CAREML, Ind. - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) announced the 2023 Men's Outdoor Track and Field preseason poll on Thursday, March 16. 

2023 HCAC Men's Outdoor Track and Field Preseason Poll 

In a vote among league coaches, the current HCAC Indoor Champions that Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology was selected to win the league after picking up nine first-place votes and earning 81 points in the poll.  

Manchester University finished in second with 73 points, picking up the solo remaining first-place vote. Bluffton University (65) finished in third, Anderson University (53) took fourth, and Franklin College (52) rounded out the top half of the poll in fifth place. 

Six Spartans were selected as "Athletes to Watch" by the HCAC. The list includes distance runners Enrique Salazar (Plymouth, Ind., Plymouth) and Connor Havens (LaPorte, Ind., LaPorte). Gabe Melvin (Jacksonville, Fla., Atlantic Coast), Gabe Hendricks (Fort Wayne, Ind., Bishop Luers), Corbin Till (Fort Wayne, Ind., Bishop Dwenger) and Ben Villafuerte (Angola, Ind., Angola) were also selected as "Athletes to Watch" this season. 

The outdoor track and field season was scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 18 at the Early Bird Invitational hosted by Rose-Hulman, but due to weather conditions, that meet has been cancelled. The Spartans will now begin the 2023 outdoor season on Friday, March 31 and Saturday, April 1.