the direction of ninth-year head coach Paris Hilliard.
 
In the sprints, four athletes are ranked among the conference's best, including first-year Caiden Allen (Ontario, OH/Plymouth), sophomore Grayson Ring (Tipp City/Tippecanoe), junior Elliott Cameron (Springfield, OH/Springfield), and senior Zeke Bennett (Hilliard, OH/Bradley). In the 400-meter dash, Cameron and Bennett, who finished second a year ago, sit atop the league standings with the No. 1 (48.06) and No. 2 (48.10) fastest times, respectively. Meanwhile, Cameron also owns the seventh best time in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.18. Ring and Allen also hope to score points for Wittenberg, as Ring enters the championship with a mark of 22.11 seconds in the 200-meter dash while Allen owns a 10.82 second 100-meter dash time, both times rank as the sixth best in the league this season.
 
In the distance events, junior Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI/Dexter) looks to score major points for the Tigers as he owns the conference's top time in the 1,500-meter run (3:58.36), 5,000-meter run (14:45.04), and 10,000 meter-run (29:42.25). Kolka, who was the 5,000-meter champion a season ago, is joined by first-year Lukas Rieben (Clayton, OH/Northmont) among the NCAC's fastest in the event as he claims the league's No. 6 spot (15:13.17). Sophomores Lucas Eisele (West Carrollton, OH/West Carrollton) and Evan Haemmerle (Avon, OH/Avon) join Kolka in the 10,000-meter run with top-five NCAC times, as Eisele ranks No. 3 (31:48.98) and Haemmerle enters the meet at No. 5 (32.51.36). Additionally, first-year Owen Bier (Elyria, OH/Midview) looks to make the podium in his debut outdoor season as he enters the meet with the No. 2 time in the 400 hurdles (55.52), while senior Peter Caine (Ypsilanti, MI/Lincoln) enters with the sixth fastest-mark in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:59.28).
 
In the field events, Wittenberg owns three of the conference's top-eight marks in both the discus and the javelin. In the discus, a trio of freshmen, including Jayden McKinster (Springfield, OH/Springfield) (49.38 meters), Troy Crosby (Clayton, OH/Northmont) (42.16m), and Zeth Cowin (Wilmington, OH/Wilmington) (41.92m) rank first, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Cowin hopes to also score points for the Tigers in the hammer throw with a seventh seeded mark of 44.44 meters. McKinster, as well as classmate Max Martindale (Mason, OH/Lakota West), also sit inside the NCAC's top-eight in the shot put, as McKinster holds the league's No. 6 seed (14.35m) while Martindale ranks No. 8 (14.09m). In the javelin, junior Dominic Cork (Cambridge, OH/Cambridge) (47.52m), senior JJ Weisenberger (Collins, OH/Western Reserve) (47.03m), and junior Justin Norris (Middletown, OH/Middletown Christian) (46.20m) own the league's fifth, sixth, and seventh best marks. Weisenberger will also look to earn All-NCAC honors in the long jump as he owns the third-best leap this season (6.83m). In the high jump, Norris and Ring, who placed third last year, head into the meet ranked No. 1 (2.00m) and No. 3 (1.95m) in league standings. Sophomore Jeremy Watson (Sugar Grove, OH/Berne Union), the 2023 pole vault runner-up, hopes to improve on his finish from last season as he is currently ranked second in the conference (4.68m). Within NCAC standings, Watson is joined by first-year Kane Cissell (LaGrange, KY/Oldham County), who is tied for sixth in the pole vault (4.10m), leads Wittenberg in the triple jump with a leap of 13.15 meters to sit in seventh.
 
On the women's side, the coaches were split when it came down to predicting a champion for the 2024 NCAC Outdoor Championship as DePauw and Wittenberg finished in a tie atop the pre-championship poll. Both teams amassed 60 points and four first-place votes. Ohio Wesleyan, the 2023 runner-up, was predicted to finish third with 48 points, while Denison (35) was selected fourth and Wooster was tabbed fifth (33). Oberlin (28), Kenyon (16), and Hiram (8) rounded out the eight-team field.
 
