Wayne State teammates Jalecia Williams and Olivia Schwarzrock battled each other before finishing first and second respectively in the shot put to highlight the opening day for the Wildcat women's track and field team at the 2026 NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Duluth, Minnesota.
            Minnesota State is the women's team leader after the first day scoring 65 points followed by Umary in second at 48 and Wayne State third with 32.5.  Concordia-St. Paul is fourth with 24 points followed by Northern State (22), Winona State (21), Augustana (18), Jamestown (13), MSU Moorhead (12) and Sioux Falls (10) closing out the top 10 teams.             
            Schwarzrock had gained the lead on her second throw in finals with a mark of 45' 7 ¼", only to be outdone by sophomore Jalecia Williams who saved her best throw for last by posting a toss of 46' 7 ¼" to win the event in similar fashion as she did during the NSIC Indoor Championships also on the final throw.  Both Williams and Schwarzrock reached NCAA provisional qualifying marks with their throws.  
            Schwarzrock ended in second with an All-NSIC performance of 45' 7 ¼" while sophomore McKinley Grover also picked up a medal in the shot put placing eighth at 42' 8 ¾".
            The Wildcats also had three medal winners in the hammer throw to start the day as sophomore Taylor Arp posted an All-NSIC finish taking second at 171' 6".  Williams had a fifth-place mark of 165' 5" and Schwarzrock took eighth at 158' 6".
            Wayne State's other medal Friday came from high jumper Jerika Bakenhus, who tied for eighth after clearing 5' 2 ½". 
            Wayne State also had two hurdlers advance to Saturday's final with strong performances in the prelims as freshman Breylee Botts ran a time of 14.17 seconds to be the #3 qualifier for Saturday's finals while sophomore Reagan Murphy also advanced to the finals with a time of 14.47 seconds and is the #7 qualifier. 
            The final day of the NSIC Outdoor Track and Field Championships will take place Saturday in Duluth, Minnesota with field events starting at 10 a.m. and running event finals beginning at 1 p.m.