The Harding University women's indoor track and field team surged to No. 28 in the latest USTFCCCA NCAA Division II rankings, while the men's team held at No. 9. Both teams benefited from strong performances at the Arkansas Qualifier. The rankings were released on February 24, 2026.
Harding University's indoor track and field programs continued their strong season with impressive showings in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division II National TFRI, released on February 24, 2026, from New Orleans.
The women's team, known as the Lady Bisons, jumped 23 spots to No. 28, marking their highest ranking of the season after previously sitting at No. 51. This climb followed a record-breaking weekend at the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville, where two school records were set. Senior Hanna Onufriieva broke her own triple jump record with a leap of 12.43 meters (40-09.25), earning her the No. 6 national ranking and a likely spot at the national championships. Sophomore Tetiana Kharashchuk also secured No. 6 in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.10 seconds. Sophomore Jerlana Williams reset the program record in the 60-meter dash at 7.47 seconds, placing No. 15 nationally. The distance medley relay team of Kaia Bieker, Jayden Bowman, Kharashchuk, and Josie Parks ranked No. 15 with 11:47.97. Additional top-30 marks came from Cadence Sansom (No. 18, pole vault, 3.90 meters), Karyna Vehner (No. 25, triple jump, 12.07 meters), and Yedidya Bangue (No. 29, shot put, 13.93 meters). Pittsburg State leads the women's rankings, followed by Grand Valley State and West Texas A&M.
On the men's side, the Bisons maintained a top-10 position at No. 9 for the third consecutive week, accumulating 71.44 points as the highest-ranked independent program. They trail Northwest Missouri State (No. 6) and lead Colorado State University Pueblo (No. 10). Senior Vlad Malykhin holds the No. 1 spot in pole vault with 5.45 meters (17-10.50), a mark unchanged since early February. Junior Everett Mumme jumped to No. 13 in pole vault with 5.12 meters (16-09.50) from the Arkansas Qualifier, while junior Isaac Hodges ranks No. 35. In triple jump, senior Yves Bilong is No. 5 (15.55 meters), with freshmen Artem Konovalenko (No. 13) and Nathan Boulay (No. 22) providing depth. Senior Anton Kopytko ranks No. 7 in long jump (7.49 meters, 24-07). Sophomore Caledon Ruwende is No. 7 in the 200-meter dash (21.10 seconds), and freshman Benson Lingokal holds No. 10 in the 5,000 meters (13:48.95). Grand Valley State tops the men's rankings, followed by Wingate and Pittsburg State.
With the regular season complete, both teams now await the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championships fields, to be announced on March 3, 2026, at 5 p.m. Central Time.
