Wildcats Set Stage for Big Finale at WAC Championships

Canaan Fairley smiles on the medal stand after winning gold in the decathlon at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 15, 2026

Photo by: Western Athletic Conference

Wildcats Set Stage for Big Finale at WAC Championships

5/15/2026 11:45:00 PM | Track & Field

Championship Central Watch on ESPN+Meet Results

By: Don Garrett

ARLINGTON, Texas - Day two of the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships started well for the Abilene Christain Wildcats as Canaan Fairley successfully defended his title in winning the decathlon with a point total of 7,280. Natalie Poe kept the combined events trending up for ACU as she placed second in the heptathlon with a new personal best total of 5,177 points.

In the field events, Ciara Tilley threw the shot put 45-10.5/13.48m on her final throw to leap up to 2nd place. Teammates Sterling Glenn (7th with a throw of 43-5.75/13.25m) and Mariana Van Dyk (8th with a throw of 43-4.5/13.22m) contributed to the Wildcats scoring 11 points in that one event.

The only running final at the end of the evening was the steeplechase, where the Cats scored in both the women's and men's events. For the ACU women, Saylor Stevenson placed 6th with a personal record time of 10:57.56 and Audrey Chitwood placed 7th with a personal record time of 11:13.99. For the ACU men, Mark Barajas placed 4th with a personal record time of 9:08.02.

On day two of the championships, there were 8 preliminary events and in 7 of them, the Wildcats placed athletes in Saturday's finals:

Women's 100 hurdles – Hana Banks (14.07)
Men's 110 hurdles – Miguel Hall (13.99)
Women's 800 – Anna Vyn (2:12.67)
Women's 400 – Emma Santoro (56.67), Morgan Morris (56.73)
Men's 400 – Nickens Lemba (48.31)
Women's 100 – Chianel Asoburuenwu (11.55), Kee'Lani Whitaker (11.82), Lauren Foxworth (11.87)
Men's 100 – Abraham Olufemi-Dada

In addition to individual events, ACU will have strong entries in the relays, the men's and women's 4x100 and 4x400.

Other Wildcat entries in field events on Saturday include:

Women's discus – Ciara Tilley, Ella Cockrum, Avery Myrick
Men's discus – Justin Smithey, Matthew Udemba, Rhet Punt, Rylan Smart
Women's high jump – Natalie Poe, Nele Huth, Kaia Anderson
Men's high jump – Canan Fairley
Women's triple jump – Mackenzie Flaugher, Neriah Williams, Jaeden Thomas
Men's triple jump – Arthur Jenkins, Donovan Ramirez

The final day of the WAC Championships will begin with field events at 11 a.m. and running events at 4 p.m. at Maverick Stadium on the UT Arlington campus.