Burnsville, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference released the 2026 Preseason Outdoor Track and Field Coaches' Polls today. The Northern State women were picked sixth with 131 points, while the men were picked fifth with 81 points.
The 2026 NSIC outdoor track & field season gets underway this week with the regular season culminating on Thursday-Saturday, May 7-9 at the NSIC Championships held on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth.
LOOKING BACK AT 2025 FOR THE MEN
Northern took finished third at the NSIC Outdoor Championships last season with three conference champions and eight all-conference performances.
Sam Tremelling and
Jayden Munroe advanced to the NCAA Championships, earning All-American accolades in the pole vault and long jump. In addition,
Chris Weber made his NCAA Championships debut in the 100m.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026 FOR THE MEN
The Wolves are coming off a sixth place finish at the NSIC Indoor Championships last month. Northern tallied a conference championships by
Eli Radtke,
Jayden Munroe, and
Chris Weber. Weber and Munroe were selected as the team's athletes to watch heading into the outdoor season.
DINGMAN'S THOUGHTS
- On the Team: "The men's team is coming off a great performance from last season, getting 3rd back-to-back years was a great accomplishment. They have great potential to be a better outdoor team. We will look to our field event squad to score some big points for us this outdoor season.
- On Weber: "Chris had a great indoor season where he ran to a dominate finish in the men's 60 meters at the NSIC Championships. He and our 4X100 team is excited to get on a big track and run the relay. We expect Chris to have a great outdoor season!"
- On Munroe: "Jayden concluded the NSIC Championships with a big jump in the LJ to secure the top podium finish. He is a returning All-American in the LJ from the 2025 Outdoor season. We expect Jayden to continue to leap to new heights this outdoor season in both the long jump and triple jump."
2025-26 NSIC MEN'S PRESEASON POLL
| Overall |
Points |
| 1 |
Minnesota State (11) |
121 |
| 2 |
University of Mary |
102 |
| 3 |
MSU Moorhead (1) |
100 |
| 4 |
Augustana |
93 |
| 5 |
Northern State |
81 |
| 6 |
Sioux Falls |
71 |
| 7 |
Wayne State |
61 |
| 8 |
Minnesota Duluth |
58 |
| 9 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
42 |
| 10 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
27 |
| 11 |
Jamestown |
18 |
|
Minot State |
18 |
LOOKING BACK AT 2025 FOR THE WOMEN
Northern State took sixth from the NSIC Championships last season. The Wolves tallied three all-conference performances from the meet.
LOOKING AHEAD TO 2026 FOR THE WOMEN
The Wolves are coming off a sixth place finish at the NSIC Indoor Championships last month. Northern tallied a conference championship by
Bekah Walz and All-Conference performances from
Tayla Dobrenski and
Romane Maugest.
Renea Taylor and Walz were selected as the team's athletes to watch heading into the outdoor season.
DINGMAN'S THOUGHTS
- On the Team: "Our women's team has a good mixture of experienced upperclassman and youth. We will be well-rounded team this outdoor season. We expect our field event squads to have a strong showing this spring. We are looking forward to see what they can do."
- On Taylor: "Renea is entering into her final season for the Wolves. We expect her to be a high contender in the sprint and hurdle events. She is coming off a great indoor season, where she qualified for the National Meet in the 60m. She is in great shape and looking to return to the National Meet in the 400 Hurdles this season."
- On Walz: "Bekah had an amazing indoor season where she captured the top of the podium in the vault at the NSIC Championships and qualified for the National Meet. We anticipate her to keep the momentum going into the outdoor season. We are excited to see her jump new heights this outdoor season."
2025-26 NSIC WOMEN'S PRESEASON POLL
| Overall |
Points |
| 1 |
Minnesota State (14) |
196 |
| 2 |
University of Mary (1) |
183 |
| 3 |
Augustana |
155 |
| 4 |
Winona State |
152 |
| 5 |
Minnesota Duluth |
145 |
| 6 |
Northern State |
131 |
| 7 |
Sioux Falls |
121 |
| 8 |
Wayne State |
117 |
| 9 |
Concordia-St. Paul |
89 |
| 10 |
MSU Moorhead |
81 |
| 11 |
Bemidji State |
57 |
| 12 |
St. Cloud State |
46 |
| 13 |
Jamestown |
45 |
| 14 |
Minot State |
32 |
| 15 |
Southwest Minnesota State |
25 |
