Greenville, SC – The Conference Carolinas men's outdoor track & field head coaches picked the University of Mount Olive to win a 12th consecutive and 14th overall conference championship in the 2026 preseason poll released on Thursday.
The Trojans collected 184 points and 13-of-15 first-place votes to edge Converse University who received 182 points and one first place nod. Belmont Abbey College came in third with 163 points, followed by UNC Pembroke with 147 points. Southern Wesleyan University rounded out the top five with 144 points.
Lees-McRae College earned 126 points to take the sixth spot and was followed by King University (109), Young Harris College (94), Ferrum College (90), North Greenville University (87), Barton College (66), Emmanuel University (64), Erskine College (44) Shorter University (39), and Francis Marion University (36). Barton received the final first place vote.
Southern Wesleyan opens up the Outdoor Track & Field season at home as they host the Gotta Run Invite on March 13-14. They will then travel to Montreat, NC to take on the Montreat College Open on March 20-21. The Warriors will compete in the Thrills in the Hills, the Lenoir-Rhyne Invitational and the Lee Fast Break Invitational before competing in the Conference Carolinas Outdoor Championship on April 23-25.
The Warriors will return several key contributors to the indoor season in
Ethan Shoemaker,
Drew Jones and
Dustyn Scruggs. Shoemaker looks to reclaim his All-Conference First Team honors in the high jump. Southern Wesleyan will also be looking at sophomore
Happy Lea, who received Freshman of the Year honors last spring season after he gain All-Conference First Team finishes in both the 110m Hurdles and 400m Hurdles.
Ronan O'Neill will also be looking to make an impact in both the 5000 meters and 10000 meters.
The 2026 Conference Carolinas Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be held on April 23-25 at Doug Shaw Memorial Stadium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The preseason poll was voted on by the league's head coaches and they can't vote for their own school.
