COLONIA, N.J. – The defending champion Roberts Wesleyan women’s track and field team has been picked first in the 2025-26 ECC Women’s Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll with 102 points and four first-place votes, as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches and announced on Tuesday afternoon. District of Columbia’s Kayla Cooper (Brooklyn, N.Y.) repeats as the ECC Preseason Athlete of the Year.
Roberts Wesleyan won its fifth ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship, and first since 2018, with 120 points last year. The Redhawks earned a meet-high 13 medals, including two golds from Kylee Odell (1000m and mile), a gold in the 5000m and a silver in the 3000m from Rachel Horner-Richardson, and a silver in the 800m and bronze in the 60m hurdles from Jadyn Mullen alongside Sarah Ferguson's gold in the pole vault with a meet-record 3.93m. In all, 15 individuals and one relay placed in the top four to score four points or more for RWU.
Finishing second in the preseason poll with 97 points and three first-place votes are the District of Columbia Firebirds, who claimed a meet-high five gold medals en route to 10 in all for a third-place team finish at last year’s ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship. Cooper, who was voted the Most Outstanding Athlete of the meet, was a walking medal, sweeping the 60m, 200m, and long jump and running the second leg on the third-place 4x400m relay to account for 36 of the Firebirds' points. Zoe Shaw won the triple jump and placed second in the high jump while Emmanuela Katou Kouami continued her dominant season in the weight throw, tossing for an event-winning 17.24m.
Felician (85 points) edged Holy Family (83 points) by two votes in the preseason poll, with each program earning a pair of first-place votes.
The Golden Falcons earned the runner-up spot with 11 total medals at last year’s ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship. Jada Carroll led the way, winning the high jump and placing second in both the long jump and triple jump while Chantoya Thomas earned gold in the 400m and silver in the 200m. Felician added two additional gold medals from Imani Fitzpatrick in the 500m and Destiny Ellerbe in the shot put.
The Tigers finished fourth at last year’s ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Championship. Ocelia Jones won gold in the 60m hurdles, anchored the first-place 4x400m relay, and placed second in the 400m while Jahtivya Williams earned silver in the 60m and bronze in the 200m.
Molloy (69 points), D’Youville (68 points) and Georgian Court (53 points) sit fifth, sixth, and seventh in the preseason poll while Staten Island (8th, 49 points), St. Thomas Aquinas (9th, 46 points), Daemen (10th, 45 points), and Queens (11th, 29 points) round out the voting.
St. Thomas Aquinas opened up at the 12th Rock Throws Series back on November 8 while the ECC’s other 10 programs kick off their seasons this week. Check out the composite schedule here.
2025-26 ECC Women's Indoor Track and Field Preseason Poll
1. Roberts Wesleyan (102 points, 4 first-place votes)
2. District of Columbia (97 points, 3 first-place votes)
3. Felician (85 points, 2 first-place votes)
4. Holy Family (83 points, 2 first-place votes)
5. Molloy (69 points)
6. D'Youville (68 points)
7. Georgian Court (53 points)
8. Staten Island (49 points)
9. St. Thomas Aquinas (46 points)
10. Daemen (45 points)
11. Queens (29 points)
ECC Preseason Athlete of the Year: Kayla Cooper, District of Columbia