Western Kentucky University’s track and field teams completed the 2026 Conference USA Indoor Championships in Lynchburg, Virginia, achieving their best results since 2017. Over the two-day event, seven Hilltoppers earned All-Conference USA honors and the team set 16 personal records.
The men’s team finished fifth with 60.5 points, marking their highest score since they placed second in 2017 with 100 points. The women’s team secured seventh place with 31.6 points, also their best finish since taking fifth in 2017.
Saturday’s events began with the mile finals. Brooke Greenwell set a personal record in the women’s mile final, finishing tenth. Trevor Hudnall also achieved a new personal best in the men’s mile final, placing fourth with a time of 4:08.38.
In the men’s 60-meter hurdles final, Van Thrasher finished seventh while Ricardo Smith took eighth and set a personal record of 8.28 seconds. Brunel Desinor posted his season-best time of 47.62 seconds in the men’s 400 meters.
Kameron Horton won silver for the second consecutive year in the indoor 200-meter finals with a season-best time of 20.93 seconds for WKU.
In the women’s and men’s 3000-meter races, Kinley Kunkel and Mikie Carnell both finished eighth in their respective events.
The meet concluded with the relay races. The men’s group—Leland Taylor, Brunel Desinor, Zachariah Taylor, and Carter Vinson—recorded a season-best mark of 3:12.99 in the 4×400 relay, ranking among NCAA Division I’s top-100 this season.
“Two Hilltoppers earned All-CUSA on Saturday,” according to event organizers. “In total, three Hilltoppers set a new PR on Saturday afternoon.”
Van Thrasher earned bronze in high jump at a height of 2.03 meters—the first medal for WKU that day—and Kameron Horton received All-CUSA honors again for his performance in the men’s 200 meters.
Brooke Greenwell’s new personal record was achieved with her time of 4:57.36 in the mile final; she placed tenth overall.
Ricardo Smith became another athlete to reach a new milestone by clocking an all-time best during his run at the men’s hurdles final.
Additional notable performances included Jayla Gilbert placing fourth (14.28m) and Kennedy Coradini fifteenth (11.03m) in women’s shot put; Jeffery Cruickshank earning fifth place (1.92m) behind Thrasher’s third-place finish (2.03m) in men’s high jump; and Blake Foster securing eleventh place (13.22m) for men’s shot put.
For more updates on Western Kentucky University Track & Field activities throughout the year follow them on Twitter at WKUXCTF or visit their Instagram and Facebook pages.
