NEW ORLEANS, LA — The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) claimed three of the top honors in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region, as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its regional award winners for the 2025-26 indoor season on Thursday, March 19.

Ohio Wesleyan junior Connor Smith (Marysville, OH/Marysville) was named the Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Field Athlete of the Year, while Wittenberg senior Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH/Springfield) earned the Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Year award. Additionally, Wittenberg Head Coach Paris Hilliard was selected as the Men's Indoor Coach of the Year.

Smith closed out an incredible junior campaign, claiming the national title in the high jump at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama. He cleared 2.12 meters to become the first OWU male student-athlete to win an individual track and field championship since 2002. The junior had set the regional standard earlier in the season with a mark of 2.06 meters at the OWU Team Challenge.
 
Elliott closed out his senior season with the strongest indoor performance of his collegiate career. At the NCAC Championships, he won the 400-meter dash in a time of 47.07, breaking the previous school record to rank third in Division III. Elliott also ran a key leg on the Tigers' conference-title-winning 4x400-meter relay (3:16.61) and placed third in the league in the 200-meter dash (21.76). He went on to earn first-team All-America honors at nationals with a third-place finish in the 400 in 47.52 seconds. He is just the second Wittenberg student-athlete to earn Great Lakes Track Athlete of the Year honors.
 
Hilliard guided the Tigers to their third-consecutive NCAC Men's Indoor Track & Field team championship after compiling 157 points, winning by 13 points over runner-up Wabash (144). Wittenberg ranked as high as No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region and inside the national top 25 throughout the season. Three Tigers qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, scoring a program-best nine points and finishing a program-high 18th overall. The award is Hilliard's first as a men's head coach; he previously earned the Great Lakes Women's Coach of the Year in both 2020 and 2023.