NAPERVILLE — The 2025-26 women’s indoor track & field season has produced a steady run of high-level marks across the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW), with multiple student-athletes positioning themselves as NCAA Division III contenders. 
 
Early performance lists show strength at the top end, with several entries inside the national top 20 and a growing number of conference-leading marks across sprints, hurdles, jumps, vaults, and middle distance. Recent meet results at Wisconsin-Whitewater and Illinois Wesleyan have also reflected a rising trend of personal bests as programs move into the final stages of the regular season.
 
Top-20 Traffic: The National Board Is Getting Crowded
Several CCIW student-athletes have established national-level positioning. Elmhurst has multiple top-ranked entries, including Paulina Tinajero in the long jump (5.82m, No. 4) and Chloe Selmer in the triple jump (11.68m, No. 8), while Tiana Grady has moved into the national top 20 in the 60-meter hurdles (8.92, No. 17). 
 
North Central’s Gwen Berenyi has reached the top-20 range in the pole vault (3.67m, No. 20). Additional national placement includes Carthage’s Madison Payne in the shot put (13.50m, No. 13), with Illinois Wesleyan’s Mackenzie Huber also appearing on the national list in the 800 meters (2:15.41, No. 24).
 
Conference Pace Car: Leaders by Event Group
The early CCIW event leaders reflect depth across disciplines. In the sprints, North Park’s Riana Hayes holds the top 60-meter time (7.71), while Elmhurst leads the 200 (Tiana Grady, 25.34) and 400 (Carmela Woods, 57.12). 
 
In distance events, Illinois Wesleyan’s Adriana Crabtree leads the mile (4:54.60), North Central’s Dylan Moeller owns the top 3000 (10:37.93) and Augustana’s Keira Nelson leads the 5000 (18:38.75). 
 
In the field events, Illinois Wesleyan’s Gwendolyn Boettinger sits atop the high jump list (1.65m), North Park’s Julia Klein leads the pole vault (3.81m) and Augustana’s Charlotte Frere holds the conference’s top weight throw mark (16.09m).
 
Relay Math: North Central’s Distance-and-Depth Formula
North Central has continued to show strength in distance and relays, highlighted by its Distance Medley Relay win at the Squig Converse Invitational. The Cardinals’ DMR group of Brianna Ruiz, Kate Schmidthuber, Cire Smith and Dylan Moeller won by approximately 25 seconds, setting a clear early benchmark in one of the meet’s key championship-style events. 
 
Moeller has also contributed as a middle-distance factor, including an 800-meter win, while the program’s depth was reflected in a 5th-through-8th sweep in the 5,000-meter run at the same meet.
 
Jump Lanes and Sprint Wins: Elmhurst’s Two-Front Season
Elmhurst has paired field-event production with points on the track. Chloe Selmer’s triple jump mark of 11.68m not only won the Squig Converse Invitational but also placed her inside the national top 10, while Paulina Tinajero added another long jump win as part of a multi-win stretch this season. 
 
On the track, Elmhurst has also posted event wins in the 60-meter hurdles (Tiana Grady) and 400 meters (Carmela Woods), and the program recorded a win in the 4x400 relay during the same weekend slate.
 
Balanced Cards: Millikin’s Momentum Checkpoint
Millikin produced a broad set of results at the ONU Invitational, highlighted by a 4x400 relay win from the quartet of Alayna Schultz, Kiley Coker, Brooklynn Sweikar and Lydia Trump. 
 
Freshman Ella Neihls added an event win in the triple jump (10.24m), while the Big Blue also collected podium finishes across multiple event groups, including the 60, 600, 1000, high jump and pole vault.
 
Home Track Dividends: Illinois Wesleyan’s PR Weekend
Illinois Wesleyan has used its meet schedule to build depth and produce high-end marks, including Mackenzie Huber’s 800-meter time of 2:15.41 at the PNC Lenny Lyles Invitational, which places her among the program’s top performances and keeps her within the Division III national conversation. 
 
At the Jason Dennis Memorial, the Titans also received an event win from Mallory Short in the 200 (26.18) and logged a high volume of personal bests across two meets, including 41 PRs reported across the combined weekend slate.
 
Next Up: February’s Cluster of Opportunity
The Feb. 6-7 schedule brings a concentrated set of meets with multiple CCIW teams in action. The Tadd Metzger Invite/Multi in Kenosha is set to include Wheaton, Carthage and Carroll. 
 
Illinois Wesleyan hosts the Keck D-III Select in Bloomington, with Elmhurst, Millikin, North Central and North Park scheduled to compete in a meet that will also serve as an early preview environment for the CCIW Indoor Championships. 
 
Augustana is slated for the Wartburg Indoor Select in Waverly, Iowa.