The DePauw women enter the championship meet with 26 student-athletes owning at least one top-eight conference finish. The relatively young roster, under the direction of 29th-year head coach Kori Stoffregen, looks to claim the program's first outdoor conference title since joining the league in 2011. In the sprints, the Indiana Tigers will be led by a trio of first-years, including Shelby Stall (Lindenhurst, IL/Lakes), Elizabeth Raborn (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville), and Emma Gray (Columbus, IN/Columbus Signature Academy New Tech). In the 100-meter dash, Stall (12.60), Raborn (12.75), and Gray (12.76) rank fifth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. Additionally, Stall hopes to score major points for DePauw as she owns the second fastest 200-meter dash (25.46) and third-best 400-meter dash (57.78). Senior Annalise Grammel (Canal Winchester, OH/The Columbus Academy) joins Stall among the league's best in the 400-meter dash after running 1:00.11 to sit in seventh in the NCAC. Grammel, who placed third in the 800-meter run at the 2023 championships, hopes to improve her finish in the event, as she owns the No. 2 seed (2:16.30). Junior Emma Jacobs (Marietta, GA/Blessed Trinity) follows closely behind Grammel in the 800, as she has the No. 3 seed (2:17.27).
 
In the distance races, Jacobs will join forces with classmates Sophie Porter (Westfield, IN/Westfield), Lily Monnett (Cloverdale, IN/Cloverdale), and Brynn Urban (Fishers, IN/Fishers) as well as sophomore Amzie Maienbrook (Rensselaer, IN/Rensselaer Central) and first-years Grace Flores (Boerne, TX/Boerne-Samuel V. Champion) and Grace Thomas (Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso) to score significant points for the Tigers. In the 1,500-meter run, Porter, Monnett, Flores, and Jacobs rank first (4:42.78), third (4:47.35), sixth (4:49.50), and seventh (4:49.74), respectively. Porter is on the hunt for the 5,000-meter conference title as she sits atop the league standings with a time of 17:00.49. Joining Porter in the 5,000 are Monnett at No. 2 (17:29.08), Urban at No. 4 (17:49.76), Flores at No. 5 (17:53.71), and Maienbrook at No. 8 (18:18.27). In the 10,000-meter run, Porter, who finished second in 2023, owns the league's best time this season (35:36.75), while Flores (37:53.52), Maienbrook (39:17.03), Thomas (39:38.09), and Urban (39:43.98) sit in the No. 4-7 spots, respectively.
 
In the hurdle events, DePauw junior Katie Moore (Lawrenceville, IL/Lawrenceville) (14.83), first-year Liberty Scott (Galveston, IN/Lewis Cass) (15.52), and Gray (15.89) own top-six times in the 100-meter hurdles. The trio also sits among the NCAC's best in the 400-meter hurdles, as Moore holds the top time (1:03.03), Scott ranks fourth (1:06.67), and Gray follows behind in fifth (1:07.98). Junior Kendall Mann (New Palestine, IN/New Palestine), sophomore Morgan Tharp (McCordsville, IN/Mt. Vernon), and first-year Chloe Krueger (Columbus, IN/Columbus East) look to make a splash in the 3,000-meter steeplechase as they check in at third (11:36.78), sixth (12:04.05), and eighth (12:14.00), respectively.
 
In the field events, a trio of DePauw sophomores, including Emily Loera (Cedar Park, TX/Leander), Madi Welch (Crawfordsville, IN/North Montgomery), and Tessa Kochert (Glen Ellyn, IL/Glenbard West), join Moore in the league's top-eight long jumpers. Moore enters the championships leading the Tigers with a jump of 5.14 meters to rank fifth, while Loera ranks sixth (5.02m), Welch sits in seventh (4.99m) and Kochert holds onto eighth (4.93m). Kochert (10.84m) and sophomore Lily Vaught (Greenwood, IN/Roncalli) (10.46m) sit among the league's best in the triple jump, ranking fourth and sixth. Vaught also owns the NCAC's eighth-best height in the pole vault this season, measuring 2.91 meters. In the pole vault standings, the sophomore is joined by senior Emma Stemen (Cincinnati, OH/Sycamore), who ranks fourth among conference competitors (3.25m). First-year Anna Lervick (Benilde-Saint Margaret's) and junior Abby Hartman (Greensburg, IN/North Decatur) rank No. 5 (1.53m) and No. 6 (1.50m) among league foes in the high jump. In the throws, junior Bree Mahoney-Sutherland (Greencastle, IN/South Putnam) owns the conference's sixth-best toss in the shot put (11.65m), while first-year Molly Stevener (Kirkwood, MO/Kirkwood) and Moore have turned in the No. 3 (35.17m) and No. 5 (32.37m) best tosses in the javelin this season.
 
