Tiger Men's Track & Field Claims Third Straight NCAC Indoor Title
SPRINGFIELD, OH - Picked to finish second in pre-championship balloting by the league's coaches, Wittenberg Men's Track and Field rallied from a 30-point deficit early on Day 2 of the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Championships to claim a third straight team title.
Standing second after the opening day while competing on home turf in Wittenberg's Steemer fieldhouse, Wittenberg watched Wabash build up a big lead thanks to a tremendous performance in the field events. But once the running events commenced, the Tigers quickly built momentum and raced past the Little Giants with a final point total of 157 points, 13 clear of second-place Wabash and a whopping 46 points ahead of third-place John Carroll, the pre-event favorite.
The NCAC Indoor Track and Field title is the fifth in program history. Wittenberg's women placed fourth in its eight-team competition.
"I asked both teams to compete hard for each other for two days, and that is exactly what they did," said Wittenberg Men's and Women's Track and Field Head Coach Paris Hilliard. "I am exhilarated about how the teams competed."
The win was a product of both individual excellence and team depth. The individual excellence came from many different sources, highlighted by a pair of NCAC Athlete of the Year winners: graduate student Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH / Springfield), the Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year, and junior Lukas Rieben (Clayton, OH / Northmont), the Middle Distance/Distance Athlete of the Year. Wittenberg's coaching staff also earned Men's Coaching Staff of the Year.
Elliott started his day with a thrilling win in the 400-meter dash, taking the top spot by .01 over sophomore teammate Jack Kittle (Chagrin Falls, OH / Chagrin Falls) as he leaned so hard into the finish that he took a nasty-looking tumble. Kittle finished ahead of Elliott in the 200-meter dash, taking second in the race with a time of 21.65, while Elliott placed third in 21.76. They teamed up to put an exclamation point on the meet in the final event, the 4x400-meter relay, as the Tigers took first in a time of 3:16.61.
Elliott and Kittle were joined on the winning relay by sophomore Kory Davis (Brookville, OH / Brookville) and sophomore Dashawn Seye (Centerville, OH / Centerville).
After missing the 2025 cross country season due to injury, Rieben won both the 5000 meters on Friday and the 3000 meters on Saturday. His win in the 3000 meters clinched the team title for Wittenberg, setting off the first of several celebrations for team members.
The Tigers' other individual event winner on Day 2 was freshman Matthew Keaton (Westerville, OH / North), who won the pole vault with a mark of 4.40 meters. Also scoring in the event were freshman Zachary Callahan (Lebanon, OH / Lebanon) in seventh with a mark of 4.05 meters, which was matched by junior Nicolas Farfoglia (Manchester, MD / Manchester Valley), who finished in eighth place.
Elsewhere on the track, Davis placed third in the 60-meter hurdles in a time of 8.13, followed closely by senior Riley Payne (Hamilton, OH / Trenton Edgewood) in fourth with a time of 8.27, and freshman Omega Waller (Canal Winchester, OH / Independence) in eighth in a time of 8.47. Sophomore Elijah Simmons (Jacksonville, FL / Groveport Madison (OH)) finished fifth in the 60-meter dash and fifth in the 200-meter dash, freshman Nathan Warburton (Jensen Beach, FL / Jensen Beach) placed second in the 60-meter dash, Toriano Johnson (Loveland, OH / Kings) placed sixth in the 60-meter dash, senior Zayden Taylor (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) placed sixth in the 800-meter run, and the Tigers placed fifth in the 4x200-meter relay with the quartet of Simmons, Johnson, junior Neal Godfrey (Columbus, OH / St. Francis DeSales), and freshman Joelon Lyons (Sidney, OH / Sidney).
In Saturday's field events, junior Max Martindale (Mason, OH / Lakota West) placed fourth in the shot put with a mark of 14.78 meters, and freshman Jeremiah Owusu (Columbus, OH / Thomas Worthington) placed third in the high jump with a mark of 1.96 meters.
Athletes to place in the top three earned All-NCAC honors. The Tigers have a handful of athletes planning to pursue qualification to the NCAA Division III Championships. Currently, Elliott and Kittle rank in the top five nationally in the 400-meter dash, and Davis ranks in the top 15 in the 60-meter hurdles.
Written By: Ryan Maurer