BOLIVAR, Mo. – Four student-athletes earned gold medals on the opening day of the 2026 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which are being held at Plaster Stadium on the campus of Southwest Baptist.
Men’s Hammer Throw
- Lewis senior Levi Graham defended his title in dominant fashion, taking gold with a toss of 65.47m to finish more than nine meters ahead of second place.
- Indianapolis freshman Will Kemper finished second (56.53m), while SBU senior Tyler Hart snagged bronze (55.40m).
Women’s Hammer Throw
- UIndy claimed the top two spots thanks to a 53.01m throw from junior Macie Swinehart and 51.55m toss from sophomore Maya Efodi.
- Lewis senior Aubrey Brinkman rounded out the podium with a mark of 50.97m.
Women’s 10,000-Meter Run
- Illinois Springfield senior Maddie Miller-Ross took home gold by 15 seconds, crossing the line in 35:09.56.
- Lewis senior Josephine Bober grabbed silver after notching a 35:24.55 mark.
- Olivia Littleton of Southwest Baptist landed in third place with a time of 35:38.35.
Men’s 10,000-Meter Run
- Lewis junior Evan Horgan placed first with a time of 29:58.36.
- Horgan’s teammate – Gabriel Cates (30:24.70) – narrowly beat out Drury’s Topi Alahuhta (30:26.36) to secure silver while Alahuhta nabbed bronze by about six seconds.
Women’s Heptathlon
- Lewis senior Patrycja Karpiesiuk (2,908 points) holds the lead after the first four events.
Men’s Decathlon
- Truman State senior Hayden Long leads with 3,591 points through the first half of the event.
Team Scores – Women
- 1. Lewis (28)
- 2. Indianapolis (23)
- 3. Illinois Springfield (10)
- 4. Southwest Baptist (6)
- 5. Truman State (4)
- 6. Drury (3)
- T-7. Missouri S&T and Rockhurst (2)
- Lincoln, Maryville, McKendree, Quincy, Upper Iowa, and William Jewell have yet to score points.
Team Scores – Men
- 1. Lewis (39)
- T-2. Drury and Indianapolis (9)
- T-4. Illinois Springfield and Southwest Baptist (6)
- 6. William Jewell (4)
- 7. Quincy (3)
- 8. Missouri S&T (2)
- Lincoln, Maryville, McKendree, Rockhurst, and Truman State have yet to score points.
The top-three finishers in all finals events were named All-Conference honorees.
The combined events will kick off the day again on Friday morning at 9 AM CT and run throughout the afternoon to their conclusions. In the field events, the men and women will compete in the finals of the shot put, long jump, and pole vault.
Running events commence at 3:30 PM with prelims of the 100- and 110-meter hurdles. The 100-, 200-, 400-, and 800-meter races are scheduled throughout the day, along with the 400-meter hurdles, while the men's and women's 3,000-meter steeplechase finals will begin at 7:10 PM in the nightcap.
Live streaming coverage can be found on GLVCSN.com behind a paywall. Live results are available on the official Championship homepage at
GLVCsports.com/2026otf.
For spectators planning to attend in person, a single-day admission on Friday and Saturday will be $15 for adults and $5 for students (with ID) and youth (6-12th grade). Children 5 and under are admitted free. Tickets must be pre-purchased online at
GLVCsports.com/tickets, and no cash will be accepted on-site.