Big Ten Reveals Women’s Indoor Track & Field Championship Honors

ROSEMONT, Ill. - The Big Ten Conference announced the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Indoor Track and Field Championship award winners on Wednesday, as selected by the conference’s head coaches. The championship meet was held last weekend at the Fall Creek Pavilion in Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Oregon’s Silan Ayyildiz won Women’s Track Athlete of the Championships, while Nebraska’s Axelina Johansson was selected as Field Athlete of the Championships and Ducks’ head coach Jerry Schumacher was tabbed as Big Ten Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive year. 

Ayyildiz added to resume after being an integral part of Oregon’s dominance in distance events, successfully winning the mile with a time of 4:37.88) and 5,000m with a facility record time of 15:37.90. She also placed second in the 3,000m (8:53.87) behind teammate Juliet Cherubet. Ayyildiz also won Cross Country Athlete of the Year in 2024 and 2025.  

Johansson, the NCAA record holder in shotput, claimed first place in the event at the Big Ten Championships with a mark of 19.47m (63-10 ½). The next closest throw was almost an entire meter short of her best mark on the day.  

Schumacher claimed his second coach of the year honors after leading Oregon to its second Big Ten Indoor Women’s Championship. Schumacher has won four out of five of the Championships between Women’s Cross Country and Indoor Track and Outdoor Track and Field since joining the Conference. 

The Big Ten Conference office recognizes one student-athlete from each team as Sportsmanship Award Honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. Honorees are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the academic year. 

The Big Ten will announce Track Athlete of the Year, Field Athlete of the Year and Freshman of the Year following the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, which are scheduled for March 13-14 at Virginia Beach Sports Center. 

Women’s Indoor Track & Field Honorees 

Track Athlete of the Championships 
Silan Ayyildiz, Oregon 

Field Athlete of the Championships 
Axelina Johansson, Nebraska 

Coach of the Year 
Jerry Schumacher, Oregon 

Unanimous selection in ALL CAPS 

Women’s Indoor Track & Field Sportsmanship Honorees 
Kennady Anderson, Illinois 
Amelia Dodds, Indiana 
Princess Uche, Iowa 
Tolulope Akinduro, Maryland 
Amare Harlan, Michigan 
Sarah Forsyth, Michigan State   
Diarra Sow, Minnesota 
Grace Parsons, Nebraska
Skye Ellis, Northwestern
Aniya Mosley, Ohio State 
Katie Clute, Oregon 
Maddie Pitts, Penn State 
Angelina Amefia, Purdue 
Charlee Crawford, Rutgers 
Kapiolani Coleman, UCLA 
Madison Whyte, USC 
Hana Moll, Washington 
Kylie Finger, Wisconsin