COLONIA, N.J. – Five track and field standouts out of the East Coast Conference have qualified for the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships, to be held at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Va. from March 13-14. 

The championships will be streamed live on www.NCAA.com.  

Roberts Wesleyan sophomore men’s pole vaulter Austin Melvin and Felician graduate student men’s long jumper Devin Jones return to the national stage after taking home All-America Second Team finishes a year ago while Roberts Wesleyan sophomore women’s pole vaulters Karis Kraf and Kennedy Benjamins and District of Columbia freshman women’s 60m hurdler Kyndra Hines make their first appearances at the NCAA indoor meet. 

Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching a provisional standard established for each event. For each individual event contested, the top 18 declared student-athletes were accepted into the competition.

Melvin sits third in the country with his mark of 5.36m (17’ 7”), set at Utica’s Blue & Orange Invite and Multi on February 6. The ECC indoor pole vault champion, Melvin returns to the national stage after placing 10th overall for NCAA All-American Second Team honors as a rookie last year. 

Jones sits 12th in the men’s long jump at 7.40m (24’ 3 1/2”), set at the Moravian Hounds Classic on January 24. Coming off of a second-place finish at the ECC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 15, Jones returns to the national stage after placing 12th overall for NCAA All-American Second Team honors last year. 

Kraf and Benjamins went 1-2 at the ECC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 15. Kraf ranks seventh at 4.18m (13’ 8 1/2”), set at the the Youngstown State Mid Major Invitational on January 30, while Benjamins sits 16th at 3.93m (12’ 10 3/4”), set at the ECC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 15. 

ECC champion Hines is set for the women’s 60m hurdles as her time of 8.52, which broke the meet record at the ECC Indoor Track and Field Championships on February 15, sits 15th. 

For more information, please visit the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Central.