INDIANAPOLIS—The Great Midwest indoor track & field season is off and running for the 2023-24 academic year.
 
Findlay enters this season as the reigning champs on both the men’s and women’s side. The Oilers opened the season at their home event, the Oiler Open. The event, which took place Dec. 1-2, featured  several other Great Midwest institutions, including Cedarville, Hillsdale, Malone, Tiffin, and Walsh. Both Findlay men and women took home first place in the team scoring.
 
On the men’s side,the Oilers return a host of all-conference performers from last year's championship team including the Men’s Field Athlete of the Year in Eliot Cummings. At last year’s championship, Cummings won the triple jump and finished second in the long jump. He went on to earn first-team All-American status in the triple jump after finishing third at the national meet. Head coach Jared Krout earned Coach of the Year honors for both the men and women in just his second year leading the program.
 
Other top returners for the men include last year’s Freshman of the Year, Hillsdale’s Ben Haas. Haas opened the 2023-24 season with a first-place finish in the weight throw with a mark of 20.39 meters, the furthest throw in Division II this season. He is coming off a freshman season where he earned All-Region and All-American honors.
 
For the women, Findlay returns the reigning shot put national champion in Trista Fintel. The junior is coming off a historic season, where she earned several national awards including all-American honors, Midwest Regional Field Athlete of the Year, and a national championship. This past weekend, Fintel threw an NCAA qualifying mark of 15.07 meters in the shot put. In addition to Fintel, Coach Krout returns eight all-conference athletes.
 
One of the conference’s top sprinters return in Kya Epps from Walsh University. In her freshman season, Epps earned Great Midwest Freshman of the Year after winning the 200 meter event at the indoor championship. She then went on to earn second team All-American on the national stage, placing 12^th in the country.
 
The conference will look to build off of last year’s success, where over 50 student-athletes qualified for the national meet.
 
The 2023 Great Midwest Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place Feb. 23-24 at Ashland’s Niss Athletic Center.