Indianapolis, Ind. - The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced this morning that both the Lewis University men's and women's track and field program were tabbed first in their respective GLVC Indoor Track and Field Preseason Coaches Poll.

For the women, who will look to defend their 2025 title, they topped their poll with 168 points and 12 first place votes. Lincoln University of Missouri came in second with 149 points the remaining two first place votes while UIndy closed out the top three with 141 points. Southwest Baptist landed in fourth place with 137 points and Maryville closed out the top five with 115 points. MIssouri S&T (109), Truman State (97), Drury (81), UIS (71), McKendree (60), William Jewell (53), Rockhurst (37), Upper Iowa (33) and Quincy (23) made up the remainder of the poll.

As for the men, Lewis again topped the charts with 141 points and nine first place votes while Lincoln came in second with 135 points and the remaining four first place votes. UIndy (118), MIssouri S&T (111) and Southwest Baptist (92) made up the remainder of the top five. Drury (79), Maryville (78), Truman State (72), McKendree (45), UIS (40), Rockhurst (38), William Jewell (38) and Quincy (27) rounded out the rest of the preseason coaches poll. 

The women are highlighted by the return of reigning GLVC Field Athlete of the Year Denise Hernandez (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North HS) and 2025 GLVC Indoor Track and Field High Jump champion Karmen Kurowicka (Itasca, Ill./Lake Park HS). Hernandez, who won a national championship in the long jump during the outdoor season, claimed the triple jump crown last year at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships with a final distance of 11.56m. She followed that performance with a second place finish and All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. As for Kurowicka, she snagged the high jump crown with a final height of 1.67m at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships last season. 

As for the men, they are underscored by the returns of Levi Graham (Plainfield, Ill./Minooka) and Evan Horgan (Loves Park, Ill./Belvidere North). The reigning GLVC Field Athlete of the Year, Graham finished second at the NCAA Championships with a final throw of 22.01m to earn All-American accolades. As for Horgan, he pulled off an impressive win at hte GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships with his come from behind victory to place first in the 3000m run while also snagging the crown in the one mile run as well. He followed his double GLVC Championship performance with a seventh place finish in the 5000m (13:51.46) to collect All-American honors. 

Leading the Flyers is head coach Dana Schwarting who enters his 20th season at the helm of both programs. Last year, Schwarting earned GLVC Coach of the Year honors on the women's side and has been named the mens coach of the year on two occasions (2016, 2024). 

Lewis begins its 2025-26 indoor season on Dec. 5 as members of the team will travel to the SVSU Holiday Open and Multis in Saginaw, Mich., the GVSU Holiday Open in Allendale, Mich., or Sharon Colyear-Danville Opener hosted by Boston University in Boston, Mass. 

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For the latest news and updates on Lewis women's cross country, visit LewisFlyers.com and follow the Flyers on social media at @Lewisxctrack on Instagram and @LewisWTandF or @LewisMTandF on X.