WAYNESBURG, Pa. (March 21) – The 2026 Waynesburg University men's outdoor track & field team will be led a core group of veterans looking to improve on solid performances from a year ago.
 
Leading that group is junior thrower Jacob Harker (Lilly, Pa. / Bishop Carroll), who will not only be looking to defend his 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) shot put title, but he will be seeking a fourth-straight indoor or outdoor crown in the event following his second-straight indoor championship last month.
 
Harker also placed fourth at PACs in the discus.
 
While the men in the throwing circles will be doing plenty of heavy lifting in terms of earning points this spring, the duo of junior Kyle Casella (Clarksboro, N.J. / Kingsway) and senior Dagyn Williams (Leslie, Ark. / Marshall) are expected to be two of the squad's top performers on the track.
 
Casella is coming off a fourth-place showing at PAC's in the 400-meter hurdles, while Williams turned in the number-six time in the 400 meters. Casella and Williams, along with junior Noah Jones (Rockville, Md. / Sandy Spring Friends), represent three quarters of last year's outstanding 4x400-meter relay team that took fourth at PAC's. Senior Dequan DeBauche (Brookfield, Wisc. / Brookfield East) ran the fourth leg of the relay at the recent PAC Indoor Championships and helped the quartet to a seventh-place showing.
 
When it comes to the distance events, sophomore Ethan Wilson (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Redeemer Lutheran) looks to be the team's top performer. He placed seventh in the mile at PAC's and was consistently at or near the top of this past fall's cross country finishes. Freshman Jack Hood (Washington, Pa. / Trinity) adds scoring potential in those grueling events.
 
Two more freshmen – J.P. Groves (Hampstead, Md. / Delone Catholic) and Connor Luckock (Charleroi, Pa. / Charleroi) – will be looked upon to add points in a variety events including pole vault, sprints, jumps and javelin. The same can be said of senior Isaac Trout (Ruffs Dale, Pa. / Southmoreland), who is expected to compete in jumps and sprints.
 
Veteran head coach Chris Hardie is leading the latest edition of the program into the great outdoors this weekend at West Virginia University's Marty Pushkin Invitational.