NAPERVILLE - The Carthage women's track & field team has been selected to finish fifth in the 2026 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Pre-Championship Poll, the league announced Thursday. The CCIW Championships are set for Friday, May 1, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, hosted by Carthage College. This will be the first time the Firebirds have hosted the Championships since 2019. 

POLL RESULTS
1. Elmhurst (7 first-place votes), 63 points
2. North Central (2 first-place votes), 57 points
3. Illinois Wesleyan, 49 points
4. Augustana, 41 points
5. Carthage, 36 points
6. Wheaton, 33 points
T7. Carroll, 18 points
T7. Millikin, 18 points
9. North Park, 9 points

The Firebirds head into this year's CCIW Championships with nine Firebirds currently ranked in the top five in their respective events. 

Jessie Pakaski is ranked fifth in both the 800 and 1500 meters with times of 2:19.63 and 4:45.02. 

In the 5,000 meter and 10,000 meters, Kylie Florance is ranked fourth and third with times of 18:30.26 and 39:03.21

In the long jump with a mark of 5.55 meters, Christina Hall is ranked second.

Madison Payne is ranked in the hammer throw (second) and shot put (first) with marks of 48.05 meters and 13.57 meters. Also ranked in the shot put, Lillian Townsend is ranked third with 12.83 meters. While Caylene Von-Schilling Worth is ranked fifth with a mark of 12.06 meters. 

In the discus, Jackie Tuzil is ranked second with a mark of 45.79 meters. 

Julia Kraus and Addison Huppert are ranked second and fourth in the heptathlon with scores of 3310 and 3260. 

The Firebirds are set to compete and host the 2026 CCIW Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday, May 1. Action is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. If you are unable to make it to the meet, catch all the action live on our Carthage Athletics YouTube page or https://cciwnetwork.com/. For more information, visit our athletics.carthage.edu.