CARMEL, Ind. – Rose-Hulman has been voted to win the Outdoor Track Championships in the HCAC Preseason Poll.
 
The Fightin' Engineers earned 79 points, where they hauled in seven first-place votes. They surpassed Manchester at 75 points with three first-place votes, while Transylvania finished third in the poll with 63 points.
 
The Fightin' Engineers are coming off an HCAC Championship title in 2025, where they earned 180.50 team points. Manchester placed second at the HCAC Championships with 138 points, while Hanover recorded a third-place finish with 117 points.
 
Head Coach Shane Mills returns for his second season with the program, where he has had an illustrious start to his career. Mills led both the men's and women's teams to HCAC Indoor Track Championship titles this season, giving him a total of five conference championships.
 
HCAC Championships Under Mills:

• 2025 Men's Indoor Track & Field
• 2025 Men's Outdoor Track & Field
• 2025 Women's Outdoor Track & Field
• 2026 Men's Indoor Track & Field
• 2026 Women's Indoor Track & Field

The Fightin' Engineers accumulated ten first-place finishes at last year's HCAC Championships, and they return all eight athletes who placed first overall in their respective events.
 
Junior Jocelyn Onstot achieved three first-place finishes, where she was awarded the HCAC Most Outstanding Distance Athlete of the Year. Onstot recorded wins in the 3,000m Steeplechase (11:39.17), and 1500m (4:57.16), and she also recorded the third fastest time in school history in her first-place finish in the 800m (2:21.85).
 
Junior Rose Talbert also recorded three first-place finishes, resulting in her being named the HCAC Most Outstanding Sprints/Hurdles Athlete of the Year. She set a school record in her first-place finish in the 400m (55.87), while adding another first place in the 200m (25.32).
 
Talbert would be joined by senior Alex Adams, junior Emma Johns, and sophomore Iliana Hernandez in Rose-Hulman's first-place finish in the 4x100m relay (49.29).
 
Adams would add another first-place finish, which came in the 100m (12.55). Senior Narindwa Semakula recorded a first-place finish of her own in the 100m Hurdles (16.03).
 
The Fightin' Engineers also earned two wins in their field events. Junior Irene Lema Madueno won the pole vault (9' 7.0") while sophomore Audrey Edwards won the high jump (5' 0.25").
 
Rose-Hulman will open the season at home for the Early Bird Invitational. The meet will begin on Saturday, March 21, at 11 AM.
 
HCAC PRESEASON POLL RESULTS:

1. Rose-Hulman – 79 (7)
2. Manchester – 75 (3)
3. Transylvania – 63
4. Mt. St. Joseph – 55
5. Berea – 44
6. Franklin – 43
7. Earlham – 38
8. Hanover – 26
9. Anderson – 17
10. Bluffton – 10