VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Stan State will be represented by five student-athletes this week at the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, set for March 13-14 at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Stan State women's indoor/men's and women's outdoor track & field head coach Troy Johnson expressed pride in the group heading into the national meet.

"I'm very proud of these five ladies and the accomplishments they have made. It's a testament to their hard work and dedication. Great job by our coaches Holman, Heiner and Ballinger helping these ladies achieve this opportunity. Now rankings mean nothing and it's about who wants it more — and I have no doubt every single one of them will embrace the challenge and reflect what the program stands for in being Warriors."

Crystal Hernandez, Alexis Nino, Mila Real, Izzy Soto and Annie Wild will compete on the national stage as the Warriors qualified in three events: the Distance Medley Relay, women's shot put and women's mile.

Wild enters the women's mile with the third-fastest qualifying time in the field this season at 4:41.94. CSU Pueblo's Helen Braybrook holds the fastest time at 4:30.23, followed by Adams State's Ava O'Connor at 4:36.36. Wild, the defending national champion, will run in Friday's prelims at 1:05 p.m. (PST) with the finals set for 1:50 p.m. (PST) on Saturday. She captured the 2025 NCAA Division II Indoor title in Indianapolis and owns the Stan State school record in the event at 4:39.92.

The Distance Medley Relay team of Hernandez, Real, Soto and Wild qualified with a season-best time of 11:38.87 — the second-fastest mark in school history — which ranks 12th in the national field. Adams State enters with the top time in Division II at 11:11.24. The relay is scheduled to race Friday evening at 4:25 p.m. (PST), with heat assignments to be announced prior to competition.

Nino will compete in the women's shot put on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. (PST). Her school-record mark of 15.15 meters (49-8.5) ranks 11th in the national field. Grand Valley State's Erika Beistle leads the field with a mark of 18.76 meters. Flight assignments will be released before the event.

Stan State has produced 24 indoor track and field All-Americans in program history. Most recently, Wild earned All-America honors in the mile in 2025, while Najwa Chouati did so in the 3,000 meters in 2023. The top eight finishers in each event receive All-America recognition, with places 9-12 earning USTFCCCA Second Team All-American honors.

Live results for the championships will be available at results.leonetiming.com, with live video coverage streamed on NCAA.com.