COLONIA, NY – Five East Coast Conference (ECC) student-athletes have earned spots at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, scheduled for May 21-23 at Emporia State University in Kansas.
 
On the men’s side, sophomores Austin Melvin and Jordan Bryner, along with graduate student Jackson Doran, will represent the ECC on the national stage. Melvin and Bryner will compete in the pole vault for Roberts Wesleyan University, while Doran will run the 1500-meter race for Roberts Wesleyan.
 
Bryner enters the championship ranked 15th nationally after clearing a season-best 5.20 meters (17’ ¾”) at the Geneseo Invitational in early April. Melvin qualified with a vault of 5.17 meters (16’ 11 ½”) at the Bill C Invitational on April 24.
 
Doran earned his berth in the 1500 meters after breaking his own school record with a time of 3:44.09 at the Bison Outdoor Classic hosted by Bucknell University on April 11. His time ranks 27th nationally.
 
The men’s 1500-meter race is scheduled for Thursday, May 21 at 6:10 p.m. (ET), while the men’s pole vault competition will take place Saturday, May 23 at 3 p.m. (ET).
 
On the women’s side, Roberts Wesleyan sophomores Karis Kraf and Kennedy Benjamins qualified for the NCAA Championships in the pole vault.
 
Benjamins enters the national meet ranked ninth in the country after winning the ECC Championship with a clearance of 4.11 meters (13’ 5 ¾”).
 
Kraf qualified with a top vault of 4.01 meters (13’ 1 ¾”) and earned All-American honors during the indoor season after finishing third nationally at the NCAA Division II Indoor Championships. Benjamins also earned indoor All-American honors with an eighth-place finish.
 
The women’s pole vault competition is scheduled for Thursday, May 21 at 4 p.m. (ET).