Intrasquad Competition Propels Indiana Tech

It’s good to be number one, but it’s even harder to stay number one.

Well, Indiana Tech has been making it look easy.

The Warriors have been the top-ranked squad in the NAIA Women’s Indoor Track & Field National Rating Index for five consecutive years. Let’s put it this way: Indiana Tech, the back-to-back reigning national champions, hasn’t budged from the No. 1 spot since the conception of the NAIA National Rating Index in 2018.

Even more impressive – the Warriors have maintained their dominance despite key student-athletes moving on, along with coaches, too.

Indiana Tech maintains its edge by sticking to a simple approach.

“Every time [a student] competes, we want it to be a top-five mark in their life,” said Doug Edgar, who has been with the Warriors for the past 12 years and recently had the school’s new indoor track named after him. “As long as they are continuing to raise the bar of what it takes to be in the top-five, then that means they are being consistent, and we know we can count on them in a conference championship or national championship.”

That sentiment was echoed by junior standout Lisa Voyles.

“[The coaches] are very positive and encouraging, but they also hold you to a high standard,” Voyles said. “You’re always striving to be better than you were the day before.”

Edgar’s philosophy paid off during last weekend’s Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Indoor Championships as the team notched more than ten event wins. Voyles won an individual title in the 1000 meters, raising her nation-leading mark in the process to 2:50.31. Soyinne Grenyion jumped to the top of the 200-meter rankings with her converted 23.80. Indiana Tech’s 4×800 relay team, composed of Haven Evans, Krista Boese, Olaide Olapade and Voyles posted the top time in the country at a converted 9:13.87.

Another factor for the Warriors’ success is their depth. Indiana Tech counts one of the bigger rosters in the country with more than 150 student-athletes between its men’s and women’s teams. The size of the roster is rare considering that NAIA programs only have 12 scholarships available for each squad. 

That’s a personal point of pride for Edgar, who has been named USTFCCCA NAIA Track & Field Coach of the Year nine times in his career.

“You always have somebody that can push you,” Edgar said. “We feel like we always have somebody that can challenge even our top athletes.”

Competition in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is tough – but the Warriors prove tougher.

Walker Brooks is Murrow college student at Washington State University while also serving as the student assistant director of communication for cross country and track and field. You can follow him on Twitter @deputyviolet.