Superior, WI -- This weekend, the North Central University (NCU) Track and Field teams competed at the 2026 UMAC Outdoor Championship Meet hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The two-day event was highlighted by multiple podium finishes and personal best performances. The Rams were led by sophomore Joyce Horton's pair of third-place finishes in the 400m hurdles and triple jump and fellow sophomore Josh Hinson's third-place, meet-record performance in the 400m. The Rams saw the men's team place 5th overall, while the women's team finished 7th among the seven conference teams.

Sprints:

The women's sprint group was led by junior Deshawna Hodges, who posted a season-best 13.28 seconds in the 100m prelims and followed with a 27.90-second finish in the 200m. Sophomore Lily Ciske added a 28.93-second effort in the 200m, while sophomore Joyce Horton highlighted the group with a 3rd place finish in the 400m hurdles (1:09.52), earning valuable team points and a season-best mark. Horton also placed 4th in the 100m hurdles final (16.71) after qualifying with a 17.33-second time in prelims.

On the men's side, senior Jaquan Adams led the way with a top-10 finish in the 200m, placing 8th in 22.99 seconds while also competing in the 100m prelims (11.25). Junior Zak Ruhland added a personal best of 23.22 seconds in the 200m and ran 11.32 seconds in the 100m prelims. Freshman Jalen Dourisseau recorded a personal best of 25.53 seconds in the 200m, while freshman Tony Abourjeily notched a PR of 12.54 seconds in the 100m prelims. Sophomore Josh Hinson delivered one of the meet's top performances, placing 3rd in the 400m with a meet-record and season-best time of 50.58 seconds.

Distance:

Freshman Claire Nelsen led the women's distance group with a personal best of 3:08.59 in the 800m, while also competing in the 5000m (26:00.11).

For the men, Josh Hinson finished 6th in the 800m with a personal best of 2:03.50. Sophomore Leighton Helander turned in a strong weekend with two top-10 finishes, placing 8th in the 3000m steeplechase (11:10.08, PR) and 9th in the 1500m (4:31.36, PR). Junior David Bjorge added an 11th-place finish in the 5000m with a time of 18:55.47.

Throws:

The women's throws group was highlighted by senior Jackie Lindsay, who recorded a personal best of 27.11m in the javelin to place 11th overall. Senior Aleysha Will added a mark of 9.82m in the event.

On the men's side, sophomore Colton Hagen led the way with a 10th-place, personal-best throw of 33.42m in the discus, while also finishing 7th in the javelin (41.14m) and 11th in the shot put (10.91m). Senior Andre Muteba placed 13th in both the discus (30.24m) and shot put (10.62m), while freshman Austin Douglass added a 16th-place finish in the shot put (9.53m) and 19th in the discus (17.87m).

Jumps:

The women's jumps group saw strong scoring efforts from sophomore Joyce Horton, who placed 3rd in the triple jump with a mark of 10.40m. Junior Deshawna Hodges added a 6th-place finish (9.86m), while sophomore Lily Ciske placed eighth (9.68m), giving the Rams three top-10 finishers in the event. Hodges also competed in the long jump (4.52m), alongside Ciske (4.43m).

For the men, Zak Ruhland delivered a standout performance with a runner-up finish in the high jump (1.85m). He also placed 4th in the javelin (46.70m). Jaquan Adams added a 6th-place finish in the long jump (6.06m), while Jalen Dourisseau placed 9th (5.85m). Freshman David Diamond rounded out the group with a leap of 4.86m.

Relays:

The 4x800m men's relay team of sophomore Josh Hinson, sophomore Leighton Helander, sophomore David Bjorge, and sophomore Colton Hagen placed 5th with a time of 9:34.96. The 4x100m relay team of junior Zak Ruhland, freshman David Diamond, freshman Jalen Dourisseau, and senior Jaquan Adams finished 6th in 46.52, while the 4x400m relay team of Ruhland, Adams, Hagen, and Hinson also placed 6th with a time of 3:48.44.

Looking Ahead:

Up next, a group of Rams has qualified for the NCCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships hosted by Asbury University. This year's championships will take place May 6-8th in Wilmore, Kentucky. More information will be released soon.

All fans are encouraged to tune into the official Rams Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) pages for updates on track and field and all things NCU Athletics.