ACU Men, Women Place Fourth at WAC Indoor Championships

Friday, February 27

Spokane, Wash.

Abilene Christian

WAC Indoor Track & Field Championships

Canaan Fairley runs in the hurdles as part of the men's heptathlon in the WAC Indoor Championships

Photo by: Tyler Rog

ACU Men, Women Place Fourth at WAC Indoor Championships

3/1/2026 7:16:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results Final Results (PDF)

By: Don Garrett

SPOKANE, Wash. – Abilene Christian recorded 12 total podium appearances and rewrote the program record books on its way to finishing fourth in both the men's and women's team standings at the 2026 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. The men scored 86 team points and the women totaled 82 points. Utah Valley won the men's title with 197.5 points and Tarleton State won the women's side with 180.5 points.

Two highlights of the meet came in the combined events as senior Canaan Fairley won the men's heptathlon with a personal best total of 5,532 points, which moves him to the No. 2 spot on the ACU all-time record board, and Nele Huth placed second in the women's pentathlon with 3,941 points, breaking the school record she set earlier in the indoor season.

The other ACU event victories came in the throws as Rhet Punt won the men's weight throw. Punt launched the weight 68-8/20.93m to break the 29-year school record in the event held by Glenn Griffin. Mariana Van Dyk threw the shot put 47-2.5/14.38m to win the women's title.

The Wildcats also garnered several second-place finishes: Miguel Hall in the 60m hurdles, Andruw Villa in the 5000m and the Distance Medley Relay with a team composed of Benjamin Castro, Ryan McMeen, Evan Martin and Vincent Luffey – a group that ran the fastest time in the ACU Division I era.

Silver medalists on the women's team were Natalie Poe in the high jump (who also placed third in the pentathlon), Emma Santoro in the 400m and the 4x400m relay team of Madelyn McFadden, Gracee Whiteaker, Anna Vyn and Santoro, the anchor. A hopeful sign for ACU's fortunes is that all the members of both second-place relays are freshmen or sophomores.

ACU athletes who placed in the top-8 spots at the meet:

WOMEN

60 – 8. Lauren Foxworth (7.58)
200 – 8. Kee'Lani Whitlock (24.44 in the prelims)
400 – 2. Emma Santoro (54.58); 5. Madelyn McFadden (56.17)
800 – 4. Anna Vyn (2:12.35)
2. 4x400 relay – 3:45.98 (Madelyn McFadden, Gracee Whiteaker, Anna Vyn, Emma Santoro)
4. Distance Medley Relay – 12:12.00 (Lola Buentello, Gracee Whiteaker, Anna Vyn, Chloe McLellan)
High Jump – 2. Natalie Poe (5-5.25/1.66m); 7-tie. Kaia Anderson (5-1.25/1.56m)
Triple Jump – 4. Mackenzie Flaugher (39-0.5/11.90m) ; Neriah Williams (38-3.25/11.66m)
Shot Put – 1. Mariana Van Dyk (47-7.25/14.38m); 5. Sterling Glenn (45-3/13.79m); 6. Ciara Tilley (44-11/13.69m)
Weight Throw – 7. Avery Myrick (53-7/16.33m)
Pentathlon – 2. Nele Huth (3,941 pts); 3. Natalie Poe (3,712 pts)

MEN

60 – 5. Abraham Olufemi-Dada (6.72)
200- 3. Durrell Collins Jr. (21.19)
400 – 6. Ryan McMeen (48.89 in the prelims)
800 – 5. Benjamin Castro (1:50.62)
Mile – 6. Vincent Luffey (4:08.13)
3000 – 7. Andruw Villa (8:26.18)
5000 – 2. Andruw Villa (14:25.77); Mark Barajas (14:47.58)
60 hurdles – 2. Miguel Hall (7.95); 6. Canaan Fairley (8.15)
5. 4x400 relay (Miguel Hall, Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Vincent Luffey, Austin Roberts)
2. Distance Medley Relay (Benjamin Castro, Ryan McMeen, Evan Martin, Vincent Luffey) – 9:57.23
Triple Jump – 3. Arthur Jenkins (48-9.5/14.87m)
Shot Put – 8. Rhet Punt (49-3.5/15.02m)
Weight Throw – 1. Rhet Punt (68-8/20.93m); 6. Rylan Smart (56-10.75/17.34m); 8. Matthew Udemba (50-8/15.44m)
Heptathlon – 1. Canaan Fairley (5,532 pts)

Coach Miles Smith: "Overall, I'm pleased. We had a couple of untimely injuries on the men's side which hindered our goal of finishing in the top three. Our women's team performed at their ceiling and exceeded expectations on paper. We're relying heavily on underclassmen. Really excited at how the few upperclassmen that we have stepped up and scored big. It was good to see our youngsters and newcomers compete in the purple and white and have such success.

Nineteen of our 26 women's participants were freshmen and sophomores, which means this team is going to grow together. The men's team was just as proportionate. For Rhet Punt to smash the school weight throw record and claim gold in his first championship was awesome. To see Mariana Van Dyk mature from a non-scorer to the WAC shot put champion in one year is a testament to how hard we've been working to develop our athletes.

Sending seniors off like Canaan Fairley and Natalie Poe with titles and hardware is what it's all about. There are too many bright moments to name, so when I say I'm pleased, I really do appreciate the way they put it on the line competing in a really tough conference. The future is bright!"

UP NEXT

The WAC Indoor Championships conclude the indoor season for the Wildcats. The next track and field competition will be outdoors, as ACU hosts the Wes Kittley Invitational at Elmer Gray Stadium on March 20-21.