Men's Track and Field 5/20/2026 1:43:00 PM

Yellow Jackets Set for 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships

SPEARFISH, S.D. – The 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships are slated to get underway on Thursday, May 21, and run through Saturday, May 23, at the Francis G. Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas. Black Hills State will conclude the outdoor season that has already seen three school records fall, 17 new top-5 marks/times in school history, and 29 new top-10 marks/times in school history, as they will send three to compete for national titles and All-American status this weekend. The three Yellow Jacket national qualifiers, which include Evan Smith in the men's 800m run, Evie Boyd in the women's 3,000m steeplechase, and Cassidy Goddard in the women's discus throw, are the most for a program since the 2022 season. Additionally, during the year BHSU posted seven NCAA Provisional marks and times that were also the most since the 2022 outdoor season.

LIVE COVERAGE: All events of the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be streamed live for free, with the track events able to be watched on NCAA.com and the field events able to be watched on the MIAA Network.

BHSU WEEKEND SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MAY 21
Evie Boyd – prelims of the women's 3,000m steeplechase at 6:10 p.m. MT / 7:10 p.m. CT

FRIDAY, MAY 22
Cassidy Goddard – prelims and finals of the women's discus throw at 3:30 p.m. MT / 4:30 p.m. CT
Evan Smith – prelims of the men's 800m run at 5 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. CT
Evie Boyd – finals of the women's 3,000m steeplechase at 6:30 p.m. MT / 7:30 p.m. CT

SATURDAY, MAY 23
Evan Smith – finals of the men's 800m run at 4:15 p.m. MT / 5:15 p.m. CT

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

Evan Smith will enter the national championships with the No. 16 time in the nation in the 800m run, clocking a time of 1:48.96 for second place in the finals of the RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships that converted to 1:48.38. With the runner-up finish at the conference championship, he was recognized as First Team All-RMAC.
Smith broke the school record in the 800m run at the Bryan Clay Invitational, running to a career-best time of 1:48.58 for a 25^th place finish in a field of 118 athletes across all divisions.
On three occasions this outdoor season, Smith has crossed the line in a sub-1:50 time in the event, becoming just the second Yellow Jacket in school history to record the time.
During the indoor season Smith also earned First Team All-RMAC honors in the 800m run and was a Second Team All-American with a 13^th place finish at the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships with a time of 1:50.20.
Smith additionally holds school records in the indoor 400m dash with a time of 48.96 at the 2026 SDSU Indoor Classic and the indoor 800m run with a time of 1:49.89 at the 2026 WSC NCAA Showdown.
Smith's appearance at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships marks the second consecutive year and just the third appearance in the DII era that a men's 800m runner has qualified for the national championships. Previous qualifiers in the event include Braden Anderson, who concluded a record-breaking season with a 19^th place finish and time of 1:52.29 at the 2025 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Pueblo, Colorado, and Justin Thorstad who ran to a 17^th place finish and a time of 1:51.74 at the 2018 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina.
BHSU is seeking their first-ever 800m run All-American all-time in school history in outdoor track & field.
The Black Hills State men's track & field program has now had an athlete qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in ten of the last 12 years the event has been hosted.
The Yellow Jackets are looking to score points at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time since 2024 in Emporia, Kansas, when Brett Glaser earned the team one point from an eighth place finish in the decathlon (7,189 points).
The 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan, were the last time both the men's and women's teams earned points at the same outdoor national championship. The men's team earned five points from a fourth place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase by Keith Osowski, and Kyla Sawvell earned five points with a sixth place finish in the hammer throw and a seventh place finish in the shot put.

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD STORYLINES

Evie Boyd will enter the national championships with the No. 15 time in the nation in the 3,000m steeplechase, as she ran to a career-best and school record time of 10:29.85 to win the ULV Leopard Invitational in April. The event is one of two school records she holds in outdoor track & field, as she broke the school's all-time mark for the second time this season in the 5,000m run at the Franson Last Chance with a time of 16:56.38.
This season Boyd has posted top-10 all-time marks in the 1,500m run and the 10,000m run, recording time a time of 4:38.32 to rank fifth in the 1,500m run also at the Franson Last Chance and a time of 37:29.73 to rank sixth in the 10,000m run at the Dr. Dan Caprioglio Invitational.
Cassidy Goddard will enter the national championships with the No. 16 mark in the nation in the discus throw, recording a distance of 49.24m (161' 6") at the UMary Last Chance to secure her spot. The qualifying mark earned her All-South Central Region honors from the USTFCCCA in the discus, ranks second all-time in school history, and is the top mark in the Yellow Jackets DII era.
While only qualifying in the discus for the national championships, Goddard did also notch an NCAA Provisional mark in the hammer throw earlier this season, ranking 30^th nationally in the event with a mark of 53.84m (176' 8") at the Mines Midweek & Multi, which ties for fifth in school history.
At the RMAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships Goddard earned First Team All-RMAC honors in the hammer throw with a third place finish and mark of 53.05m (174' 0"), while also finishing 11^th in the discus throw with a mark of 40.38m (132' 6").
The pair of Boyd and Goddard mark the first Yellow Jacket women's track & field athletes to qualify for the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships since 2022, when Ruby Lindquist qualified in the 3,000m steeplechase and Kyla Sawvell qualified in the shot put and hammer throw.
Boyd becomes just the second Yellow Jacket athlete to qualify for the 3,000m steeplechase in outdoor track & field the NCAA Division II era, joining Lindquist who ran to a 15^th place finish and time of 10:42.02 at the 2022 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Allendale, Michigan.
Goddard becomes just the second BHSU athlete to qualify for the discus throw in outdoor track & field the NCAA Division II era, joining Avery Allen who recorded a mark of 44.63m (146' 5") for 14^th place at the 2016 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Bradenton, Florida.
The Yellow Jackets are looking to score points at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the first time since 2022 in Allendale, Michigan, when Sawvell earned five points with a sixth place finish in the hammer throw and a seventh place finish in the shot put. The 2022 championships were the last time both the men's and women's teams earned points at the same outdoor national championship, as the men's team earned five points from a fourth place finish in the 3,000m steeplechase by Keith Osowski.