TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org)--The 2023 Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships are scheduled for Thursday, February 23 at Youngstown State University’s Watson and Tressel Training Site (WATTS). In anticipation of the event, the PAC announced its women's and men's indoor track and field pre-championships coaches' polls, listed below. 

Field events will begin at 11:30 a.m. Track events will get underway at approximately 3 p.m.

Admission to Thursday's PAC Championship is $10 for adults and $5 for students with ID/children ages 5-12 (current college, high school, grade school IDs must be valid and shown upon request. Children under 5 are free. There will also be a $5 parking fee for spectators. Youngstown State Campus Map/Parking Areas

Spectators must remain outside of the track and the infield to observe the meet. At no time are spectators allowed on the track lanes or infield. Please use the bleachers. All non-competing student-athletes are asked to remain in the designated roped off area.

Grove City is the defending PAC women's champion. By earning a pair of individual titles and winning the 4x400 relay in the last event, Grove City totaled 111.50 points in the 16-event championship to win their first PAC title since 2014-15. The Wolverines, led by PAC Coach of the Year Jessica Smith, edged runner-up Geneva College, which amassed 110 points, and Washington Jefferson College finished third with 103 points. 

Two top performers from last year's Championships return this winter to compete again. Waynesburg senior Katherine Henderson (Hundred, W.Va. | Hundred) was honored as a Co-PAC Most Outstanding Field Performer after she won the long jump (5.20m, 17-00.75), tied for second in the high jump (1.45m, 4-09) and finished sixth in the triple jump (9.61m, 31-06.50). 

In addition W&J junior Jadyn Hartner (Washington, Pa. | Fort Cherry) earned the 2022 PAC's Newcomer of the Year Award after finishing second in the triple jump (10.06m, 33-00.25), fourth in the long jump (4.95m, 16-03), tied for fourth in the high jump (1.40m, 4-07) and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (10.44). She also ran on Presidents' fourth-place distance medley relay (13:45.14). 

Coming into this year's PAC Championships, Henderson is ranked first in the long jump and second in the high and triple jumps, while Hartner is right behind her in third in the triple jump on the current PAC Performance List.

The defending men's champion is Westminster College, led by 2022 PAC Coach of the Year Tim McNeil. The Titans scored 124 points in the 16-event championship and like the Grove City women's team, finished with a pair of individual championships and a victory in the 4x400 relay. Franciscan University posted 108 points to finish as the runner-up, with Grove City placing third with 95.

Two athletes who claimed three of the PAC's top awards last year will be competing again on Thursday, including Westminster senior Jacob Patton (Harrisville, Pa. | Moniteau), who was voted the 2022 Overall Most Outstanding Performer. He won the 60-meter hurdles with a school-record time of 8.39 seconds, finished as the runner-up in the pole vault (3.45m, 11-03.75) and the triple jump (12.64m, 41-05.75) and was fourth in the 400-meter dash (51.21). Patton also led off the Titans' victorious 4x400 relay (3:26.98). 

Also back this year is W&J junior Nate Sciarro (Beaver Falls, Pa. | Riverside), who was recognized as both the Most Outstanding Field Performer and the league's Newcomer of the Year. He won the long jump (6.99m, 22-11.25), finished fourth in the triple jump (12.57m, 41-03) and tied for fourth in the high jump (1.86m, 6-01.25).

Entering Thursday's Championships, Patton has the fastest time in the 60 Hurdles this season and Sciarro is the top-ranked long jumper on the PAC Performance List.

At the conclusion of Thursday’s championships, the PAC will recognize its team champions as well the event's Most Outstanding Performers (overall, track, field), Newcomers of the Year, Coaches of the Year and Sportsmanship Team honorees.

The NCAA Division III Championships are slated for Friday-Saturday, March 11-12 and will be held at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala. The final list of participants will be posted by 7 p.m. (EST) on Sunday, March 5 on ncaa.com.

Division III National Qualifiers
For each woman’s individual event contested (including the pentathlon), the top 20 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each men’s individual event contested (including the heptathlon), the top 20 declared student-athletes will be accepted into the competition. For each relay event contested, the top 12 declared teams will be accepted into the competition.
(Current Division III Qualifying Lists)
 

2022-23 PAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Pre-Championships Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points
1. Grove City (4)	91
2. Allegheny (7)	90
3. Geneva	79
4. W&J	73
5. Westminster	68
6. Waynesburg	54
7. Chatham	41
8. Saint Vincent	34
9. Thiel	32
10. Franciscan	29
11. Bethany	14

 

2022-23 PAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Pre-Championships Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points
1. W&J (4)	91
2. Geneva (4)	90
3. Grove City (1)	84
4. Westminster (2)	73
5. Saint Vincent	58
6. Franciscan	57
7. Allegheny	54
8. Waynesburg	36
9. Thiel	32
10. Chatham	17
11. Bethany	13