First day is complete and the Cougars have a conference champ in men’s long jump and a runner up in the women’s. Only a few events have been scored in the first day.

I expect both team to be middle of the pack type teams. They are very strong in the events they are good are good at and will likely have a good number of conference champions. The preliminaries are over so I have seen how many people they have qualified for the finals, so it’s possible to have a pretty accurate assessment.

Star volleyball player Karly Klaer did OK in the weight throw, but has the 3rd best mark in her better event, shot put, which will be competed tomorrow. Weight throw takes a lot of time to master and takes a lot of technique. Always exciting to see a two sport athlete in college. It’s also nice to have her competing (and scoring points) in events Chicago State has little depth in.

Both Cougar squads finished with very solid 4th place finishes at the NEC Indoor Championships.

Karly Klaer finished as runner up in the shot, securing her second all conference first team award in two different sports.

The Cougar squads were limited in scope and had few competitors in distances races, and in some field events, but had a number of conference champions, and lots of runners up.

The NEC is not a strong league, but greatly increased quantity and quality of athletes allowed the Cougars to have an outstanding indoor championship meet.

Women’s team scores

1 Wagner 176
2 Stonehill 118.50
3 Saint Francis 91
4 Chicago State 89
5 Central Connecticut 79
6 FDU 64.50
7 Le Moyne 22
8 LIU 20

Men’s team scores

1 Central Connecticut 179
2 Wagner 140
3 Stonehill 89.50
4 Chicago State 78
5 Saint Francis 55.5
6 FDU 55
7 LIU 48
8 Le Moyne 12

Cougar conference champions-

Skyler McGhee- Men’s long jump
Raymond Oriaki 60M hurdles, while the Cougars went 1,2 and 4 in the event
Rachel Whyte, 400M, Cougars went 1,3,5,6 for 4 of the top 6
Rachel Whyte 200M, Cougars had 1,2 and 7 in the race


Conference runners up-

Lena Cleveland Women’s long jump
Islam Cooper mens 60M hurdle
Karly Klaer women’s shot put
Saana Parker women’s 60M dash, while the Cougars went 2,3,4,7 to sweep 4 of 8 scorers
Saana Parker women’s 200M
Raymond Oriaki, men’s 200M
Men’s 4X400 relay
Women’s 4X400 relay
Earnest Davenport Men’s high jump
Nikki McNee men’s triple jump

Raymond Oriakhi from Brighton, England was named Northeast Conference MVP for the meet, as well as Most Outstanding Track Athlete (for the sprint event side of things). Having the Conference Player of the Year is a feather in the cap of this indoor season.

https://northeastconference.org/news/202...el_25.aspx

On the women’s side, freshman Rachel Whyte from Brampton, Ontario was named Conference Rookie of the Year.

https://northeastconference.org/news/202...el_25.aspx

That is an outstanding start in the NEC. Always before we tended to be in the "also competing" category.

2026 results are in for the NEC Indoor Championship. The Cougars did not fare quite as well as last year. The number of last years scorers who transferred is high, and even with a quality group of new comers, scoring was lower. Both sides has a number of conference champions though. Both teams finished 7th in the 10 team field.

Women had the Conference Newcomer of the Year and the Outstanding Field Performer in the jumps.

Men also had the Outstanding Field Performer in the jumps.

https://www.gocsucougars.com/news/2026/3...-poll.aspx

Preseason NEC poll for the outdoor season

5 Cougars recognized this week for conference honors.

Heading into the conference meet, the Cougars are putting in some good marks and ranking high in the conference.

https://www.gocsucougars.com/news/2026/4...eason.aspx

My hope is that both teams can improve their indoor rankings by one or two spots. That is probably the best the team can expect. Both teams were 7th indoors, so if they can nab a 5th or 6th, I think they would be pleased.

The first day of the NEC outdoor track championship is finished.

The women got off to a great start and are in 4th. They got their first conference champ with a win in long jump.

The men have some work to do tomorrow and are in 8th. They did pick up some points in events they don’t usually score well in, like distance events and some throwing events. They didn’t get as many people into the finals as I expected, and are going to have to have some strong performances to get up into the top half.

Most of the points are awarded on the second day when most of the finals take place.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/n...s_2026.pdf

On the second day of the meet, the Cougar women performed very well and finished in 4th. They were one point away from third, and just 11 points out of second.

The men also held their position from day 1 and finished in 8th, although their total points put them much closer to being in the top half of the field than the bottom, which is a good sign. Transfers, graduation, and a few missed opportunities doomed the Cougar men. In the sprints, their traditional strength, they were lacking. Most of their points came in the hurdle events and the jumps.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/n...s_2026.pdf

Men’s scores
1. Wagner WAGN 182
2 Central Connecticut CCSU 172
3 Stonehill STM3 97
4 FDU FDU 89
5 New Haven NEHA 78.5
6 Saint Francis SFUP 64
7 LIU LIU 56
8 Chicago State CSU 51
9 Mercyhurst MERC 22.5
10 Le Moyne LEMO 5

Womens
1 Central Connecticut CCSU 182
2 Saint Francis SFUP 105.5
3 Stonehill STM3 95
4 Chicago State CSU 94
4 FDU FDU 94
6 Wagner WAGN 79.5
7 LIU LIU 69
8 New Haven NEHA 52.5
9 Le Moyne LEMO 41.5
10 Mercyhurst MERC 4

Some highlight performances for the Cougars include-

Katherine Thornton, Champion in 400 hurdles, runner up in 100 hurdles
Women’s 4X100 relay, Champion
Lena Cleveland, Champion in long jump, Runner up in triple jump
Phebe Thompson, Runner up in long jump

Faustian Kaseba Runner up in 110 hurdles
Multiple placers in long jump and triple jump