The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges Stags are the unanimous pick to win a fifth straight championship according to the 2026 SCIAC Men’s Track & Field Preseason Poll, as voted by the league’s head coaches.
The Stags return 16 career All-Conference performances under the tutelage of Coaching Staff of the Year winner
Glenn Stewart. Three-time 800-meter run medalist
Ellis DelVecchio also earned a first career gold with 4x400 Relay teammates
Jaden Rattay and
Aiden Owens. Rattay also placed second in the 400m as a rookie. A strong throwing contingent includes hammer and javelin champion
Kaden Cassidy, hammer champ
Kavin Prasanna and javelin victor
George Kruger, who also won the event in 2024 and this past fall led SCIAC football in total tackles. Prasanna was runner-up in the hammer last year while
Cian Bryant finished third in the javelin. Cross country standouts
Hayden Beauchemin and
Hale Behan placed second in the steeplechase and third in the 10k, respectively, to round out the returning podium finishes for CMS.
Gavin Doig tied for the most podium appearances at last year’s championship meet, winning the 4x100 with fellow returners
Harrison Brown and
Will Bigler while finishing third in each of the 100m and 200m individually. Bigler also teamed with
John Bard and
Samuel Butler to place second in the 4x400, with Bard also finishing third in the 800m. SCIAC cross country top finisher
Jack Stein took silver in the 10k last year while teammates
Jefferson Wright and
Owen Irving placed second in the 1500m and third in the 5k, respectively.
William Marquart is the lone returning All-Conference thrower, having finished runner-up in the shot put.
SCIAC Newcomer of the Year
Jude Holling burst onto the scene with third-place finishes in the 400m hurdles and 4x400 Relay alongside
Patrick Lang II, who matched that third-place finish in the standard 400m. Rookie
Odis Hamer was runner-up in the discus and
Christian Ferguson placed third in the hammer in 2024.
Chapman University’s
Mason Fara claimed Track Athlete of the Year honors last year after reaching the podium three times for an eighth career All-Conference honor. A 200m/400m double gold performance, including a new 400m meet record, were joined by bronze in the 4x100 Relay along with
Jonah Kim and
Wyn Smoole. The Panthers’ field athletes racked up podium finishes in droves, with Smoole earning silver over
Danny Johnson in the decathlon that also marked Johnson’s second consecutive bronze. 2024 Field Athlete of the Year
Isaac Robin claimed a second title in the triple jump and finishing runner-up in the long jump while
Derek Amlicke and
Thatch Brady took the first two spots in the pole vault. Rookie
Sam Forst also finished third in both the shot put and discus.
One of the leading medal contenders in the SCIAC since stepping foot onto Occidental College’s campus two years ago,
Shane Kawakami-Williams picked up a seventh All-Conference medal but is still looking for a first career gold. The 2024 Newcomer of the Year notched runner-up finishes in the 100m and 200m as well as the 4x100 Relay which can expect to have another two years together as
Khylee Jackson,
Zachary McGraw and
Emerson Ames are all sophomore or juniors this year. Kawakami-Williams, McGraw and
Oliver Yue also finished runner-up in the 4x400 Relay in 2024. Ames and Yue also claimed first and second in the long jump this past spring, while
James Buellesbach finished third in the 110h as a rookie.
Caltech’s
Tyler Gatewood will be looking to return to the high jump podium after winning it as a rookie in 2024.
Terrell James will be looking to repeat as discus champion after winning as a rookie as well. California Lutheran University’s
Drew Nees and
Camden Hyde took silver and bronze in the high jump last year and
Darrin Parham was third in the triple jump. Nees has since broken out as one of SCIAC football’s most dynamic forces on defense, leading the league in sacks this past fall. A revitalized Whittier College roster will be headlined by
Cameron Riccio, who placed seventh in the 10k and 11
th in the 5k, and 4x100 relay scorer
Kiyoshi Todd.
A mix of indoor ramp-up and outdoor preparation define the early months of the season until late February, which will include the Pomona-Pitzer David Salo & Nancy Crenna College Invitational on Feb. 21 before the CMS Rossi Relays on Feb. 28, with the SCIAC Quad Cup Qualifiers set for Mar. 7.The final will be contested on Mar. 28.
2026 SCIAC Men’s Track & Field Preseason Poll
1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 81 points (9 first-place votes)
2. Pomona-Pitzer, 66 pts
3. Redlands, 60 pts
4. Chapman, 58 pts
5. Occidental, 48 pts
6. Caltech, 30 pts
7. La Verne, 28 pts
8. California Lutheran, 19 pts
9. Whittier, 15 pts
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