EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Men's and Women's Track & Field opens its 2026 outdoor season Thursday and Friday when the Screaming Eagles compete at three meets.
 
Three-time Ohio Valley Conference indoor champion Alex Nolan goes for a mark in the 10,000 meters Thursday when he competes at Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, North Carolina, while the remainder of the Screaming Eagles will compete at the WashU Distance Carnival Thursday and Friday in St. Louis, Missouri, as well as the Saint Louis University Speed/Power Festival Friday in St. Louis.
 
USI's men are coming off a strong showing last month at the OVC Indoor Championships. The Screaming Eagles raced to a fourth-place performance behind the first-place efforts of Nolan and freshman Kraedyn Young.
 
Nolan earned wins in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters, while Young won the mile and helped USI's distance medley relay team to a second-place finish. Sophomore Layden Wagoner posted a pair of podium finishes for the Screaming Eagles as he was second in the 3,000 meters after finishing third in the 5,000.
 
Sophomore Addison Applegate led the women's team an eighth-place finish at the OVC Indoor Championships last month. She raced to a third-place finish in the mile and a second-place finish in the 3,000 meters.
 
USI's women will be aided by the return of junior Ellie Hall, who sat out the indoor season. Hall was the OVC Cross Country Athlete of the Year in the fall and figures to be a major threat to capture gold in a distance event at the OVC Outdoor Championships in May after finishing second in the 10,000 meters and fifth in the 5,000 meters at last year's conference meet.
 
This week's events kick-off a busy spring for the Screaming Eagles, who are slated to compete at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational April 3-4 in Terre Haut, Indiana. USI also has trips to Edwardsville, Illinois, to compete in the Cougar Classic April 11; Azusa, California, to compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational April 16-18; Louisville, Kentucky, to compete in the Jim Freeman/Clark Wood Invitational April 24-25; and Nashville, Tennessee, to compete in the Music City Challenge May 1-2.
 
USI ends the regular-season May 8 with the Billy Hayes Invitational in Bloomington, Indiana, before competing at the OVC Outdoor Championships May 14-16 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The NCAA Division I East Regional is May 25-30 in Lexington, Kentucky, while the NCAA Outdoor Championships are June 10-13 in Eugene, Oregon.