The Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) men's and women's track teams began their 2026 indoor season at the Ashland Invitational, hosted by Ashland University on January 24. The event saw several school records broken and notable performances from MVNU athletes.
Evan Hodkinson met the NAIA B Standard in the 800m, finishing fourth out of 48 participants with a school record time of 1:52.45. William Baker set a new school record in the 3000m, placing 13th out of 42 with a time of 8:42.66, and also finished fifth in the mile with a time of 4:22.34. Samuel Haley secured fourth place in the 200m among 67 competitors with a time of 22.30. The team comprising Seth McCloskey, Marshall Carr, Reed Johnson, and Haley finished fourth in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:23.08. David Burkholder placed fifth in the 5000m event.
On the women's side, Maddy Lengacher broke the school record in the 200m with a time of 26.59, while Leah Cooper also surpassed the previous record with a time of 26.62, placing sixth overall. Cooper additionally placed tenth in the 60m event with a time of 7.97 seconds. The relay team consisting of Kate Ruffle, Lengacher, Makenna Langford, and Louisa Hallabrin set a new school record for the women's 4x400m relay at 4:05.67 and finished sixth overall.
Izzy Henderson achieved second place in the long jump with a distance of 5.43 meters, while Hallabrin completed her performance by placing tenth in the 800m race.
