ARLINGTON, Texas – The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) announced on Thursday its Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll, presented by Jersey Mikes. The league’s six head coaches picked Utah Valley to finish first for the men’s and voted Tarleton State and Utah Valley tied for first on the women’s side.
 
2026 WAC INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD PRE-CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES’ POLLS
 
2026 WAC Men’s Indoor Track and Field Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll
 
1. Utah Valley
2. Tarleton State
3. UT Arlington
 
2026 WAC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Pre-Championship Coaches’ Poll
 
T1. Tarleton State
T1. Utah Valley
3. UT Arlington
 
UTAH VALLEY LOOKING FOR SECOND WAC MEN’S TITLE
Utah Valley was selected as the favorites in the WAC men’s pre-championship poll with Tarleton State and UT Arlington rounding out the top three. The Wolverines are looking for their first men’s conference championship in over a decade with their last WAC indoor title coming in 2015. Utah Valley nearly claimed the title last year in Spokane, falling just three team points shy of first place.
 
Key returners for Utah Valley include Alex Hartshorn and Kade Thompson who, together, compiled three top-five finishes in last year’s WAC championships. Earlier this indoor season, Hartshorn posted the 43^rd fastest mile in the nation, running 3:56.69 at the Roman Ruiz Speed and Power Meet. Neal Berkey also made national noise for the Wolverines this season, ranking 39^th in the heptathlon, recording 5474 points at the BYU December Invite.

WOLVERINES SPLIT WOMEN’S FIRST PLACE VOTE WITH TARLETON STATE
Utah Valley also claimed half the top spot of the WAC women’s pre-championship poll, splitting the first-place votes with Tarleton State. The Wolverines are looking to repeat as conference champions while the Texans aim to overtake UVU and finish one spot higher than last year where they finished second to Utah Valley by 22 points.
 
The Wolverines are led by the 2026 WAC Women’s Cross Country Individual champion, Morgan Nokes, who earlier this season broke the WAC all-time 5000-meter indoor record, running the event with a time of 15:43.86 in the 2026 Husky Classic. Nokes’ time ranks 42^nd in the nation.
 
The Texans also have multiple athletes who set all-time WAC indoor records this season including Prestina Ochonogor and Lauren Roy. Ochonogor broke her own record in the long jump that she set in last year’s conference championship, with a 6.69-meter jump in the Tyson Invitational, the second longest mark in the country. Roy set the 200-meter dash record by running a 22.89 dash in the Stan Scott Invite, tying for 10^th in the nation’s leaderboards. Another Texan sprinter to watch for is Victoria Cameron, who broke the WAC’s all-time 60-meter dash record with a 7.21 mark in last year’s conference championship. Cameron and Roy both rank inside the top-25 of the nation’s best 60-meter dash times this season.