VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The Patriots capped the 2026 Atlantic 10 Indoor Track & Field Championships with impressive performances on the final day of competition at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.
Kailynn Tyson led the charge in the field, capturing gold in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 12.55m. On the track, Jayden Smith matched his own meet record in the men’s 60m hurdles, clocking 7.77 to secure the conference title.
Ella Semple claimed her second Atlantic 10 crown of the weekend, winning the women’s 3000m in 9:29.85. In a thrilling race, she edged out Loyola’s Roisin Treacy, the season-long conference rankings leader, down the stretch to secure gold.
The men’s pentathlon wrapped up with Nicholas DeWolfe delivering a strong finish across the final three events. He placed third in the 1000m (2:58.08), second in the 60m hurdles (8.94), and won the pole vault (4.45m) to compile 5002 points and earn his second silver medal of the meet.
Caleb Hymans turned in one of the top performances of the day in the men’s 1000m, running a personal-best 2:24.32 to break the previous meet record and take silver. He later added a second podium finish as part of the men’s 4x800m relay team. Alongside Nadim Abdu, Jonathan Regulesand Messiah McKinleythe Patriots secured bronze in 7:39.31.
The men’s 4x400m relay quartet of Aidan Walcott, Joziah Johnson, Lance Koontzand Jordan Tuck earned silver with a time of 3:14.06.
Koontz added an individual bronze in the men’s 500m with a personal-best 1:04.88, while Helena Santacana matched the effort on the women’s side, claiming bronze in the 500m with a personal-best 1:15.69. Mason Samuels also reached the podium, finishing third in the men’s 60m to earn bronze.
The Patriots men’s team finished second overall with 112 points, behind five-time reigning indoor champion Rhode Island, while the women placed fourth with 82 points.
Head Coach Andrew Gerard praised the teams’ response to a challenging championship meet.
“We scrapped both days,” Gerard said. “We ended up higher than we anticipated and with a significant jump in points from what we projected on paper.”
He added that the gritty weekend performance reflected the program’s culture and championship expectations.
“I was really proud of how people responded. People stepped up. We got point production from a lot of places that we didn’t expect,” Gerard said. “We prepare ourselves as a championship-level team every year, and they performed like one. We stepped up at the championship, and that’s all you can ask.”
With the outdoor season just weeks away, Gerard believes the momentum will carry forward.
“Our sport is fairly unique in that we have multiple championships in the same academic year, so we turn around in two months and do this again,” he said. “We’re in a good position going into outdoors.”
The Patriots open the outdoor season at the Bob Davidson Team Challenge in High Point, N.C., from Friday, March 20 to Saturday, March 21.
