The 2026 MICDS Track and Field season had many rollercoaster moments, with highs and lows all season long. Captain Miles Coleman ’26 managed to make the final at State in the shot put (15.72), after having his first throw contested on Friday in the hardest rain I have ever seen at the Championship. The day was suspended, but Coleman had enough in that first throw to guarantee a spot in the top nine and make the final three throws. Coleman, who will be headed to West Point to play football in the fall, could not improve his position and finished in 9th. Coleman will leave MICDS as the best thrower in the school’s history. He is number two on the all-time shot put performance list and number two in the discus as well.
Henry Rohan ’26 was the defending 100m champion from last season and was looking to repeat at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately for Rohan, the road to the State Championship got a lot tougher following the meet at Maryville, where he was overcome by a hamstring injury that would leave him sidelined from the 100m until the District meet. Rohan was in rehab for his injury and did not run a 100m before the District meet. He was able to make the fast heat at Districts with the time he limped to at Maryville. He advanced easily, winning the district championship in 10.81. At the Sectional championship, Rohan was able to grab a third-place finish, not knowing that the eventual 100m Champion at state and the third-place finisher were in the same section. Rohan had slowed coming to the finish to save his injured leg, but it cost him in the seeding, with the prelims being washed out. He drew lane two of the slow heat as the slower third-place finisher, which meant he needed to run really fast to catch any of the top seeds in the second heat, which was seeded faster. Rohan competed well, and it was a great effort to just qualify for the State meet. He fell short in his heat, finishing second. This time ended up 9th overall, missing the podium by two hundredths of a second.
Muhammed Murphy ’26 qualified for State after a strong season in which he set the school high jump record (6-6 ¾). He broke the record previously held by Harrison Ivie ’18.
Murphy was coming back from a broken hip injury from last season and was able to finish All-District and qualify for State for his first time this year. He jumped 6-3 at the State Championships, landing him in 9th place. He will continue his track career next year at McKendree College.
Other outstanding performances from this season included Sebastian Harris ’26, who qualified for Sectionals in both the 110m hurdles and 300m hurdles and will continue competing at Morehouse in Atlanta. Heru Bey ’27, who is one of the team’s hardest workers and was All-State in Cross Country earlier in the year, had qualified for Sectionals in the 1600m. He was able to achieve a personal goal of running 4:20 in the mile, and Bey checked that off his list by running 4:20.62 at the District Championships. Bey qualified for Sectionals and competed hard for 1200m, but he dropped off the pace set by the eventual State champion in that event.
The captains this season were Rohan, Coleman, and Murphy. The Charles Story Gillis ’16 Award went to Murphy, and the Greg Foster Award went to Rohan.
