RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – On Tuesday, the Great American Conference announced the results of its 2026 GAC men’s track & field coaches’ poll. Harding collected five first-place votes from the league’s head coaches to enter the season as the preseason favorite.
Last season, the Bisons claimed their fourth-straight GAC Championship title. They secured their second-straight top-five showing at the NCAA Championships. Vlad Malykhin continued to rule the pole vault competition. He owns seven national titles in the event, including the 2025 Outdoor and 2026 Indoor titles. Caledon Ruwende won the 100- and 200-meter dash titles at the GAC Championships. He also ran on the winning 4x100 and 4x400 meter relay teams. Anton Kopytko and Yves Bilong each earned All-American honors after placing in the top eight of the 2025 NCAA National Championships. Hayes Cox, who won the decathlon at the GAC Championships and ran on the Bisons’ 4x100 team with Olatunde and Donald Nwamere, also comes back. Savian Bush also returns to outdoor competition. He finished third in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2024 NCAA Championships.
Oklahoma Baptist collected two first-place votes and finished second in the balloting. At the 2026 NCAA Indoor Championships, the 4x400 team of Dwayne Fleming, Kobe Brown, Ayo Toritsju and Caden Peevey earned First Team All-American honors and Fleming took 10th in the 200. The Bison must replace Sean Dixon, the program’s first Division II national champion as he took first in the 400-meter hurdles.
Southern Arkansas took third in the poll. The Muleriders bring back Keith Smith who has qualified for the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Championships and 2026 Indoor Championships in the triple jump. He finished 19th at the Outdoor Championships event and sixth at the Indoor Championships. He became the first Mulerider named an All-American in indoor track & field.
Ouachita Baptist placed fourth, followed by Northwestern Oklahoma State, East Central and Southern Nazarene. The Crimson Storm features Colter Bufford, the champion in the javelin. He earned a spot to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The 2026 GAC Championships return to Searcy, Arkansas with all seven teams competing from Wednesday, April 29 through Friday, May 1.