Hometown Girl Pollock Wins NCAA Division II National Championship in Weight Throw
Virginia Beach, Va. – Antwerp graduate Leslie Pollock captured the NCAA Division II Indoor National Championship in the women’s weight throw Friday at the 2026 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Pollock, a junior at Ashland University, secured the national title with a personal-record throw of 21.05 meters (69 feet, 0¾ inches) on her final attempt in the finals. The mark lifted her past teammate Molly Winner, who entered the meet ranked No. 1 nationally and finished second with a top throw of 20.99 meters (68 feet, 10½ inches). Throughout the season the two Ashland throwers had held the top two spots in the NCAA Division II rankings, but the championship meet saw Pollock claim the top honor and her first national title.
The performance also earned Pollock her first NCAA Division II All-American recognition, while Winner collected the fifth All-American honor of her career.
The Eagles scored 18 team points in the event, putting Ashland’s women’s team in first place after the opening day of competition, two points ahead of Pittsburg State.
Ashland also had success on the men’s side, as graduate student Brayden Jackson earned his first Division II All-American honor with a tie for fourth place in the men’s pole vault, clearing 5.16 meters (16 feet, 11 inches).
Other Ashland competitors included the women’s distance medley relay team of Emilie Lemon, Olivia Saylor, Jade Avance and Hope Sievert, which placed 12th with a time of 12:32.22. The men’s DMR team of Wes Taylor, Joe Wahl, Colton Thress, and Zach Vales also finished 12th in 10:04.88.
Freshman Jon Lutz qualified for the finals of the men’s 60-meter hurdles after placing fifth in the preliminary round with a time of 7.89 seconds.
Pollock is a 2022 graduate of Antwerp High School and is the daughter of Tam and Terry Pollock of Antwerp. Her championship marks Ashland’s first individual national title in track and field, indoors or outdoors, since 2022.
