Day 1 Results

LA CROSSE, Wis. – Three of Saint John's University's four national qualifiers competed during the first day (Thursday, May 21) of the 2026 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the campus of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Junior Cole Stencel (Mapleton, Minn./Maple River) finished seventh in the 1,500 meters' first heat and 16th overall with a time of 3:52.01 to earn second-team All-American honors. The top-four times in each prelim, plus the next best four times overall, qualified for Saturday's final. Stencel, who broke the program record last Thursday (May 14) with a time of 3:47.29 on the same track, was 0:03.17 from 12th and the final qualifier.

He is the first Johnnie since 2015-16 to qualify for the NCAA Championship in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor in the same academic year. Stencel was crowned an indoor All-American with an eighth-place time in the mile in March.

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) added the All-America second team in 2024 to include individuals placed ninth through 16th, as well as members of ninth- and 10th-place relays.

Sophomore Bailey Evans (Breckenridge, Minn.) is 14th out of 22 competitors in the two-day decathlon with a total of 3,445 points, 361 points from the lead and 62 points from 10th.

He started the day with a fifth-place finish in the third heat, which was good for sixth overall, in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.22 seconds. He posted a long jump of 6.60 meters – an inch from his PR of 6.63 meters – on his third and final attempt to take 13th and won the shot put with a distance of 12.96 meters on his third and final attempt after scratching on the first two tosses. The win vaulted Evans four spots to fifth overall but he slipped to 12th following the high jump where he claimed 21st at 1.65 meters.

Evans ended the first day by finishing 17th with a personal-best time of 51.56 seconds in the 400-meter dash. He is one of only four underclassmen (three sophomores and one freshman) in the 22-man field.

The decathlon's final five events begin Friday with the 110-meter hurdles at 10 a.m., followed by the discus (~10:50 a.m.), pole vault (~12:30 p.m.), javelin (~4 p.m.) and 1,500 meters (~5:45 p.m.).

Evans' Decathlon (first five events)
-100-Meter Dash: Sixth (11.22)
-Long Jump: 13th (6.60m)
-Shot Put: First (12.96m)
-High Jump: 21st (1.65m)
-400-Meter Dash: 17th (51.56) *PR

Junior Cooper Smith (Alvarado, Minn./East Grand Forks) finished 21st in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.54. The winner from each of the three prelims, plus the next best six times, advanced to Saturday's final. Ninth place and the final qualifying time was 52.62. He ran a personal-best and facility-record time of 52.75 seconds to claim SJU's first conference title in the 400-meter hurdles since 2018 on May 9.