ELSAH, Ill. -  The W women's and men's track and field teams both exceeded the expectations of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) pre-season coaches' polls with their performance at the two-day 2026 SLIAC Indoor Championships, where the MUW women placed second and the men third. The Owls were prognosticated to be third for the women and fifth for the men.
 
It was quite a showing for MUW, with six school records falling and a combination of six champions crowned (three for each squad). In all, 14 medals were earned by the Owls: six gold, two silver, and six bronze.
 
Additionally, Head Coach Dedrick Burnett's crew picked up three SLIAC post-season awards. Freshman Malachi Morgan was honored with both the Male Freshman Field Events Athlete of the Year, as well as the overall Male Field Events Athlete of the Year. Women's freshman Ariella Jones was tabbed as the Female Freshman Field Events Athlete of the Year.
 
Morgan tied his own school record in besting 24 competitors to win the men's long jump at 6.86 meters, hitting the winning leap on his last attempt of the event. Morgan earned a first place in the high jump, clearing 1.94 meters. Morgan also picked up some team points, with a sixth-place finish in the 60-meter dash (7.10).
 
The other gold for the MUW men came from sophomore Cortland Earl in the 60-meter hurdles, where he posted a school-record time of 8.73 seconds to lead a 1-2-3 sweep in the race by The W. Silver medalist Mikendall Morris' time of 8.77 seconds would also have bested the previous record of 8.87 seconds. Ironically, the former recordholder for the Owls, Allen Fields, crossed the line for the bronze at 8.90.
 
The W's 4x400 relay quartet of Bryson Boler, Earl, Noel Kellum, and Jarvis Sellers, was a bronze finisher in a clocking of 3:34.47 minutes.
 
James Nesby was seventh in the men's weight throw with a school-record toss of 11.24 meters (eclipsing his own best of 10.27m set earlier this season).
 
For the Owl women, Jones' program included replicating, in winning the women's long jump, what Morgan did on the men's side. Jones hit her school-record mark of 5.30 meters on her final attempt to overtake a Greenville University competitor. In the triple jump, Jones was second (10.40m) to teammate Hali Sinegal's MUW record, and winning, mark of 10.66 meters.
 
Sinegal picked up a bronze, as well, in the women's high jump, clearing 1.42 meters. Freshman Princess Lofton was third in the women's 60-meter hurdles (10.07 seconds).
 
Women's thrower Brooklyn Kelley added a pair of medals to her collection. Kelley popped a school-record toss in the weight throw, going 14.95 meters, to win the event by 2 ½ feet. In the women's shot put, Kelley finished third with a heave of 11.04 meters, with teammate Arie'Onna McCollum placing fourth.
 
The final women's medal was earned by Armoni King in the 200 meters, where she hit the tape at 22.28 seconds, good for third place.