UHSP Wins 10 Conference Titles at AMC Outdoor Championships, Macon-Ford Breaks AMC Record, Eng Named Freshman and Field Athlete of the Year

EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. – Seven UHSP athletes claimed a record-10 Conference titles at the 2026 American Midwest Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships held Wednesday at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville. Rylee Eng was named Freshman of the Year and Outstanding Field Athlete, while Leah Macon-Ford broke the AMC record in the 100m dash. The two led the Eutectic women to their best-ever team finish as runner-up at the event behind Columbia College. The UHSP men finished third.

MEET HIGHLIGHTS:

WOMEN

• Rylee Eng won the long jump with a leap of 5.05m (16'7") and took second in the triple jump at 10.76m (35'3.75") to score 18 points for UHSP in the horizontal jumps. She added another 10 points with a first-place finish in the pole vault (2.00m – 6'6.75") to total 28 points and lead all freshman at the meet to win the Freshman of the Year award and all field event competitors to be named Outstanding Field Athlete.
• Leah Macon-Ford broke the AMC record (along with her own UHSP record) with her victory in the 100m dash. She finished at 11.81 seconds to improve her national-qualifying time and ranking to 21^st in the NAIA. Macon-Ford also defended her 200m dash title with a time of 25.05. She joined with Shamari Long, Taylor Shobe (Washington), and Mariah Scott to break yet another school record in the 4x100m relay at 49.88 for second place and finish the meet with 22 points.
• Shamari Long broke her own record in the javelin throw by nearly six feet, launching the implement 40.23m (132'0") to win the Conference title and come within .71m from the national qualifying mark. She also finished behind Macon-Ford in the 100m dash at 12.55 and took third in the 200m dash at 26.59, along with her leg of the second-place 4x1 to earn all-conference honors in all four of her events.
• In her first collegiate 10,000m race, Hannah Nation picked up a Conference Champion title and broke the school record with a time of 42:02.62. Nation ran a lot of laps on Wednesday, also scoring points in the 5,000m run (4^th-place at 21:00.44) and the 1500m run (5^th-place at 5:28.55).
• Reece Halley and Arianna Buduan won their respective field events to earn Conference titles. Halley claimed first place in the discus throw with a toss of 38.73m (127'1"). Buduan was the top performer in the high jump with a leap of 1.51m (4'11.5").
• The women's 4x400m relay team of Adison Plazek, Emerald Flores, Sara Hameed, and Leah Macon-Ford blasted the UHSP record with a third-place time of 4:16.35.
• The Eutectics scored 21 points in the 100m hurdles, with Taylor Shobe (Washington), Mariah Scott, Addison Plazek, Pauline Gutierrez-Trejo, and Campbell Powell finishing second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively.

MEN

• Brett Bushue won both vertical jumps, defending his title in the pole vault (3.80m – 12'5.5") and winning the high jump at 1.90m (6'2.75").
• Kristofer St. Clair broke his own school record in the discus throw, marking 42.60m (139'9") for fifth place.

UP NEXT:

The Conference Championship marks the end of team competition for the Eutectics. Some individual athletes will continue training and competing in the next few weeks with the goal of qualifying for the NAIA Outdoor Championships held May 20-22 in Asheville, N.C. Leah Macon-Ford is currently the only Eutectic who has already qualified for nationals (100m dash).

 2026 AMC All-Conference: