EMPORIA, Kan. – The Pittsburg State University men's outdoor track & field team entered Championship Saturday in chase mode; and the Gorillas nearly chased down their fifth straight national title at Francis G. Welch Stadium.
In the end, Grand Valley State University, which entered the day with a 24-point lead, fended off Pitt State by five points to claim the team crown at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor National Championships and force the Gorillas to settle for a national runner-up finish.
Pitt State secured eight All-America performances on Saturday to compile 41 points to finish with a three-day total of 61 points. GVSU managed 22 points Saturday to compile 66 points overall.
The Gorillas' big scoring day was punctuated by a pair of national runner-up performances: sophomore
Grayson Smith in the pole vault and the 4x400 relay of
Woyn Chatman,
Nate Watson,
Logan Davis and
Caden Williams. Smith cleared 17 feet, 11 inches in his discipline, while the relay squad was clocked in 3 minutes, 5.40 seconds.
Pitt State also got a pair of third-place All-America efforts from redshirt junior
Dylan Sprecker in the 1,500 meters (3:49.80) and the 4x100m relay of
Griouard Weddington,
Braylon Thompson, Davis and
Ilias Garcia (39.66). Garcia also placed fifth overall in the 100 meters (10.21).
Redshirt sophomore
Drake Stapleton also contributed four points with a fifth place All-America showing in the shot put (60-8.5); and sophomore
Isaiah Webster recorded a personal best mark of 51-8.5 to post a sixth-place finish in the triple jump. Williams closed out the Gorillas point scoring with an eighth place All-America showing in the 400 meters (46.96).
Sophomore
Trace Hanchett added a 12
th place finish in the javelin (213-5); senior
Britton Gage placed 13
th in the pole vault (16-5.25); and freshman
Antwan Dawson finished 14
th in the triple jump (48-5.5).
The Gorillas, under fifth-year head coach
Kyle Rutledge, associate head coach/meet director
Brian Mantooth, assistant coaches
Ben Barrows,
Jesse Miller and
Jason Crow and graduate assistants
Chandler Barnett,
Zach Chandler and
Dalton Gleeson, guided the Gorillas to an indoor national crown and an outdoor national runner-up finish in 2026.
The Gorillas captured eight straight national championships between indoor and outdoor competitions before claiming the national runner-up finish Saturday (2022 outdoor, 2023 indoor/outdoor, 2024 indoor/outdoor, 2025 indoor/outdoor, 2026 indoor).