The Wittenberg women enter the championship meet with 19 student-athletes owning at least one top-eight performance in the NCAC. The Tigers, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Paris Hilliard, are in search of their second-consecutive conference title. The reigning Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year, junior Meghan Frazier (Alliance, OH/Alliance), will lead Wittenberg in the sprint events as she claims the top time in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, events she won a season ago. In the 100, Frazier (12.25) is joined by senior Haleigh Willison (Crooksville, OH/Crooksvile) (12.46) and junior Zora Shakhan (Pickerington, OH/Pickerington Central) (12.50) to rank first, third, and fourth, respectively. In the 200, Frazier leads the pack with a speedy time of 25.36 seconds while Willison, who placed second last year, is No. 3 in the league (25.53) and first-year Jenna Delp (Canton, OH/GlenOak) is No. 8 (26.28). Additionally, Frazier owns the conference's second-fastest 400-meter dash (57.33), while sophomores Tymeerah De'Armond (Springfield, OH/Springfield), the 2023 400-meter champion and 2023 Newcomer of the Year, and Abbey Danne (Johnstown, OH/Big Walnut), enter the meet with the fourth- (58.48) and sixth-best (59.81) times. Danne also hopes to score points in the 800-meter run, entering the 2024 meet with the No. 8 time (2:21.91).
 
In the distance events, sophomore Emma Hawk (Marion, OH/River Valley) will lead the Tigers as she ranks second in the 10,000- and sixth in the 5,000-meter runs with times of 36:58.51 and 17:54.86, respectively. Additionally in the hurdles, junior Reese Neumeyer (Whitehouse, OH/Anthony Wayne) (15.68) and first-year Haley Troy (West Chester, OH/Lakota West) (15.94) own the No. 5 and No. 7 100 times, while Neumeyer also holds the No. 5 seed in the 400 (1:07.98).
 
Juniors Taylor Weiss (Powell, OH/Olentangy Liberty) and Julissa Williams (Lorain, OH/Lorain), first-year Hallie Haines (Hillsboro, OH/Fairfield), and sophomore Ziciah Gibson (Cambridge, OH/Cambridge) own four of the league's top-eight times in the high jump. Wiess, who placed third last year, and Williams, the 2023 NCAC runner-up, look to make the 2024 podium as they enter the meet with the first- (1.70m) and second- (1.67m) best conference marks. The junior duo is joined in the top-eight by Haines (1.50m) and Gibson (1.45m) at No. 6 and No. 8. Gibson will also represent the Tigers in the javelin as she claims the league's fourth farthest throw this year (33.62m). Three Tigers have marks inside the NCAC's long jump top-eight including Delp at No. 1 (5.45m), Williams at No.3 (5.17m), and first-year Michaela Stroder (Springfield, OH/Springfield) at No. 8 (4.93m). In the pole vault, sophomore Tiffany Hix (Prospect, OH/Elgin) owns the league's top seed with a height of 3.60 meters while first-year Story Laing (Granville, OH/Granville) sits in fifth (3.17m). Hix (11.34m), along with first-year G'Niyah Brown (Dayton, OH/Wayne) (10.85m), Weiss (10.68m), and Neumeyer (10.24m) look to score major points in the triple jump as they rank second, third, fifth, and eighth in the league standings, respectively.
 
Sophomore Aidan Orth (Cincinnati, OH/Anderson) heads into the 2024 NCAC Championships owning three top-six distances in the throwing events. She hopes to podium in the shot put as she is the No. 2 seed (11.89m), while classmate Emma Doerman (West Chester, OH/Lakota West) ranks No. 7 in the event (11.62m). Additionally, Orth also ranks fifth (37.49m) and sixth (41.87m) in the discus and hammer throw, respectively.
  
The first scoring events of the 2024 meet, the heptathlon and decathlon, will take place this coming Saturday and Sunday, April 27-28 at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.
 

2024 NCAC Outdoor Track & Field  Pre-Championship Coaches Polls
WOMEN				MEN
Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points		Rank	School (1st place votes)	Points
T1.	DePauw (4)	60		1.	Wittenberg (8)	80
T1.	Wittenberg (4)	60		2.	Wabash (1)	73
3.	Ohio Wesleyan	48		3.	Oberlin	60
4.	Denison	35		4.	Denison	45
5.	Wooster	33		T5.	DePauw	41
6.	Oberlin	28		T5.	Wooster	41
7.	Kenyon	16		7.	Ohio Wesleyan	38
8.	Hiram	8		8.	Kenyon	18
				9.	Hiram	9