La Crosse, WI – Senior Jack Stein and sophomore Jefferson Wright opened the initial day of competition Thursday at the 2026 NCAA Division III National Track and Field Championships in Wisconsin. 
 
Stein finished 12th out of 22 finalists in the men's 10,000 meter race to cap off a stellar Sagehen career. The 2026 Pomona-Pitzer Athletics Most Valuable Athlete, Stein ran 29:59.71 - his second best time ever over that distance. Stein finishes his career with a SCIAC title in the 5000 meters, and a Sagehen record  and SCIAC record of 29:33.63 set last month in qualifying to Nationals. 
 
Wright finished fourth in 3:51.12 in his 1500 meter preliminary race to qualify to the 1500m final on Saturday. This year's SCIAC Champion, Wright stayed patient early before moving into the top group with 500m remaining in the prelim. Wright's pace progressively cut down throughout: 68 seconds for the initial 400m, 64 seconds, 60 seconds and 56 seconds to earn a spot in the 12-man final. 
 
On Friday, the men's 4x100 meter Relay team competes in their preliminary race. The foursome includes Matthew Yen, Ezra Satran, Harrison Brown, and Sam Butler. Out of 16 qualifying teams competing in two heats, the top two teams in each heat plus the next five fastest times will advance to a final on Saturday. In addition, senior John Bard competes in the 800 meter prelim with 21 other competitors. Bard toes the line with an entry mark of 1:49.82. Finalists will be the top two finishers in each of three heats, plus the next three fastest times. Senior Will Marquart will contest the Shot Put. Coming in with a 17.09 meter/56'1" entry mark, Marquart, the SCIAC Champion, will be looking to finish the prelims among the top nine in order to advance to the finals the same day.