KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The top 16 student-athletes who have qualified for the 2026 NAIA Women's Outdoor Track and Field National Championship as multi-event qualifiers have been announced. 

This year, the qualifiers will meet in Asheville, N.C., at the Karl Straus Track for their final competition of the season. 

2026 Qualifiers

NAME (2025 finish)	CLASS	INSTITUTION	SCORES
Lizzy Grandle	JR	Eastern Oregon	5160
Lindsey Strutz (11)	SR	Aquinas (Mich.)	4860
Caitlyn O'Brien	JR	Ave Maria (Fla.)	4844
Emma Barnes	SR	Montreat (N.C.)	4824
Avery Poppe (8)	SO	Viterbo (Wis.)	4811
Amelie Steins (12)	JR	Dakota State (S.D.)	4796
Annemarie Koerner (9)	JR	Central Methodist (Mo.)	4787
Haley Bellamy (4)	SR	Central Methodist (Mo.)	4768
Katelyn Christensen	SR	Carroll (Mont.)	4621
Joana Vakasobuduru	SR	Central Methodist (Mo.)	4556
Chaney Nelson (10)	JR	Doane (Neb.)	4556
Ayla Janzen	SO	Montana Tech	4528
Casey Olson	JR	Dakota State (S.D.)	4505
Maria Connealy	JR	Benedictine (Kan.)	4505
Lucy Carey	SO	Hastings (Neb.)	4476
Claire Nichol	JR	Trinity Western (B.C.)	4397

The current heptathlon record holder is Kim Vanderhoek of Simon Fraser (B.C.) in 2012 with a score of 5,626. 

Six qualifiers for the 2026 championship also competed in the 2025 championship: Lindsey Strutz, Avery Poppe, Amelie Steins, Annemarie Koener, Haley Bellamy and Chaney Nelson. All of those returning from the 2025 championship have qualified with a higher mark than what they set at the previous national championship, except for Haley Bellamy who set a new personal best in 2025. 

Central Methodist (Mo.) and Dakota State (S.D.) are the only two schools that qualified two athletes in the heptathlon. CMU with three and DSU with two. 

Open Qualifiers: The final qualifiers list for the championship will be announced on Wednesday, May 13, at 10 a.m. CT on NAIA.org. 

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