CLAREMORE, Okla. - Hillcat men's track and field hits full gear in the outdoor track season this weekend with a pair of meets this weekend in St. Louis and Tulsa.

Action will begin Friday afternoon at the WashU Distance Carnival in St. Louis, held at Bushyhead Track, and will conclude Saturday afternoon in Tulsa at the 2026 ORU Invitational at OneOK Sports Complex. For live coverage and results of the meets, visit linktr.ee/rsuhillcats.
 
INDOOR RECAP
The Hillcats delivered solid performances throughout the indoor season, culminating in four top-10 finishes at the 2026 MIAA Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kansas.
 
"It was good," said RSU head coach Matt Kennedy, reflecting on the indoor track season for both genders. "I thought we performed well in the events we participated in at the MIAA Championships and had several school records fall throughout the season."
 
At the MIAA Championships, the men's distance medley relay (DMR) team stole the show, finishing just shy of the podium in fourth place with a time of 9:56.39. The team consisted of Phillip Owens (600m), Ian Conder (800m), Blake Feron (1200m) and Nathaneal Gibson (mile).
 
Gibson had an outstanding indoor season, breaking his own school record in the mile at the Pittsburg State Invitational with a time of 4:11.87. He also finished seventh in the mile at the conference championships with a time of 4:14.50. In total, the Broken Arrow native finished with four top-10 finishes.
 
Feron also had a strong senior campaign, recording a pair of individual top-10 finishes. The Broken Arrow native achieved a personal best in the mile at the MIAA Championships to finish eighth, and posted another personal best in the 3000m at the Rumble in the Jungle D2 Invite.
 
Senior Isaac Conder notched four top-10 finishes for the Hillcats. The former All-MIAA performer in the 600y secured a ninth-place finish in that event this season. His brother Ian had three individual top-10 finishes, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in the 600y at the Rumble in the Jungle D2 Invite with a personal best time.
 
Junior Cade McCall added a top-10 finish at the conference meet in the 5000m, finishing ninth. He also placed ninth at the 2026 Coach Alsup Invite in the 3000m.
 
A GLIMPSE IN COFFEYVILLE
The Hillcats kicked off their season at the Dean Pryor Invite, with six men securing top-10 finishes. Gibson stood out by winning the 800m in a time of 1:59.48.
 
In the men's 1500 meters, Ia. Conder finished fifth with a time of 4:21.39, while Jack Morgan and Adam Sium claimed seventh and eighth, respectively, with times of 4:22.46 and 4:24.32. Lee Davis placed 15th (4:29.92), Is. Conder was 16th (4:30.06) and Colton Storm took 19th (4:32.55).
 
Riley Pauley led the team in the men's 400m, finishing 12th in 52.89 seconds. He was followed by Sam Russell in 14th (53.23), Jaxson Wheeler in 16th (54.13), Feron in 19th (56.16) and Tesfaye Lire in 21st (57.96).
 
In addition to Gibson's victory, Aidan Jimenez finished third in the 800m with a time of 2:02.20 and Cohen McIntosh took ninth (2:04.78). Karsen Hennigh finished 11th (2:07.50), and Cade McCall secured 15th (2:09.90).
 
Owens capped off the day for the Hillcats, finishing 18th in the 200 meters with a time of 22.20 seconds.

LOOKING AHEAD AT THE REMAINING SCHEDULE
April will kick off with the Midwest Classic (tentative), hosted by Emporia State on April 3-4 at Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas. Later in the month, Rogers State will compete in the MIAA Tune-Up at ESU (tentative). Welch Stadium is also set to host the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships from May 21-23, with the Hornets scheduled to host the event again in 2024.
 
Rogers State will then participate in a pair of NCAA D1 meets, beginning with the John Jacobs Invitational (tentative) in Norman on April 10, and the Arkansas Spring Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on April 11.
 
Before the MIAA Championships, scheduled for May 1-3 at Pittsburg State University Outdoor Track in Pittsburg, Kansas, the Hillcats will head to the West Coast for the Bryan Clay Invitational at Cougar Athletic Stadium in Azusa, California. They will return to the same venue for the Franson Last Chance event from May 7-9.
 
"We expect our athletes to perform at a high level to earn the opportunity to compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California," Kennedy said. "There are standards I set for our team, which we call coaches' standards, and then there are standards established by the meet director in Azusa that dictate the qualifying times for entry. Many of those qualifying times are pretty competitive. If our athletes are good enough to qualify, we feel we're trending in the right direction."
 
Kennedy also noted the advantages of competing in Azusa: "You go to Azusa because you can almost guarantee good weather, little wind and a large environment. There are hundreds of people in those distance races, so athletes get the chance to line up with competitors who are motivated to run fast."
 
For more information and updates on the RSU track and field schedule, visit 2025-26 Men's Track and Field Schedule - Rogers State University Athletics.
 
ATHLETES TO WATCH THIS OUTDOOR SEASON
Gibson will wrap up his time in the Red and Navy this outdoor season. Last year in the outdoor season, he collected three top-10 finishes, including first in the 3000m at the Arkansas Spring Invitational and 10^th in the 1500m at the MIAA Outdoor Championships.
 
Kennedy said on Gibson, "He's a high-character individual and a true servant leader. His outdoor season will be one to watch, too. He has yet to break 15 minutes in the 5K, but he will get a couple of opportunities to achieve that."
 
McCall is also an athlete to keep an eye on this outdoor season. In the 10000m last season at the conference meet, the Glenpool native broke the school record with a time of 30:48.46 to finish 15^th in the race.
 
Underclassmen Davis, Hennigh, Jimenez, McIntosh, Morgan, Russell and Wheeler also had a solid indoor season, and the coaching staff looks forward to seeing their progression in the outdoor season.

For a complete list of athletes competing this outdoor season, visit 2025-26 Men's Track and Field Roster - Rogers State University Athletics.