Tennessee Tech Track & Field finished third overall with 113 points at the 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championship, according to a May 16 announcement. The event took place at the Coleman Sports Complex in Little Rock, Arkansas.
The meet marked Tennessee Tech’s final appearance in the Ohio Valley Conference before moving to the Southern Conference next season. Head coach Peter Dalton said, “It was just a superb weekend from top to bottom for the team. We are so proud of our athletes and everything we’ve accomplished during our time in the OVC.”
Distance runner Makaleigh Jessee led off with a personal-best time of 36:55.98 in the 10,000 meters to finish second, while Jane Lokiles also set a personal best for fourth place. In multi-events, Angela Hoover scored a personal-best total of 3,707 points in the heptathlon for fourth place and set several individual records; Chase Wolfenbarger followed closely behind with her own best score.
Field events saw Ally Beneke and Madison Johnson each clear 1.68 meters in high jump for second place finishes, with Johnson matching her personal best. Additional notable performances included Sidnee Stanton’s seventh-place long jump and Tyla Street’s fifth-place triple jump result.
On the track, Kennedi Winbush captured headlines by winning the women’s 100-meter final with an all-time school record of 11.42 seconds—her second conference title this academic year—and added a runner-up finish in the 200 meters (23.97). Hannah Little placed second in both prelims and finals of the women’s 400 meters after running her fastest time yet (55.11), while Kyla Joy finished fourth overall.
Rachael Brewer achieved runner-up status in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with another personal best (1:01.90), and Carrie Flowers finished sixth overall in hurdles after qualifying through prelims as well.
The Golden Eagles’ distance squad continued their success as Jessee claimed another second-place finish—this time in the women’s 5,000 meters—with Rylee Wells following closely behind for third place.
The team concluded its championship run by taking second overall in the women’s four-by-400 meter relay event featuring Hannah Little, Aliyah Kennedy, Kyla Joy, and Paris Bowles.
Dalton said farewell to nearly eight decades of conference competition: “We thank the Ohio Valley Conference for the 76 great years of competition, opportunity, and memories shared along the way as Tennessee Tech Track & Field now looks to bring this positive momentum toward a new era in the Southern Conference starting next season.”
