2025-26 SEASON PREVIEW: Track and Field looks to take the next step in second NAIA season
DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College track and field season is ready to go into full swing after a quiet start to the campaign in December.
Beginning its second season as an NAIA program, the Yellow Jackets are also entering their third year under head coach James Rollins. As the Jackets have made the jump to a new classification and conference, both the men's and women's programs have seen records fall over the last 12 months.
About the Team
Both the men's and women's rosters have undergone an overhaul since Coach Rollins' arrival. All 23 men's athletes and 16 of 17 women's tracksters have come to DC in the last two years. The lone exception is dual-sport sprinter Shelby Clements, who enters her junior season as one of two upperclassmen for the DC women's team.
The Yellow Jackets have a lot of exciting standouts who had strong first seasons at DC in 2024-25. On the women's side, Mira Horvath set two school records in the indoor 300 meters and outdoor 800 meters. DC also saw top-10 program marks from Rakel Thompson along with the rest of the 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams (Horvath, Clements, Thompson, Israa Khamis, Zawadi Debola). The men's side retained top-15 finishers at the WHAC championships in J'Vontae Barnes and Tyjon Mance. Each recorded a program top-10 mark last season along with Marcus Snell and Zyon Woods. Back in December, Xavier Wilson broke two men's records for the indoor 60 meters and 200 meter dashes.
A few notable newcomers include sprinter Miles Inman and jumper Jesse Brown on the men's side. For the women, thrower Kanaya Keister and mid-distance runner ZyKeera Aguilar each provide the Yellow Jackets with depth to place other athletes in their strongest disciplines.
Conference Outlook
The new infusion of talent for this season has helped the team culture take a large stride in the right direction, according go Coach Rollins. That produces excitement in competition, starting with the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference outlook.
At last year's WHAC indoor championships, the Yellow Jackets posted an 8th-place finish on the men's side and 9th in the women's event. The outdoor championships saw DC place 9th in both men's and women's competitions. Indiana Tech has dominated the men's side with 12 straight conference titles. The women's indoor title was won by first-time champion Madonna while Indiana Tech retained its 6th-straight outdoor championship.
Follow the Defiance Track and Field programs all season long with the indoor schedule and outdoor schedule.
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