Indoor Track: IU East Wins RSC Women's Championship
MARIETTA, Ohio – For the second time in school history, the Indiana University East track and field program claimed a River States Conference Championship.
The Red Wolves won the women's title, while the men were second at the 2026 RSC Indoor Championships in the Dyson Baudo Rec Center at Marietta College on Saturday, Feb. 21.
Back in 2020, the situation was reversed as the men won the indoor title for the Red Wolves with the women finishing in the runner-up spot.
This season, the Red Wolves had 174 points over two days with the University of Rio Grande coming in second at 166.
Rio Grande won the men's meet with 259.5 points as the Red Wolves were were second with 129.
IU East came away with four individual victories on the second day of the event as the Red Wolves ended the meet winning both 1,600-meter relays, which were the final two races of the day.
Akot Tong posted the first win with a time of 4:29.09 in men's mile. Tristan Thomas was next as he won the 55-meter dash for the second straight year as he had a time of 6.50 seconds.
Cameron Nocton grabbed first place in the 3,000-meter race walk with a RSC Meet and IU East record time of 12:13.79 as he won the affair for the fourth year in a row. Naleya Kinney picked up the title in women's triple jump with a distance of 10.24 meters.
Vanessa Temple, Esther George, Hunter Gardner and Mackenzie Rohde combined to run a 4:11.80 in winning the women's 1,600-meter relay. On the men's side, DeAndre Hall, Conner Walser, Jaiden Crowell Tong capped the afternoon for the Red Wolves taking the top spot in the relay with a 3:30.32.
Rohde and Kayci Hill joined Nocton in the IU East record book. Rohde was second in women's 400 with a new mark of 1:00.42. Hill was second lowering her own standard in the women's mile with a 5:13.41.
RSC Awards
Dom Hudson, Women's Coach of the Year
Samantha Fowler, Women's Champion of Character
BK Rasaki, Men's Champion of Character
All-Conference Performers (top three in event)
Hill (second, women's 1,000, 3:06.96)
Temple (second, women's triple jump, 10.15 meters)
Hunter Allen (second, men's mile, 4:28.17, freshman record)
Sarah Perry (second, 3,000-meter race walk, 18:04.14)
Carson Shepherd (second, men's pole vault, 3.98 meters)
George (third, women's 55-meter hurdles, 9.14)
Tong (third, men's 800, 1:57.94)
Emily Fleming (third, women's mile, 5:17.92)
Makenzee Kahn (third, women's 3,000-meter race walk, 19:00.54)
Connor Nease (third, men's pole vault, 3.80 meters)
Others to score by finishing in the top eight of an event were:
Fleming (fourth, women's 800, 2:24.52)
George (fourth, women's 200, 27.16)
Temple (fourth, women's 400 1:01.94)
Owen Beachler (fourth, men's 55-meter hurdles, 8.09)
Emilee Earl (fourth, women's pole vault, 3.50 meters)
Mylee Shatto (fourth, women's 1,000, 3:17.05)
Allen (fifth, men's 1,000, 2:38.29)
Earl (fifth, women's shot put, 11.75)
Temple (fifth, women's pole vault, 2.90 meters)
Thomas Hogan (fifth, men's 3,000, 8:52.43)
Gardner (sixth, women's 1,000, 3:20.42)
George (sixth, women's 55 meters, 7.73)
Richard Bower (sixth, men's 3,000, 8:53.35)
Jaiden Crowell (sixth, men's 55 meters, 6.70)
Crowell (sixth, men's 200, 23.10)
Vance Dougherty (sixth, men's 3,000-meter race walk, 15:34.86)
Max Kline (sixth, men's 800, 2:00.58)
Devin Nease (sixth, men's pole vault, 3.65 meters)
Temple (seventh, women's 200, 27.59)
Gavin Ashby (seventh, men's mile, 4:37.72)
Lily Hart (seventh, women's mile, 5:49.36)
Mariah Kreusch (seventh, women's pole vault, 2.45 meters)
Antaviyon Reed (seventh, men's 55 meters, 6.76)
Chloe Scales (seventh, women's 3,000, 11:04.80)
Zoe Ogden (eighth, women's shot put, 10.09 meters)
Brody Puckett (eighth, men's 400, 52.67)
Austin Wenta (eighth, men's 3,000-meter race walk, 16:00.42)