FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS - The Fort Hays State men's and women's track and field teams qualified 11 student-athletes to compete in 12 events at the 2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, announced Tuesday by the national office. The Tigers will make the short trip to Emporia, Kan. to compete for a national title May 21-23.
FHSU's dozen events are the most for the team at the outdoor national championships since competing in 14 events in 2023.
The women's team will have six student-athletes competing in seven events, including Emma Slade in both the discus and hammer, Annabeth Baalmann in the pole vault, Liberty Booker in the hammer, Katie Linenberger in the high jump, Emily Diercks McCullough in the 10,000m and Natalee North in the discus.
The men's squad will be represented by five individuals, including Hunter Angove and Josiah Ball in the pole vault, Dean Clark in the long jump, Jackson Rumford in the javelin and Drew Tolar in the decathlon.
At least three Tigers will be competing each day of the event, with six competing on Thursday, three competing on Friday and four on Saturday. Tolar will compete in five events both Thursday and Friday, with Slade also competing each of the first two days. Booker will join her in the hammer on Thursday, with Clark (long jump), Baalmann (pole vault) and McCullough (10,000m) also competing on the first day of the meet. North will compete alongside Slade in the discus on Friday, while Linenberger (high jump), Rumford (javelin), Angove (pole vault) and Ball (pole vault) all get going on the third and final day of action.
Baalmann enters the national meet tied for first place on the descending order list after matching her own outdoor school record with a clearance of 14-0.5 at the MIAA Championships. This is the sixth time the Colwich, Kan. native has qualified for the national championships, earning four previous All-American honors (two first team, two second team). Her top finish of fourth place came at last year's outdoor meet when she cleared 14-0.
Linenberger currently ranks fourth in the country in the high jump thanks to her outdoor school-record clearance of 5-10 at the Alex Francis Classic. The freshman is competing at her second national meet this season after placing ninth and earning second team All-America recognition with a clearance of 5-6 at the Indoor Championships.
Tolar ranks seventh in Division II in the decathlon this season after collecting 7,096 points across the 10 events at the Jo Meaker Classic and Multi. The sophomore is just the second multi-athlete in FHSU history and one of 13 this season in Division II to eclipse 7,000 points in the decathlon. He is also competing at his second national championship after helping break the school's 4x100m relay record (39.71) and earn All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in 2025.
Clark's school-record leap of 24-11.25 in the long jump is good for 10th place in Division II so far this season. The junior will compete in his first national championship event next week.
Angove heads into the postseason tied for 10th in the men's pole vault thanks to his top clearance of 17-3.5 which is tied for second-best at FHSU during the DII era. The senior will be competing at his first NCAA national meet, but is no stranger to national competition. He was an NAIA indoor national champion in 2025 with a clearance of 17-2.75 when he competed for The Master's University.
Ball will also be in the men's pole vault field after clearing a personal-best 16-11.5 at the MIAA Outdoor Championships earlier this month. The sophomore has now qualified for each of the last three national championships, finishing as high as 18th outdoors last season. He enters the meet tied for 17th in the country.
Slade is the lone Tiger that will compete in multiple events, qualifying in both the discus and hammer. The sophomore's school-record toss of 163-11 in the discus ranks 11th in Division II, while her best mark of 182-3 in the hammer is 22nd in the country. This is the second time she has qualified for nationals after finishing 13th in the discus last season with a heave of 153-2.
McCullough heads into nationals in 18th place on the descending order list with a top time of 34:51.18 in the 10,000m. The senior won the same race at the MIAA Championships earlier this month, running the 25 laps in 35:26.92. This is the fifth time she has qualified for an NCAA Division II Championship event, including last season's cross country and outdoor track championships and the cross country, indoor track and outdoor track events this season. She is a three-time All-American, placing 12th in cross country this season, finishing ninth in the 10,000m last season and finishing in 12th at the indoor 5,000m earlier this season.
A teammate will join Slade in both throwing events, including Booker in the hammer and North in the discus. Booker was firmly on the bubble of qualification before recording a personal-best toss of 184-11 on the final day of the regular season at the Loper Twilight, moving to 16th in the country. That mark is second-best at FHSU during the DII era, just 16 inches shy of the program record. This is Booker's first trip to the national championships.
North is one of three freshmen in the national field for the Tigers after ranking 21st in DII with a top toss of 158-7 in the discus. This will be her first trip to a national meet. North was FHSU's top finisher in the discus at the MIAA Championships, placing fourth with a mark of 156-8.
Rumford also improved his national standing at the final meet of the season, recording a top toss of 218-11 in the javelin at the Loper Twilight. That mark is good for 20th in the country this season for the freshman. This will be his first trip to a national meet.
2026 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Full FHSU Schedule
Thursday, May 21
10:30 a.m. - Decathlon 100m - Drew Tolar
11:15 a.m. - Decathlon Long Jump - Drew Tolar
12:45 p.m. - Decathlon Shot Put - Drew Tolar
1:45 p.m. - Decathlon High Jump - Drew Tolar
2:30 p.m. - Men's Long Jump - Dean Clark
3:00 p.m. Women's Pole Vault - Annabeth Baalmann
3:30 p.m. - Women's Hammer - Liberty Booker, Emma Slade
4:00 p.m. - Decathlon 400m - Drew Tolar
8:50 p.m. - Women's 10,000m - Emily Diercks McCullough
Friday, May 22
9:30 a.m. - Decathlon 110m Hurdles - Drew Tolar
10:30 a.m. - Decathlon Discus - Drew Tolar
12:15 p.m. - Decathlon Pole Vault - Drew Tolar
4:00 p.m. - Decathlon Javelin - Drew Tolar
5:15 p.m. - Decathlon 1,500m - Drew Tolar
4:30 p.m. - Women's Discus - Natalee North, Emma Slade
Saturday, May 23
12:00 p.m. - Men's Javelin - Jackson Rumford
2:00 p.m. - Men's Pole Vault - Hunter Angove, Josiah Ball
3:15 p.m. - Women's High Jump - Katie Linenberger