HIRAM, Ohio - March 7, 2026 - Hiram's indoor track & field teams put the final touches on a remarkable winter season on Saturday afternoon, with the men's team sending student-athletes to both the Tufts (Medford, MA) and Polar Bear (Ada, OH) Final Qualifiers, and the women's team featuring student-athletes at Ohio Northern, too.

The day marked an opportunity to improve even further upon the PAC Indoor Championships from this past week, when Hiram featured a combined 15 student-athletes earn at least one all-conference honor.

It also gave the team a chance to improve its position for potential all-region selections, with the top-five student-athletes for each event earning all-region selections at the end of the indoor season.

Men's Recap

Both Aidan Shiels and the rest of the record-setting, 4x400-meter relay team made the trip to Medford, MA for the Tufts Final Qualifier. Shiels ran a personal best and new program record time of 1:53.40 in the 800-meter race, which placed ninth in the field of 22 student-athletes before he joined DeAco Curry, Nathan Feltner and Kamran Walton for a clip of 3:25.75 in the relay race.

As things currently stand, the 4x400-meter relay team ranks sixth in the Great Lakes Region with its PAC Championship record time of 3:19.72, while Shiels ranks fifth with his new time from Saturday.

At ONU, Hiram's Kenta Poole competed in both the weight throw (13.18m) and shot put (12.94m), while Jaelon Shepherd got a chance to shine in the 60-meter dash (7.41).

Women's Recap

The women's team solely competed in Ada, OH for the day, with Karalyn Rutkowski (high jump) and Sam Volpe (shot put/weight throw) taking aim at some of their previous personal bests.

Rutkowski placed second in the field, posting a mark of 1.59m, which was just short of her season-best from the All-Ohio Championships (1.63m). The latter of those two marks currently is tied for fifth in the Great Lakes Region.

Volpe beat her own program record in the shot put, recording a mark of 13.14m (43'1.50") to beat her previous best of 12.92m (42' 4.75"). The junior from Concord, OH is one of seven student-athletes in the Great Lakes Region to throw at least 13 meters this season, with her marking currently placing fifth.

What's Next

Hiram will await the rest of the Great Lakes region results for the indoor season to determine its all-region selections, while also preparing for the outdoor season that begins on Friday, March 27 in Oberlin, OH.